Berklee Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship

Sharpening the Cutting Edge

Dear friends,

I just wanted to let you know about some of the work I did in Europe this summer. The Berklee's Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship was one of the sponsors.

Best wishes,
Neil Leonard

The article in its entirety is posted here:
Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship Grants: Sharpening the Cutting Edge
by Susan Gedutis Lindsay

Sharpening the Cutting Edge - online

55 Workshop/Performance, Essen, Germany

11. Juli 2008
20:00 Uhr
Alte Aula
Media | Music | Design | Interaction
Workshopkonzert

Neil Leonhard, Saxophonist, Komponist und Lehrer am Berklee College of Music, USA, und Studierende seiner Klasse

Folkwang Studierende der Klassen Prof. C. Lazzeroni, Kommunikationsdesign | Interface Design, Prof. Th. Neuhaus, Musikinformatik, und Prof. D. Hahne, Komposition und Visualisierung das Konzert findet statt im Rahmen des Workshops Media | Music | Design | Interaction“ der vom 7. bis 11. Juli an der Folkwang Hochschule angeboten wird – das Ergebnis der interdisziplinären Zusammenarbeit wird im Workshopkonzert präsentiert

Folkwang Hochschule
Klemensborn 39
45239 Essen
Telefon: 0201_4903_0 Telefax: 0201_4903_288

www.folkwang-hochschule.de

ECHO RESONANCE & MEMORY premiere performance - NAPOLI

The sound for ECHO RESONANCE & MEMORY is inspired by Jannis Kounellis’ work at La Marrana Arte Ambientale (La Spezia), an installation made up of large church bells that appear to be spiraling out from the earth’s core. I was struck by the intensity by which this arrangement of bells, a chorus of silent tongues, caused sound to resonate in my mind. The work that I have created for ER&M uses computer processed voice and recordings of Kounellis’ bells, and invites us to reconsider how our memory records and abstracts sonic events. This is the first work in which I have collaborated with the choreographer/dancer from the formulation of concept, to the staging of the work and live performance. It is fitting that the premiere takes place on Monte Vesuvio, a sometimes-silent tongue, and like church bell, is the source of a hallmark sound in local history.

--- Italian press release ---

ECHO RESONANCE & MEMORY

di e con NEIL LEONARD & GABRIELLA RICCIO
performance multimediale danza musica immagini
prima assoluta

domenica 25 maggio 2008 ore 21.30
teatro IL TORCHIO spazio per le arti di Somma Vesuviana – Napoli
via colonnello Aliperta – Parco degli Aromi

ECHO RESONANCE & MEMORY performance site-specific multimediale (musica danza immagini) nasce dall'incontro di Gabriella Riccio artista-coreografa napoletana di formazione e percorso europeo - una delle figure più interessanti nel panorama cittadino della giovane coreografia d'autore e della nuova danza di ricerca della regione Campania - e Neil Leonard - sound artist, compositore e sassofonista di Boston, professore di musica elettronica al Berklee College of Music, curatore di GASP sonic art series a Boston, direttore di festival di musica elettronica di respiro internazionale. Neil Leonard si esibisce tra gli altri alla 49a edizione della Biennale di Venezia, all'Auditorium di Roma, al MOMA di NY, alla Carnegie Hall. E' attualmente in tourné in Europa per collaborazioni con il Conservaotrio Pollini di Padova e la Folkswangschule di Essen.
E' proprio Neil Leonard che apprezzando il lavoro di Gabriella Riccio ha lanciato l'idea per una collaborazione che vede la luce proprio nei prossimi giorni con un debutto nel suggestivo teatro Il Torchio spazio per le arti di Somma Vesuviana.

GR: Il tema è emerso dai primi suoni proposti da Neil, suoni arcaici, ancestrali, metallici. Materia, appunto. Ed evocazione/memoria. Abbiamo iniziato a parlare di eco e di risonanza del suono e l'impianto del suono è diventato ragione fondamentale per la ricerca e l'indagine sul corpo e sul movimento. Indagare le possibilità coreografico-compositive per i concetti di eco e risonanza con un uso dell'immagine ripetuta moltiplicata e riprodotta del corpo, per andare oltre ed arrivare ad un corpo/movimento visionario. Offrire allo sguardo/corpo suggestioni che possano risuonare questa volta in senso poetico con lo spettatore. La possibilità di lavorare in composizione istantanea sia con il corpo, sia con il suono, sia con l'impianto visivo (disegno luci di Fernado Siciliano, camera mobile di Alia Scalvini e missaggio video di Alessandro De Vita) offrono una rara possibilità di indagine dello scarto tra evento e reazione della mente, intelletto vs istinto, dentro vs fuori, luce vs buio, tra sacro e profano, perché il corpo ed in particolare il corpo-danzato resta sempre ed inevitabilmente materia della terra, ma che da questa materia può come corpo-poetico lasciare apparire, trasformarsi, evocare.

NL: "I suoni per Echo Resonance & Memory sono ispirati ad un lavoro che Jannis Kounellis ha presentato a La Maranna Arte Ambientale di La Spezia, una istallazione realizzata con grandi campane che affiorano in una spirale dal centro della terra. Mi ha colpito allora l'intensità con la quale l'organizzazione di queste campane, come un coro di lingue silenti, potesse fare risuonare il suono nella mia mente. Il lavoro che ho creato usa voci elaborate elettronicamente e registrazioni di suoni che ho generato dall'installazione delle campane di Kounellis in modo da suggerire il primo apparire del suono come riportato dai miti dell'antichità. Il lavoro invita a riconsiderare come la nostra mente registra e trasforma il suono e la musica. Questo è il primo lavoro in cui ho collaborato con l'artista coreografa/danzatrice sin dalla formulazione del concetto fino alla messa in scena dell'opera nella formula della "live performance". Non è un caso credo che il lavoro debutti alle falde del Vesuvio, una lingua a volte silente e come le campane un segno sonico della storia locale.

ECHO RESONANCE & MEMORY

My first view of Mt. Vesuvius - site of the premiere performance.

Ariel shot from Google Earth - Somma Vesuviana us in the bottom left corner, just below the cloud.

After recording vocal tracks with Dagon Lorai and Alessia De Capua, residents of Somma Vesuviana. Alessia's voice is amazing and it was a real pleasure to work with these musicians from Somma Vesuviana, a small town near the summit of the volcano.

Rehearsing with Gabriella Riccio, Alia Scalvino and Alessandro De Vita at Il Torchio, Somma Vesuviana.

SECOND PERFORMANCE IN THE WORKS - MORE INFO TBA THIS WEEK!

uscir ad ascoltar le stelle…

Photos of Rondò da Passeggio can be found here:

Nicola Bernardi's photos of Rondo da Passegio

ECHO RESONANCE & MEMORY

ECHO RESONANCE & MEMORY
performance multimediale
idea Gabriella Riccio e Neil Leonard
coreografia e danza Gabriella Riccio
musica originale dal vivo Neil Leonard
camera mobile Alia Scalvino
mix video Alexis - Alessandro De Vita
luci Fernando Siciliano



Il Torchio, Somma Vesuviana, Napoli
(on the active volcano Mt. Vesuvius)
May 25, 2008
http://www.myspace.com/il_torchio



ECHO RESONANCE & MEMORY has been selected for a repeat performance by
La Fondazione Campania dei Festival per il triennio a Napoli il NAPOLI TEATRO FESTIVAL ITALIA
June 28, 2008
www.teatrofestivalitalia.it

RONDÒ DA PASSEGGIO

RONDÒ DA PASSEGGIO
Giornata dell'Ascolto 2008
Padova, Via Roma, May 18th 2008, 10:00 AM – 08:00 PM

Would you like to taste music like an ice-cream to go? Or walk on a sunny afternoon without the usual annoying presence of daily chores? You may want to try the Rondò da Passeggio (Rondeau to Go), a musical form that can only be completely appreciated by walking under the beautiful porticoes of Padova, in via Roma, on Sunday May 18th, 2008. The second edition of the Giornata dell'Ascolto (the listening day), the entire day will dedicated to the activity of listening in all its forms.

The Rondò da Passeggio takes place in the context of a musical installation that will rebuild the classical form of a seven-part rondeau (a b a c a b a) in a central street of Padova, Via Roma. Along its 900 feet of porticoes, where no cars are allowed, seven distinct compositions, each lasting 10 hours (from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM), will accompany walkers, strollers and joggers. Instead of the usual disturbing collection of sonic junk – dazed and confused – that emanates from pedestrian audio appliances that surround us, music will meet the city. Streets, squares, boulevards and buildings, a whole city will start whispering, playing and singing.

A “composition of compositions,” the Rondò da Passeggio is created by eight composers and installed by a horde of sound engineers. While each composition will be a distinct vision by a specific composer, the seven compositions will all be tied together by the formal scheme of the rondeau.

Rondò da Passeggio is a project commissioned by Prof. Sergio Durante (inventor of the Giornata dell'Ascolto) to the Conservatory “C.Pollini” of Padova and coordinated by Prof. Nicola Bernardini. The project involves numerous Conservatory teachers, composition students, electronic music students, and students from the Sound Engineering curriculum with the extraordinary participation of Neil Leonard and two of his students from Berklee College of Music, Boston.

Francesco Babolin, Anthony Baldino, Nicola Bernardini, Giovanni Bonato, Marco Braggion, Mirko Brigo, Gennaro Cantoro, Maura Capuzzo, Davide Ceccon, Andrea Cera, Raffaele Cipriano, Davide Corsato, Matteo Costa, Dario Dassenno, Pierluigi Duravia, Giacomo Frega, Gianni Giacomazzo, Francesco Guerra, Neil Leonard, Michele Marelli, Francesco Marescotti, Francesco Morosinotto, Marco Petrone, Matteo Pilotto, Spencer Putnam, Alberto Schiavo, Stefano Trento, Luca Uggias, Michele Vaccarotto, Andrea Versolatto, Riccardo Xotta. Rondò da Passeggio: 31 participants, 10 hours of music, 7 compositions, a single project.

Multimedia performance @ Folkwang Hochschule, July 11, Essen

Premiere of Multimedia performance created in collaboration with Claudius Lazzeroni, Dietrich Hanne, Thomas Neuhaus. More info coming soon ...

Uscir ad ascoltar le Stelle - May 18th, Padova

The Giornata dell'Ascolta (Listening Day) festival commissioned the site specific sound installation, "uscir ad ascoltar le stelle…,” for the entrance of the Santa Maria dei Servi Church in the medieval city of Padova, Italy. As listeners enter the church for Sunday mass, they will experience an audio triptych that echoes themes and structures linked to the ancient architecture, painting, literature, and sounds that are essential to Padova's cultural heritage. Sound will emanate from the top of the portico structure, an architectural hallmark of the city.

I created the sound in collaboration with composer Maura Capuzzo, using sounds of sacred music from around the world. The title,  "uscir ad ascoltar le stelle....,"  is derived from the final words of Dante's Inferno: "Then we came forth, to see again the stars." The title suggests the idea of listening to, and feeling, something immaterial that comes from another word, the world of  sacred feelings and attitude. In the case of our installation, the title asks our listeners to "listen to the sacred world of our collective civilization ..."

The piece is a departure from any work that I have done in the past. Our commissioners asked for ten hours of continuous, non-repeating sound. I tell my composition students that duration is the first consideration when planning a work. Setting out to create a ten hour sound installation changed the way that Maura and I approached everything, from sonic result to process to artistic dialog. In addition, the site itself suggested things that were new, such as devising a three speaker configuration to match the theme of the trinity.

"uscir ad ascoltar le stelle...."  is one of seven sound installations that will adorn a 400-meter stretch of Padova's main boulevard, via Roma. Together, these seven installations form a rondeau form (i.e., A1 - B1 - A2 - C - A3 - B2 - A4). Nicola Bernardini (Berklee '81), installation organizer and director of electronic music at Padova's Pollini Conservatory, titled this series of installations "Rondò da Passeggio" or "Rondeau to go." This is a pun on the classic rondo form and an ice-cream they do in Venice, the 'gianduiotto da passeggio'. It's an ice-cream that you pick up and stroll around with, you are not supposed to eat it on the premises (double whipped cream: top *and* bottom). Festival director Dr. Sergio Durante is encouraging all stores and restaurants to give their radio and CD playback a rest for the day and emphasize the unique sounds of the city and its musicians.

Berkee alumni Anthony Baldino and Spencer Putnam assisted in the realization of the audio.

Site for Giornata d'ascolto installation

This is the site of a sound installation presented by the Giornata d'Ascolto. My collaborator is Nicola Bernardini from the C. Pollini Conservatory, Padova. Maura Capuzzo and I are creating the sound installation for this point. Here is a frontal view of the church.

Leonard wins Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship

(photo of Leonard interviewing Stanley Crouch, Herb Alpert visiting professor)

Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship Awardees Announced
The Office of Academic Affairs is happy to announce the awardees of the inaugural Berklee College of Music Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship: Lori Landay and Neil Leonard

Berklee College of Music
The Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship
Awardees Announcement

Congratulations to all who submitted project proposals for the inaugural Berklee College of Music Newbury Comics Faculty
Fellowship. We are pleased to announce the awardees.

Lori Landay is an Associate Professor in Liberal Arts. Her project, Visual Worlds, focuses on online 3-D animated
environments in which people can interact socially, express themselves creatively, fly, play games, shop, build things, own
"land", share music and video, and learn in new educational contexts. She will research various virtual worlds such as
Second Life, ActiveWorlds, and There.com, with particular emphasis on two foci important to Berklee: how the music industry
might become involved with virtual worlds and the educational opportunities for virtual worlds.

Neil Leonard is an Associate Professor in the Music Synthesis department. His project, Composition and Performance for
Robotics, Video and Architecture, explores the role of sound in connection to three visual disciplines (robotics, video and
architecture). He will create three new works: 1. a composition for woodwinds, custom music software, drawing machines,
and live video; 2. a work for saxophone, video/performance artists and laptop musicians based on recordings of a sculpture
by Jannis Kounellis; 3. an 800 meter sound installation for the Giornata dell'Ascoloto (Listening Day) festival in Padova, Italy.
Through collaboration with video and interdisciplinary artists, Leonard will explore strategies for creating personal narratives
using new technology. These compositions will be performed in Essen Germany, La Spezia and Padova, Italy, with
collaborators there.