New York Soundscape Taps Into NYC's Boroughs 10/16

At this time in history, more than 50% of the world's population lives in cities. Thus, an understanding of urban areas and their quality of life is essential to an understanding of the ecology of the world as a whole. For the sixth installment of Ear to the Earth, Electronic Music Foundation joins forces with community groups and cultural organizations in each of the city's five boroughs to present "New York Soundscape" - a series of live sound events portraying the sonic life force of one of the most diverse cities in the world. Collaborating organizations include Green City Challenge (Manhattan), Issue Project Room (Brooklyn), Socrates Sculpture Park (Queens), Snug Harbor (Staten Island), and The Point (Bronx).

In the last month, community groups have organized workshops during which professionals as well as amateurs have recorded sounds that are unique to each of the boroughs. These recorded sounds will serve as the source material for the live public performance taking place in each of these locations. The featured artists will include the open-media forum/community Share, composer/sound artist Richard Lainhart, pianist Joseph Kubera, performing artist/composer Milica Paranosic, DJ N-Ron and Urban Art Beat.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Sunday, October 16 at 8:00 P.M. (Free)
SHARE http://share.dj
Issue Project Room, Old American Can Factory (Brooklyn)
232 3rd Street, 3rd Floor
Info: 718-330-0313 | http://www.issueprojectroom.org/

For its first Ear to the Earth appearance, SHARE - the open forum renowned for fostering spontaneous collaborations between artists using a variety of art forms - will present a jam session exploring sounds and images recorded within the borough of Brooklyn. Boundaries will blur between participants and public as members of the audience are encouraged to join the jam. Bring your equipment/instruments/gear, or pop in simply to hang out, chat or exchange ideas.

Wednesday, October 19, 8:00 P.M (Free)
MILICA PARANOSIC: A BRONX TALE
The Point CDC (Bronx)
940 Garrison Avenue, Bronx
718-542-4139 | http://www.thepoint.org

Performing artist/composer Milica Paranosic will incorporate sounds gathered from Hunts Point in the Bronx for the premiere of A Bronx Tale, a work for recorded sounds, live vocals and electronics. "...the intoxicating profusion of seemingly unrelated impressions [was] as surprising a moment as any I've ever seen during an ostensibly ‘high-art' presentation, and one that could only have been pulled off by a composer for whom punk rock is a fact of life, as opposed to a sensation borrowed on the cheap." (Steve Smith, Time Out NY).

Friday, October 21, 8:00 P.M. (Free)
Joseph Kubera: 100 x JOHN 1 (Remembering a friend)
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden (Staten Island)
1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island
Info: 718 448 2500 | info@snug-harbor.org

A leading interpreter of contemporary music and longtime collaborator of John Cage, Joseph Kubera will perform 100 x John 1 - a soundscape composed by Kubera and Joel Chadabe, modeled after Cage's compositional process and using Staten Island sounds. The performance is a salute to John Cage at the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Saturday, October 22, 12-NOON (Free)
DJ N-RON & the URBAN ART BEAT
Socrates Sculpture Park (Queens)
32-01 Vernon Boulevard at Broadway, Long Island
Info: 718-956-1819 | http://www.socratessculpturepark.org

Daniel Perlin, aka DJ N-RON - whose credits include sound works with Vito Acconci and Phil Morrison's Academy Award nominated Junebug, and performances at venues ranging from MoMA's PS1 to The Golden Pudle - will collaborate with the teenage group Urban Art Beat for a presentation of their own mixes and beats based on sounds recorded in Queens.

Sunday, October 23, 4:30 P.M. (Free)
RICHARD LAINHART: 100 x JOHN 2 for electric guitar and Kyma
(In homage to John Cage in his 100th birthday year)
As part of "Green City Challenge Race and Family Expo"
Green City Challenge @ Union Square (Manhattan)

In 100 x John 2, award-winning composer Richard Lainhart will perform with his electric guitar and Kyma, a powerful sound design system, to transform the ambient noise of Manhattan's streets and alleys into a magically lyrical sound.

For more information on the event, visit the EMF Productions website <http://www.emfproductions.org>, or email events@emf.org, or call (888) 749-9998.

Electronic Music Foundation (EMF)'s mission is to explore the creative and cultural potential in the convergence of music, sound, technology, and science, and share what is learned through contact and interactions with a large and growing public. EMF organizes events, presents and commissions innovative work, supports research, develops collaborative projects with partners worldwide, and maintains websites on the history and current practice of electronic music. EMF provides models and resources for creativity and encourages the development and exchange of new ideas throughout the world.