The Gerald W. Lynch Theater Presents SOUND + VISION: AT WAR 9/29

The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College presents SOUND + VISION: AT WAR, as part of the Art of Justice Series on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 7:30pm at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 899 Tenth Avenue, NYC. Tickets are $20 (free for CUNY students with valid ID) and may be purchased by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or visiting www.ticketcentral.com.

Pulitzer Prize-nominated photojournalist Chris Hondros of Getty Images and musical director Kenneth Hamrick of Fusion Bande collaborate to present a multi-media performance of celebrated wartime images from Afghanistan and Iraq, illuminated by the transcendent music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The music includes selected excerpts of Cantatas, sol and ensemble Sonatas and Concertos, performed by Fusion Bande, with Anthony Turner, baritone; Joan Topper, viola; Christopher Hopkins, cello; Andrew Trombley, contrabass; and conductor Kenneth Hamrick, harpsichord and organ. The result is a visual and musical experience that speaks meaningfully of the emotions encountered wherever there is war.

"With the recent announcement of the end of combat mission in Iraq, this performance is a timely reflection of the human experience during modern wartime," said Shannon R. Mayers, Executive Director of the Gerald W. Lynch Theater. "Many veterans attend John Jay College and I hope they will come to the concert and share with us their own perspectives on this time in history."

There will be a Q&A session with the artists and professional guests following the performance. An exhibit of Hondros' images will also be on display in the Theater Lobby from September 27 to October 12.

"The images in the production will be from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2001 to 2010, basically a look at the history of the War on Terror, such as it was and is. There will be images of fighting and of casualties, but most of it will explore day to day life among the Iraqi and Afghan civilians and the also the US troops sent to these places on a hazy mission. Major topics that will be explored include Religion, Soldiers, the Wounded, Prisoners, Faces, Play, Life through the Window of a Humvee, among others," said Chris Hondros.

Chris Hondros is an American Pulitzer Prize-nominated photojournalist. Born in New York City to immigrant Greek and German parents, both survivors of World War II, he moved to North Carolina as a child. After studying English literature at North Carolina State and taking his Master's degree at Ohio's School of Visual Communications, Hondros returned to New York to concentrate on international reporting. Hondros has covered most of the world's major conflicts since the late 1990s, including wars in Kosovo, Angola, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Kashmir, the West Bank, Iraq, and Liberia. His work has appeared on the covers of magazines such as Newsweek and The Economist, and on the front pages of most major American newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. Hondros has received dozens of awards, including multiple honors from World Press Photo in Amsterdam, the International Pictures of the Year Competition, the Visa Pour L'Image in France, and the John Faber award from the Overseas Press Club. In 2004 Hondros was a Nominated Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Spot News Photography for his work in Liberia, and in 2006 he won the Robert Capa Gold Medal, war photography's highest honor, for his work in Iraq. He's also been named a 2007 "Hero of Photography" by American Photo magazine, and was a 2008 National Magazine Award finalist.

Kenneth Hamrick is a multi-talented keyboard artist and conductor of opera, dance, choral, and chamber music, specializing in Baroque, Classical, and early-Romantic music and performance techniques. Hamrick is also artistic director of the American Virtuosi / Fusion Bande with noted performances of Handel, Monteverdi, Lully, Mozart and Rameau in modern renderings. Hamrick is also active in contemporary theater and dance, conducting the New York debuts of operas by Hans Werner Henze and John Harbison for Encompass Opera Theater at the Connelly Theater, Alice Shields' CRISEYDE at Elebash Hall Fifth Avenue, and an extensive tour with tap legend Savion Glover in Classical Savion, a unique coupling of Vivaldi, Mendelssohn, Piazzola and Bach with jazz improvisation. Other projects in the world of dance have included work with the Limón Dance Company, including his reconstruction of the music for Doris Humphrey's Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias under the NEA American Masterpieces grant program, and conducting performances at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center of Limón's Missa Brevis, The Moor's Pavane and Lar Lubovitch's Concerto Six Twenty-Two. This past January Hamrick also conducted reconstructions of American master choreographer Charles Weidman's dance dramas of J. S. Bach's Choral Passions and Oratorios as part of the 75th anniversary celebration of New York's 92nd Street Y in association with the NYU Tisch Dance Department. Born and raised in Alabama, he earned degrees at Huntingdon College, University of Montevallo, and completed performance studies in harpsichord and organ in the doctoral program at the Eastman School of Music.

Since opening its doors in 1988, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater has been an invaluable cultural resource for John Jay College and the larger New York City community. Under the new direction of Executive Director Shannon R. Mayers, the Theater is dedicated to the creation and presentation of performing arts programming of all disciplines. Its signature series, The Art of Justice, is the only performance series in New York that presents a diverse exploration of the role performing arts have played in the pursuit of social, transitional and criminal justice. The Theater has collaborated with such noted companies as Epic Theatre Ensemble, Gotham Chamber Opera, and has also hosted prestigious events for Lincoln Center Festival, Great Performances, Juilliard, Alvin Ailey and numerous television specials for HBO and Comedy Central.

About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu.

For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu/theater.php.

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