The 2007 EDGETONE NEW MUSIC SUMMITOutSpoken
Drawn from Sources: Inquiries into the sources, intent and challenges inherent in experimental music, and its place in our creative and social fabric
Discussion Panel: Ethnic Tradition and Experimental Expression
Moderated by
Greg Beuthin (Balé Techlorico)
with
Edward Schocker, Valerie Mih, & Laurie Buenafe Krsmanovic(info)
Artists speak out about how they balance their work to preserve and extend traditions in ethnic music.
Greg Beuthin aka Palmito is a writer and percussionist. He has studied Afro-Caribbean percussion for over a decade, performing with Liberation Ensemble, Espiritu da Samba, Santero and Los Nadies. His theatre work has been seen at the NYC Hip Hop Theatre Festival and the San Francisco and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals.
In addition to performing with Balé Tech, Palmito has been seen at Theatre of Yugen; Brava Theatre; Intersection for the Arts; and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
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Edward Schocker’s music is a unique mixture of alternate tuning systems and unique instruments, combined with theater/opera. He has collaborated with many dancers, artists and writers to create a unique combination of sound, movement, and text. Enjoying international recognition, Edward’s music has been performed in numerous countries throughout the world.
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Laurie Buenafe Krsmanovic is a Filipina-American performance artist exploring traditional and subconscious forms. Currently she performs with Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble and Alleluia Panis Dance Theater. Past ensembles include Gulistan Dance Theater, Open Gate Theatre, Ya Amar Middle Eastern Dance Company, Don McLeod's Butoh Theatre, and Peaktimes. In Los Angeles she trained in classical and folkloric Central Asian dance with Carolyn Krueger and Viloyat Akilova, People's Artist of Uzbekistan, and Egyptian dance with Sahra C. Kent. After moving to Berkeley, she took workshops in Butoh with Judith Kajiwara and Shinichi Iova-Koga, veering into improvisational dance and physical theatre. Collaborative and solo works have shown at Free-Jazz Fridays, Jazz House, RX Gallery, LineSpaceLine, Highways, LA ArtFest, Orange Coast College, CalArts, EEMED, APAture, and most recently AADP's "Translations". She lives in San Francisco with her husband Dragisa and sentient plants. Thanks for visiting this site and check out this new project rolling soon. Peace.
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Mih began studying classical piano at the age of 6 and jazz piano at age 15. She received a B.A. in American Studies from Stanford University, where she co-founded the Stanford Taiko Group with Ann Ishimaru (founder of Portland Taiko). She subsequently discovered the field of animation, and earned an M.F.A. in Film, Video and Computer Animation from the University of Southern California. Her professional animation and media works have been recognized with awards, distribution contracts and festival screenings, including the Festival of Cinema and Technology's Best Animation Award (for Einstein), Independent Television Service production funding (for PBS interstitials Paper Peace and Harmonize), a CINE Eagle Award (for The Pets Zone), and a Silicon Valley Arts Fellowship (for Voices of Patriots).
While working professionally in the animation field, she continued to develop musically and found an ideal music mentor in trumpeter/composer Eddie Gale. She discovered Gale while listening to jazz radio station KCSM on her way to work as an animator at Lucas Learning in the year 2000. On the air, Gale was discussing his open jazz workshops and jam sessions at the Black Dot in Oakland, funded by a California Artist-in-Residence grant. Mih became a regular at his jam sessions for three years, after which Gale asked her to join his working band.
As a member of Gale's group, she has performed at the Vision Festival, Sista’s Place, and Zebulon Concert Cafe in New York; the San Jose Jazz Festival; and the Bach Dynamite Society in Half Moon Bay, among other venues.
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The catchphrase for these discussions is "Drawn from Sources," which has come to have several meanings for the artists being convened. For some it means artists extending native and non-native ethnic tradition. For others it means artists moving traditional art forms into experimental contexts. Another strand is the balancing act artists engage in while working in multiple music genres as well as authenticity, cultural synthesis, equity, innovation, and even isolation.
A project of UBU Inc.
Cost: Free