www.interval-recordings.com
www.acfnewengland.orgFrom the liner notes:
Notes on a Music Festival
American Composers Forum, New England
Sonic Circuits 2006, International Electronic Music Festival
New Music from Israel and the U.S. presented in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Boston and New York
In October of 2006, I found myself sitting in cafe with Ido Govrin and Liora Belford in a southern district of Tel Aviv. Over lunch we reflected on performances that we had just presented in Israel and began to wonder how we could present these works to an audience world-wide. This CD is the result of that conversation and is comprised of recordings of concerts in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Boston and New York.
One week prior to this discussion, I arrived in Tel Aviv for the ACF concerts that were curated and produced by Kiki Keren-Huss. The series, entitled “Nothing Works as Planned”, began with a concert hosted by the Tel Aviv Biennale of New Music and held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. We performed in a large suite of galleries that was between exhibitions and therefore void of art work. The high ceilings, long reverberation and departure from conventional concert seating made for a cathedral-like setting and proved to be an ideal site for the concert of works featuring electronics, small ensembles and large video projections.
A few days later we drove to Haifa to present work in a concert at the University of Haifa. Weeks earlier Haifa had been bombed and for some time there was a question whether or not we would have to postpone the tour. By the time we arrived in Haifa, the city appeared to be serene and we presented the second concert in Israel with works by Liora Bedford, Ido Govrin, Kiki Keren-Huss, Yosi Mar-Chaim, Keren Rosenbaum, Arie Shapira, Amnon Wolman and myself.
In December Keren-Huss, Shapira and Wolman traveled to the US to continue the series. Our first concert was held at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and also featured works by Jonathan Chen, Dennis Miller and myself. Many of the works that were performed in Israel were performed again with US performers, making this an ideal experience for the composers to hear their works unfold in new ways and for new audiences.
The series concluded with a concert at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, New York. IPR is located in a circular tower that was once a silo situated on the Gowanus Canal. Again, the unconventional setting and the unique acoustical space made an ideal venue for the performance of electronic music.
I would like to thank David McMullin, Director of ACFNE for all of his hard work to bring the events to a successful conclusion. Dr. Beth Denisch, the founder of ACFNE, was the original architect of this international exchange. Dr. Denisch worked for several years to establish this unique link between the sister cities Boston and Haifa. Her efforts brought composers together to present work, collaborate on performances and share ideas. At the conclusion of the concerts, the composers on this CD suggested that we include her work, as her artistic vision and dedication were central to our activities.
Neil Leonard
Curator/Producer, Sonic Circuits ACFNE
