The Staten Island Composers Project, with David Johansen, Vernon Reid, & Galt MacDermot October 27, 2007

wordygurl

Get ready for the musical event of the season! On Saturday, October 27, Staten Island's magnificent St. George Theatre will be taken over by three titans of music: David Johansen, of the New York Dolls; Galt MacDermot, the composer of HAIR; and Vernon Reid, Grammy-award winning guitarist and record producer. Presented by the Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island (COAHSI), the evening's full-length performance is the world-premiere of new work composed by each of the three men specifically for the honor of Staten Island.

Early in 2007, COAHSI commissioned Johansen, MacDermot, and Reid to write music that touched upon their relationship to their hometown. Johansen, one of rock music's most influential performers, is a Staten Island native and a graduate of Port Richmond High School. His long career in music includes fronting the New York Dolls, the highly influential 70's glam/punk band that recently reunited in 2006 on the album, One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This. The man responsible for writing the score to one of Broadway's most successful and innovative musicals, HAIR (which just celebrated it's 40th anniversary with a gala presentation by the Public Theater and Joe's Pub in the Park at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park), Galt MacDermot, has lived in Staten Island for years. Mr. MacDermot stewards his independent jazz record label, Kilmarnock Records, from his island home, and continues to write new music and perform with his New Pulse Jazz Band. Most people know Vernon Reid as the legendary guitarist for the band Living Colour and the founder of the Black Rock Coalition. Enjoying a quiet life with his family here on the island, Reid is constantly on the move with his music, touring with his many current projects around the globe.

COAHSI likes to stress that although they could reside anywhere in the world, each of these international music stars choose to live in Staten Island. The commissioned pieces performed for the first time ever at the St. George Theatre will speak to their lives in Richmond County, the good, the bad, and the inbetween.

In addition to the show on October 27th, the artists will participate in The Staten Island Composers Project Career Development Forum. Musical director Ray Scro, Coordinator of the Performing Arts Department at Curtis High School and himself a very accomplished jazz saxophonist, will moderate a panel discussion with the three composers in front of area high school students. This session will explore Johansen's, MacDermot's, and Reid's lives in music, the paths they chose to take as artists and the highs and lows of being professional musicians. Students in attendance at these discussions will receive complimentary tickets to the performance at St. George.

This amazing opportunity to hear the music of Staten Island could only be presented by COAHSI, Staten Island's premiere arts organization. Support your local artists, support the St. George Theatre, our island treasure, support COAHSI - Staten Island, come out and hear music written just for you. You won't want to miss!

If you or your organization would like to sponsor a block of student tickets, call COAHSI at 718-447-3329.