ScrapArtsMusic Brings Recycled Instruments to Holland Center, 1/29

Omaha Performing Arts presents earth-friendly percussionists ScrapArtsMusic at the Holland Center's Kiewit Concert Hall on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.

Renowned for its energetic, highly physical choreography, it's been said that ScrapArtsMusic is "an exciting sonic mix of rhythmic interplay and juxtaposed sounds from the most finely polished scrap metal" (The Age, Australia). Featuring intricate rhythms, raw energy and the most inventive "green" materials, ScrapArtsMusic is an entertaining taste of the musical vanguard.

Frustrated by the limitations of conventional percussion performance, ScrapArtsMusic co-founders Gregory Kozak and Justine Murdy set out to create new instruments by scouring construction sites and scrap yards looking for great-sounding plastic pipes, coils, hoses, plumbing fixtures, steel bowls - anything with the potential to make music. From this industrial surplus, the pair fashioned over 100 one-of-a-kind instruments, put them on wheels and began to explore the choreographic possibilities. Using these hand-forged instruments, ScrapArtsMusic plays original compositions that build on the traditions of world percussion fueled by genre-defying trailblazers like Harry Partch, Wendy Mae Chambers and the Baschet Brothers.

Rooted in street performance and jazz, ScrapArtsMusic was nominated for a West Coast Music Award in 2002. The ensemble has traveled the world, performing for more than 750,000 fans on four continents and collaborating with orchestras and circuses along with way.

Preview video clips of ScrapArtsMusic at OmahaPerformingArts.org.

Tickets are on sale now for ScrapArtsMusic, and all of the performances within the Omaha Performing Arts Presents 2009-2010 season. Tickets may be purchased through Ticket Omaha online at TicketOmaha.com, by phone at (402) 345-0606 or in person at the Ticket Omaha Box Office inside the Holland Center, 13th and Douglas streets. Tickets for ScrapArtsMusic are priced $16-$25.

This presentation is supported by Mid-America Arts Alliance with generous underwriting by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Nebraska Arts Council, and foundations, corporations and individuals throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Omaha Performing Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing world-class performances to the Omaha metropolitan area. The organization manages two landmark venues, the Holland Performing Arts Center and the Orpheum Theater - the former, which includes the acoustically acclaimed Kiewit Concert Hall and Scott RecitAl Hall and the latter, which includes Slosburg Hall, a proscenium theater. Omaha Performing Arts also manages Ticket Omaha, provider of comprehensive ticketing services for arts within the region.

Omaha Performing Arts' commitment to the arts extends into its own series, Omaha Performing Arts Presents, as well as education and community involvement programs that help ensure the arts have a far-reaching impact. In partnership with Broadway Across America, Omaha Performing Arts also brings the finest in touring Broadway productions to Omaha. Omaha Performing Arts performances are supported in part by the Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Omaha and the Douglas County Visitor Improvement Fund.