Helga Davis News

2016-17 Programming Expands the Chorus' Pioneering Role as a Powerful Lead Performer, a Bold Commissioner of New Music and a Producer of Innovative Stage Works.

This summer, JACK presents the premiere of Toshiki Okada's Quiet, Comfort, commissioned by Hoi Polloi and directed by Alec Duffy, a duo of singer/performer Helga Davis and choreographer/dancer Ji?i Bartovanec (of the Sasha Waltz Dance Company), the premiere of the play The Animals, by Amina Henry, a new piece by choreographer Biba Bell, the second annual Brooklyn Experimental Song Carnival, curated by Valerie Kuehne, plus several concerts throughout the season.

A range of performances and events from the 2016 NY PHIL BIENNIAL will be made available through live video webcasts, live audio streams, and on-demand video and audio, several in partnership with WQXR's Q2 Music, which will also feature a 24-hour biennial marathon on May 24. Biennial highlights will later be featured on a radio broadcast on WFMT's Relevant Tones with Seth Boustead, and on a release of biennial highlights on the Philharmonic's digital recording series Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic: 2015-16 Season.

Composer Paola Prestini, the Creative and Executive Director of the National Sawdust (NS), announces the initial programming for the non-profit's winter 2016 season in its acclaimed new home -- a $16 million, 13,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art chamber hall in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Composer Paola Prestini, the Creative and Executive Director of the National Sawdust (NS), announces the initial programming for the non-profit's winter 2016 season in its acclaimed new home -- a $16 million, 13,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art chamber hall in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Composer Paola Prestini, the Creative and Executive Director of National Sawdust (NS), today announced programming for the non-profit's inaugural fall season in its new home-a $16 million, 13,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art chamber hall in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The performance and recording venue, designed by Brooklyn-based architecture firm Bureau V in the shell of century-old former sawdust factory, will provide composers and musicians a setting in which they can flourish, and a place where they are given commissioning support, mentoring and other critical resources essential to create, and then share, their work. For audiences-serious fans and casual listeners alike-the venue will be a place to discover genre-spanning music at accessible ticket prices.

February at Symphony Space brings a lively + eclectic trio of music shows in the intimate Leonard Nimoy Thalia: Night Out with Richard Hell, featuring Donald Cumming (lately of The Virgins) on February 12; The Love Show with Helga Davis, a Valentine's Day celebration with boozy benefits on February 13; and the multi-lingual, multi-media grooves of The Shanghai Restoration Project on February 26. Spanning indie rock, R&B, Chinese hip-hop, and much more, these shows embody the imaginative programming that has made Symphony Space a top destination for music on the Upper West Side. Tickets for all events are $25, $20 for those under 30, available at www.symphonyspace.org.

The Brooklyn-based composer Paola Prestini's work has been deemed "radiant [and] amorously evocative" by The New York Times, which has also hailed "her gift for bringing together disparate artists, technicians and other creative professionals to produce cross-disciplinary works greater than the sum of their parts." Her multimedia opera Oceanic Verses perfectly reveals her sensibility as a composer, a creator of multimedia productions, and a wholeheartedly entrepreneurially artist. She commissioned the work through her non-profit company, VisionIntoArt (VIA), whose new label, VIA Records, will release Prestini's music and collaborator Ali Hossaini's visuals as a beautifully designed CD/DVD package on November 18.

VisionIntoArt (VIA), the non-profit company founded by Brooklyn-based composer Paola Prestini, is pleased to announce the launch of a record label, VIA Records, with three inaugural albums this fall. The formation of the label expands upon VIA's already vast body of work, which, over the last ten years, has included commissioning and producing new music by a wide range of artists. VIA Records will help to broaden the canon of new multimedia works through the commissioning and recording of artists on VIA's roster.

VisionIntoArt (VIA), the non-profit company founded by Brooklyn-based composer Paola Prestini, is pleased to announce the launch of a record label, VIA Records, with three inaugural albums this fall. The formation of the label expands upon VIA's already vast body of work, which, over the last ten years, has included commissioning and producing new music by a wide range of artists. VIA Records will help to broaden the canon of new multimedia works through the commissioning and recording of artists on VIA's roster.

Actors by day and Folk-Rock Stars by night.. Eryn Murman and Jason Hite's Band 5j Barrow just became the official Winners of the WNYC's Ultimate Battle of the Boroughs. Hundreds of musical acts entered the competition and 5j Barrow went on to win the Manhattan battle a few months ago at The Greenespace. The final battle was held on Friday, June 27th against the other borough winners and 5j BARROW took the crown to become WNYC's # 1, 2014 Ultimate Battle Winners of NYC!

From today, June 4 to June 8, two iconic New York City institutions join to celebrate an ever evolving medium that was born more than 100 years ago-radio. For this five day festival, WNYC takes-up residence at BAM venues to reimagine some of public radio's most treasured programs as live, contemporary theatrical engagements. Passionate WNYC fans and curious newcomers can revel in their 'love' of favorite radio and podcast hosts at this unprecedented event.

From June 4 to June 8, two iconic New York City institutions join to celebrate an ever evolving medium that was born more than 100 years ago-radio.

This month, the Public Theater will honor composer, musician and songwriter Toshi Reagon with five concerts at Joe's Pub and a special engagement during the Public's annual Under the Radar festival. Reagon will be joined by her band BIGLovely, featuring Judith Casselberry, Adam Widoff, Robert Burke, Fred Cash, Stephanie McKay and Marcelle Davies Lashley.

The 45th anniversary season of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company provided a glimpse into Lar Lubovitch's prolific career as a dance maker, showcasing both well-known and new works. Program B, presented at The Joyce Theater from October 15-20, featured a variety of pieces that emphasize Lubovitch's talent for using several distinctive movement themes to create a wide variety of atmospheres and characters.

Krzysztof Penderecki, acclaimed as Poland's greatest living composers, headlines what promises to be an exciting season at Symphony Space.

On Friday, October 25 (7:30 pm), Krzysztof Penderecki, "Poland's greatest living composer" (The Guardian) graces the stage of Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia for a live event hosted byHelga Davis, contributing host on Q2 Music, WQXR's online station devoted to contemporary classical music. The event is presented as part of Symphony Space's In the Salon series, in partnership with Q2 Music and the Polish Cultural Institute New York, with support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. Tickets are $32; $27 for members, $20 for 30 and under (with valid ID), available through www.symphonyspace.org. The event will be streamed live on Q2 Music at www.wqxr.org/q2music.

Symphony Space, New York's home for innovative and diverse cultural programming on the Upper West Side, celebrates its 35th season of Music programs in 2013-14 with a stellar array of artists in imaginative, thought-provoking presentations. Curated by Artistic Director Laura Kaminsky, the offerings range from marathon celebrations to intimate recitals, encompassing a rich variety of musical styles. Highlights include a visit from Krzysztof Penderecki, October 25; the fifth THE MUSIC OF NOW MARATHON, with the dream-inspired theme of 'REM: Rapid Ear Movement,' February 1; and appearances by Dar Williams, Tom Paxton, Christine Lavin, and other icons of folk/acoustic music. Capping the season is SLEEPING AROUND, a multidisciplinary festival celebrating the culture, history, art, scene, and scandal of New York's most famous hotels, highlighted by WALL TO WALL SLEEPING AROUND on May 3.

Salvage Vanguard Theater presents the regional premiere of Jomama Jones: RADIATE beginning today, July 5th, 2013. Conceived by award-winning interdisciplinary artist Daniel Alexander Jones with composer Bobby Halvorson, Jomama Jones: RADIATE is part concert, part revival - featuring the triumphant return of legendary expatriate performer Jomama Jones. A mythical R&B diva who left the United States after a string of hits in the 1980s, Jomama Jones returns from the darkness as a lone star with a singular purpose - to awaken the comeback in us all, through her music and live performance.