Photo credit: Lisa-Maria Mazzucco
Simone Dinnerstein
Give Chance a Piece
Composers, by the very nature of their art of music-making, leave little to nothing “to chance”—randomness and unpredictability. Their musical notations can be open to interpretation, of course, and conductors vary in their degrees of flexibility and openness to personal interpretation. Present Music explores the unknown and unpredictable nature of sound, however, in four concerts of seven pieces of music given in four distinct venues. Indeed, the nature of the venues, themselves, will create changes in the pieces performed.
Compositions include Henry Cowell’s plucked-piano-strings piece, The Banshee; Shab o Meh (Night and Fog) by Sahba Aminikia—a narrative of waking from a violent, life-altering encounter; and Pauline Oliveros’ Sounds from Childhood, which asks the audience what sounds they made as children—the latter then becoming part of the performance piece, itself. (John Jahn)
Thursday, Feb. 22, at Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts; Friday, Feb. 23, at both the Women’s Club of Wisconsin and John Shannon and Jan Serr’s historic East Side mansion; and Saturday, Feb. 24, at Tim and Sue Frautschi’s Third Ward loft. For tickets and more information about specific performances and venues, call 414-271-0711 or visit presentmusic.org.
Hyperlocal #16: Volunteer
When life permits, a fairly ad hoc group of professional local musicians, dancers and some of their best and bravest students gather at different local sites and improvise for upwards of an hour without interruption. They’re cued by a word, which each performer interprets (in this case, “volunteer”), by the physical and social environment (in this case, the back room of Colectivo on Prospect Avenue), by their individual imaginations and, above all, by one another. The musicians often move among the dancers, not so much accompanying as responding.
Artistic leader and co-founder Maria Gillespie explained why she chose “volunteer” for the 16th Hyperlocal performance: “I’m interested in exploring themes that concern art practices as community building. Hyperlocal is not a platform for commercial or capital gain. All the artists volunteer their time. We each think about, move and sound through what it means to give our self over to an idea and to offer a new idea into a system.” The musicians this time are Andy Miller, Pat Reinholz, Olivia Valenza, Barry Paul Clark, Tally Moss and David Collins. The dancers are Maria Gillespie, Joelle Worm, Maggie Seer, Andrea Burkholder, Amanda Laabs, Kelsey Lee, Annie Peterson and Katelyn Altmann.
Sunday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m. in the Backroom at Colectivo, 2211 N. Prospect Ave. Suggested donation: $5 students, $10 adults. Visit hyperlocalmke.com.
MORE-TO-DO
Simone Dinnerstein, Classical Pianist
New York-based pianist Simone Dinnerstein will be appearing at Carthage College in a solo piano recital of classical piano works TBA. Carthage College’s Mike Moore describes her as being “a particularly good get” for the school. She appears as part of the college’s 2018 Lakeside Piano Festival which features highly regarded pianists from around the country. Thursday, Feb. 22 in the A.F. Siebert Chapel, 2001 Alford Park Drive, Kenosha. For tickets, call 262-551-6661 or visit carthage.edu/tickets.
Dave Bayles Quartet
Dave Bayles launched his career as a professional musician—a jazz drummer—more than three decades ago, performing six nights a week in Downtown Milwaukee. Bayles’ musical style has been described as one “that blends the physicality of Art Blakey and the melodic sensibility of Max Roach,” and as someone who “moves easily from Big Band to more intimate ensembles.” Friday, Feb. 23, at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, 19805 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield. For tickets, call 262-781-9520 or visit wilson-center.com.