THE LAB: 2011, A Year in Art (VIDEO)
Posted on 21. Dec, 2011 by danikadruttman in Arts, Hotel, LAB Gallery, the LAB
Thank you to John Birdsong, for summing up another SUPERB year for us here at THE LAB.
Warmest wishes from us on the corner of 47th and Lex,
Matt and Danika
THE LAB
[a roger smith collaboration]
501 Lexington Ave NYC (map)
212.339.2092
email address
www.thelabgallery.com
www.rogersmithlife.com
Music: Classical Guitar Concert with Jerome Mouffe January 8th, 2012
Posted on 21. Dec, 2011 by danikadruttman in Arts, Events, Hotel
Jerome Mouffe January 8th 2012, 4pm
Jerome Mouffe is a virtuoso guitarist from Belgium who has dazzled international audiences with his passionate and spontaneous playing. Jerome has toured extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the Unites States and Western Europe. He released his debut CD, Capriccio, in 2009 on the VGo Recordings label. The album features early nineteenth century virtuoso Italian music. Jerome has a Masters Degree from the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles in Belgium and a Postgraduate Diploma at the Universitat Mozarteum Salzburg, in Austria. He is currently a doctorate candidate at the New England Conservatory in Boston, under the direction of Eliot Fisk.
The Solarium at The Roger Smith Hotel
501 Lexington Ave, at 47th Street, New York NY 10017
Cross Street: 47th Street and Lexington Avenue
Subway: E, 6, V to 53rd and Lexington or 4, 5, 6, 7 to Grand Central
Tickets: $15 (paid at door, cash only)
Reservations: call 212.339.2092 or email rogersmitharts@rogersmith.com
Find more information about the series HERE
The series is co-sponsored by the New York City Classical Guitar Society.
REVIEW: Art critic Jonathan Goodman on The LAB’s Summer 2011 Show ‘Projected Drawings’ by Helen Dennis
Posted on 30. Nov, 2011 by danikadruttman in Arts, Community, Hotel
Helen Dennis at The LAB
Educated both in England and America, Helen Dennis has decided to stay on the States, where she appreciates the openness of the art world she participates in. Part of this freedom has to do with the styles and themes the artist has chosen–Dennis works figuratively, primarily describing architecture and outdoor street life in white on black drawings; she takes numerous snapshot photos of her chosen site, then projecting them onto black paper and painting or drawing the images according to her photographic guide. For the current project at The LAB (on through September 2nd), Dennis has used the corner gallery space as an ongoing experimental site, rendering the roads—47th Street and Lexington Avenue—and their buildings, which have been projected from numerous photographic snapshots fitted together. As a result, her stay at the gallery means several things at once: a chance to see someone work on a big picture, the ability to see the work develop over time, and the opportunity to consider the relations between the rendered image and the actual visual cues that inspired it.
Dennis, who is at great pains to be precise and accurate in her vision, has been using markers filled with reflective silver paint, which is applied to black paper put up on the wall; the work’s presence at night is spectacular, animated by a spectral glow that is never diffuse because of the right-angled architectural features she is presenting to her audience. The results are wonderfully visual: the iridescence of the silver results nearly in an image that looks like it is electrically lit! Of course, that isn’t Dennis’s point, which is instead oriented toward a poetic re-presentation of the city, at a site whose coordinates match those of the streets immediate outside it. Dennis, whose activities and friendships are truly international in their implications, shows us just how urban—and urbane—we have become in New York, one of the great art capitals of the world. Although the blocks framing the gallery do not stand out to the casual passerby, it is clear that the artist is using them as a reference to the seen reality of a city street, whose rhythm and building supports both are captured by Dennis’s skillful renderings. And it is a wonderful thing to be able to track imagined realism with the actual objects themselves, however close or loose relations might be between the two.
Two of the four walls consist of glass windows, allowing a casual viewer passing by outside to gauge the two other walls, which Dennis has covered with black paper. She has complete command of perspective, given the sharp angles of the buildings and streets she presents by using the markers. Rows of windows are caught, and their angled parallelograms are filled in, leaving a very bright impression of a façade; other urban details are paid attention too: streetlamps, one-way traffic signs, and, a favorite object of Dennis’s, bicycles. In a way, it would be easy to view Dennis’s journey as an impressionistic attempt to give the city its due, but my feeling is that she is offering more than a map of New York. It has something to do with the ambience of the city, an unspoken presence that is captured by Dennis’s playing close attention to detail—for example, on the second wall, there is a door leading to the hotel space the gallery is part of; Dennis has accommodated its access by drawing carefully across, to the point where the outline of the door is difficult to see. Dennis, a gifted craftsperson, also knows how New Yorkers are often emotional, even triumphalist about the experience of their city. As someone coming from England, she keeps her affection for New York in practical restraint, even as she makes it clear that she too loves the everyday experience of America’s great metropolis.
By Jonathan Goodman
The LAB (for installation + performance art) is a New York based, converted storefront producing fast paced performance art and site-specific installations. Viewable exclusively from the sidewalk and aimed at the furious midtown foot traffic, The LAB’s exhibitions seek to throw a moment of uncertainty into the predictable monotony of the midtown shuffle, forcing an interaction between the high energy, “outrospective” work it produces and the nearly 25,000 daily passersby. The LAB is located on the North East corner of 47th and Lex and is a Roger Smith Collaboration
For more information about The LAB CLICK HERE
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ART: December at The LAB, Fantastic Lonely Heart 12.2.11-1.6.12
Posted on 30. Nov, 2011 by danikadruttman in Arts, LAB Gallery
Fantastic Lonely Heart
Installation by Hyong Nam Ahn Curator: Soojung Hyun December 2nd-January 6th 2012
The LAB (for installation + performance art) is pleased to present Fantastic Lonely Heart, a light based installation by the Korean artist Hyong Nam Ahn.
Ahn uses “the magical and transcendent” qualities of neon light as a way of exposing the arduous aspects of the human condition; much like the great Spanish philosopher Ortega Y Gasset did in the 1920′s writing on the conflicts intrinsic to modernity and the impact of industrialization’s rapid spread, specifically regarding the increasing disappearance of human values. Despite being separated by both decades and continents, the importance of maintaining an equal balance between spiritual and material realities is a philosophy shared by both the spaniard and this sculptor here.
Video: Studio Visit with Hyong Nam Ahn
This exhibition was made possible in part by the support of the AHL Foundation.
Hyong Nam Ahn has lived and worked in the United States since 1973. He holds an MFA (1980) in Sculpture with Kinetics and a BFA (1978) in Painting & Experimental Art from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has worked in the fields of sculpture, installation, and public art installation.He earned Illinois Project Completion Grant (1982), Wiebolt Artist Contest, Gold Key Award Scholastic National Drawing Contest, First Prize Award (1974). He has shown in many solo and group exhibitions in Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Tweed Museum; MN, Jamaica Cultural Center in New York, and IHN Gallery (Korea). website
The AHL Foundation is a non-profit organization formed in 2003 by Sook Nyu Lee Kim to support Korean artists living in the United States and to promote exposure of their work in today’s highly competitive contemporary art world. In 2004, the foundation established an annual competition that is open to all artists of Korean ancestry living in the United States. AHL awards four monetary prizes each year and has been mounting bi-annual exhibitions to display the winning works. Since 2008, AHL has advanced to an annual exhibition, and this year, 2010, AHL has expanded its awards to honor five artists, thus broadening their scope of diversity and opportunity. website
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MUSIC: Fourth Sundays Chamber Music Concert, Violin/Violin with the Talea Ensemble, November 27th 2011
Posted on 16. Nov, 2011 by danikadruttman in Arts, Chamber Music Series
Violin/Violin
With The Talea Ensemble
November 27th 2011
4pm
Luciano Berio: Duetti (selections)
Béla Bartók: Duets (selections)
Larry Polansky: #4 (heterophony) from four doods (@ $6.25)
Luigi Nono: “Hay que caminar” soñando
Once a month, the Talea Ensemble curates The Fourth Sundays Chamber Music Concert in The Penthouse at The Roger Smith Hotel. The series aims to promote the accessibility of contemporary classical music; each concert focuses on one single piece by dissecting its inner-workings, while considering the external factors of its conception and existence. The concerts are interactive in that the audience is considered an equal participant in the performance; they are encouraged to ask questions and participate in discussions after the music is performed. The reception immediately following serves as a platform for discussion of the work among people of all ages and backgrounds.
Roger Smith Arts is a multi-disciplinary arts-production company providing cultural entertainment as a way to promote dialogue within and between the leading disciplines of the New York and global art worlds. The company’s mission is to establish itself as a pre-eminent and sought-after cultural institution to the city of New York. Recognizing dialogue as the backbone of any cultural organization, RSA embraces variety as a means to foster the exchange of creative ideas. RSA produces concerts, readings, performances, installations, and lectures, all with leading creative intellectuals.
For further information please call 212.339.2092 or rogersmitharts@rogersmith.com
***
QUICK INFORMATION
The Fourth Sundays Chamber Music Series with the Talea Ensemble
Presented by Roger Smith Arts
The Penthouse at The Roger Smith Hotel
501 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017, 47th and Lexington (Map)
Subway: E, 6, V to 53rd and Lexington or 4, 5, 6, 7 to Grand Central
Sunday November 27th at 4pm
Price: $15 includes wine (pay at door, cash only)
Reservations: 212-339-2092 or rogersmitharts@rogersmith.com
The Roger Smith is a hub for social media in #NYC. People. Art. Food. Wine. For 10% off our best available rooms rate: bit.ly/RSrooms
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fb: facebook.com/rogersmithhotel
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web: rogersmith.com/
At The LAB Gallery: PROJECT 101′ A Video Installation by AMBruno, November 4-25th 2011
Posted on 31. Oct, 2011 by danikadruttman in LAB Gallery
The London based group of artists, AMBruno, presents an installation of 101 individual film works by 40 artists. All the pieces are silent and of exactly 101 seconds (1′ 41″) duration, these will be screened at The LAB on an array of monitors positioned throughout the space.
Working in various disciplines the members of AMBruno were brought together by ‘their wish to extend beyond their particular discipline, be it painting, photography, video, performance or sculpture’. Initially this exploration focused on the medium of artists’ books; a number of which are now in private and major public collections, including those of the Tate and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
AMBruno‘s commitment to experimentation led the members to take their work beyond the material temporality of the book, into that of the moving image. It was proposed that each member develop a screen work with the single formal constraint of 101 seconds duration; being more than a clip but less than a short.
Watch The Interview
Teaser by John Birdsong
Twenty-three pieces were shown at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds in March 2010. The success of this has encouraged the group to expand the project by inviting an open international submission for new works, made to the same time specification. In order to truly represent the formidable variety and quality of proposed pieces 101 works have been selected. These films have been produced with a wide range of technical means, from mobile phones to high-definition video. Forms include animation, live action, sequential stills, written text and computer-generated image.
101 was initiated by Sophie Loss. The project was developed and co-ordinated by Sophie Loss and John McDowall. Additional supervision by Joanna Hill with the help of Judy Goldhill, Claire Deniau and Steve Perfect.
PROJECT 101
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Charlotte Andrews John Archer Louise Atkinson Joseph Cutts Sara Dell’Onze Claire Deniau Manya Donaque Georgia Elizey and Tim Riley Warren Garland Clara Glyn Tim Goffe Judy Goldhill Joanna Greenhill Jane Grisewood Joanna Hill Lilian Igbinosun Ingrid Jenson Carl Jaycock Kurt Johannessen Paul Jones Sean Kaye and Jenny West Noe Kidder Sharon Kivland Ron Lapid Philip Lee Simon Lewandowski Toby Lloyd Sophie Loss John McDowall Katherine Melancom Steve Perfect Veronica Perez Karleson Christina Reading Lucy Reynolds Rekha Sameer Carl Slater Chris Taylor Susan Trangmar Cally Trench Helen Wood
The Roger Smith is a hub for social media in #NYC. People. Art. Food. Wine. For 10% off our best available rooms rate: bit.ly/RSrooms
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Falling For Fall (In NYC) by Phoebe Knowles
Posted on 14. Oct, 2011 by Birdsong in Community, Hotel
I love the fall! Sweaters come out, knee-high boots too, apple cider and pumpkin flavored items hit menus city-wide from Starbucks lattes to seasonal pancakes to freshly made pumpkin ravioli…YUM! In New York, post summer, the wheels of the city start turning again…groups reconvene (book groups, networking groups, sports teams) and things start to happen.
Here are a few things that I’m looking forward to in October….
The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (In it to End It) on the weekend of October 15th and 16th is a great way to see the City and be part of the critical fight against breast cancer. The walking route takes you from the starting point on Pier 84, where they have opening ceremonies on Saturday morning as you watch the sun come up over the Hudson River, then around Manhattan, eventually arriving at Randall’s Island (where the Wellness Village is and where people can choose to spend the night)…and then back again. (www.avonwalk.org/new-york/ )
Of course, being a Yankees fan means that post-season baseball is always great! Here’s how it works…there are two leagues in Major League Baseball; the American League and National League. The best teams of each league (plus coveted Wild Card positions…which are still very much up for grabs) go to the Playoffs and ultimately get a shot at facing each other in the World Series. The Yanks have secured a playoff spot!! So, October in New York will have that extra electricity and excitement while our team defends its reputation of amazingness. Any bar with a TV will be showing the games. Feel the buzz!
It was a good September here in NY…The 10 day-long Craft Beer Festival was a highlight…cruising the City with a beer passport, seeking out participating bars and locales that normally would not have hit my radar…trying strange (and often wonderful) flavors of beer – reminding me of my college days when my friends from the Biology Department at Brown used to brew beer in their basement just off campus and we’d test their newest concoctions…banana flavored beer stands out in my memory (!?). With the onset of October, the Craft Beer Festival is over…but, all is not lost…I’ve recently discovered a grrrreat bar that serves American craft beers year-round called The Pony Bar (45th and 10th Ave – www.theponybar.com ).
No pony unfortunately (though they do have a beautiful wooden canoe suspended from the ceiling…)…but the beer menu is fantastic in its own right (new brews become available over the course of an evening, a huge wall menu with sliding slats shows what is on tap at any given moment – a bell rings whenever a new one is added…) with titles like Haystack Blonde and Caddy Wompus. All beer is priced at $5.00…and, as odd as it sounds, I thoroughly recommend that you order the fried green beans to go with your craft beer. Unexpected and delicioso. If you are seeking something more Germanic and Octoberfesty, I would recommend the new Bierhaus (712 3rd Avenue between 44th and 45th – www.bierhausnyc.com ) – they have live German beer garden-type music in honor of October Fest and a great pretzel & sausage menu for the occasion. Waitresses wear dirndls and the beer is tasty.
October also kicks off the classical music season in the City. There is such an expansive offering of groups and styles and concert venues that, for the classical music enthusiast, there really is something for everyone. The vocal area network (www.van.org) shows choral concerts that are scheduled to take place in the City throughout the year. I, myself, am looking forward to Musica Sacra’s performance of Rachmaninoff Vespers on October 12th. Even if you are not a huge choral music fan, if you find yourself in Midtown, on or near 5th Avenue in the early evening (post shopping, on your way home from Central Park, etc.) step into St Thomas’ Church (5th Avenue and 53rd Street – www.saintthomaschurch.org) at 5:30 to see the men and boys choir sing evensong. This church has a boys choir school attached to it (think Westminster Boys Choir) and part of their daily activity is to sing during an afternoon service. Sit up front if you can…Fun (and frankly impressive!) to see the little guys sing up close.
While Charlie Sheen has been self destructing before the world’s eyes, his father and brother have been working on a movie together called The Way (www.theway-themovie.com) which is filmed almost entirely on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. Now…I happen to be a huge West Wing fan…and I grew up with the Brat Pack (Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, etc.) so am particularly excited about the Martin Sheen-Emilio Estevez creative team. The trailer reveals some breathtaking footage of this stunning part of the world (another obvious plus for the film). Story line…well…there is a sort of tragic father-son situation played out by Sheen and Estevez and the cathartic spiritual process that takes place along the age-old pilgrimage route, traversing the French and Spanish Pyrenees, culminating in Galicia’s Santiago de Compostela. The movie opens on October 7th. I’ll certainly be checking it out!
In NY we LOVE Halloween. The fall farmers market at Union Square (www.grownyc.org/unionsquaregreenmarket) explodes with pumpkins of all sizes (incidentally, great for carving jack-o-lanterns) and those outrageous gourds that are shaped like goose necks or UFOs and come in the most exotic color/pattern combinations, spotted, striped, and beautiful. Costume pop-up shops can be found throughout the City as well throughout the month of October (examples: Ricky’s at 14th and 5th and Spirit Halloween on 6th Avenue between 25th & 26th Streets…). Lines get pretty crazy the closer you get the big day so think through your costume options early and plan ahead! If you happen to be in town on October 31, the Halloween parade is a must see…and actually – it’s open to anyone who dares to participate…so get your face paint, your costume/gear (and your camera!!) and head downtown!
Here are the details:
Date: October 31, 2011
Time: The actual parade is from 7 – 10 PM (If you want to walk in the parade, arrive at Spring Street and 6th Avenue between 6:30 and 8:00 PM)
Location: The parade begins at 6th Avenue and Spring Street and goes up to 6th Avenue and 23rd Street
Other useful info: Gets crowded! Might get chilly…It’s a busy night for bars and restaurants – might be a good idea to make reservations if you’re with a group in the area of the parade.
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A Staged Production of Barry Gifford’s HOTEL ROOM TRILOGY at the Roger Smith Hotel
Posted on 13. Oct, 2011 by danikadruttman in Art at Roger Smith, Arts, Events, Hotel
PURCHASE TICKETS
MONK PARROTS, OPEN CHANNEL CREATIONS & ROGER SMITH ARTS present HOTEL ROOM TRILOGY by BARRY GIFFORD production concept and direction by GREG SKURA: A THREE-PART EXPERIENCE: TRICKS STARR* BLACKOUT
*World premiere, adapted from Mr. Gifford’s short story ROOM 584, THE STARR HOTEL, from his book AMERICAN FALLS
PERFORMANCE DATES
OCTOBER 27,28,29 2011
at
The Roger Smith Hotel
501 Lexington Avenue, New York NY
HOTEL ROOM TRILOGY is a trio of one-act plays that take place in a New York City hotel room across different periods in recent history. The event will take place in a room at the hotel and include an audience of only 10 for each performance, creating an intimate, voyeuristic experience of mood and menace for those who “check in” for the 75 minute experience.
The first of the trilogy, “TRICKS”, set in 1969, is a study in identity and psycho-sexual tension that features art-horror film star Larry Fessenden, Rob Sheridan, and Megan McQuillan. “STARR”, set in the present, is a world premiere adaptation of Mr. Gifford’s short story “Room 584, The Starr Hotel” from his book American Falls, and features Darrell Larson as a man on the run from the law, and, himself. “BLACKOUT”, a quiet, magical story set in candlelight during a blackout in New York City in 1936, features Luke Leonard and Tilly Scott. Overseeing the action as the hotel’s Bellboy and Maid are Joey LePage and Keely Hunt, respectively.
Greg Skura is responsible for the production concept and directs.
BARRY GIFFORD’s fiction, non-fiction and poetry have been published in twenty-eight languages. He has been the recipient of awards from PEN, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Library Association, the Writers Guild of America, and the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. His books Sailor’s Holiday and The Phantom Father were each named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times, and his book Wyoming was named a Novel of the Year by the Los Angeles Times. His film credits include Wild at Heart, Perdita Durango, Lost Highway, City of Ghosts, Ball Lightning and The Phantom Father. Barry Gifford’s most recent books are Sailor & Lula: The Complete Novels and Sad Stories of the Death of Kings. For more information visit www.BarryGifford.com.
MONK PARROTS, INC. is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit performing arts organization founded in New York City that encourages creative approaches to theatre-making and builds repertory performance works that cross artistic boundaries. www.monkparrots.org
OPEN CHANNEL CREATIONS, LLC provides artists a platform to exercise unfiltered creative expression. www.openchannelcreations.com
ROGER SMITH ARTS is a multi-disciplinary arts production company providing cultural entertainment as a way to promote dialogue within and between the leading disciplines of the New York and global art worlds. The company’s mission is to establish itself as a pre-eminent and sought after cultural institution to the city of New York. www.rogersmithlife.com
For more info, including tickets and show times, visit www.hrt-nyc.com or call 212.229.8042.
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The LAB: ‘Apology’ by Kata Mejia October 7-28, 2011
Posted on 29. Sep, 2011 by danikadruttman in Art at Roger Smith, Arts, Events, Hotel, LAB Gallery, the LAB
‘APOLOGY’ PERFORMANCE INSTALLATION BY KATA MEJIA OCTOBER 7-28, 2011 501 LEX AT 47TH ST
We are pleased to announce Kata Mejia’s fifth show at The LAB (for installation + performance art). APOLOGY, a performance installation, questions the meaning, effects and repercussions of both asking for, and being asked for forgiveness.
Through physical actions that transcend the spoken, written and felt qualities of an apology, the performance installation will focus on the idea that an apology cannot repair damage. “Receiving an apology may at times even cause a feeling of emptiness within those wronged.” explains Mejia.
The artist will use her body to paint the gallery floor. Using a paint soaked thread to create winding, meandering traces in an abstract oval shape, she will use only her feet to pull her proned body and the thread backwards through the space. Mejia’s struggle to complete the action will reference the idea that an apology is a difficult journey for those who receive it as well as a weight laden with guilt for those who offer it. Furthermore, as the artist moves throughout the space the lines on the floor will build up causing past lines to become less intense and less significant, reflecting the way memory and possibly pain diminish with time.
Performances will take place October 6th and 7th, 6-8pm. The installation will be on view October 7-28th.
Kata Mejia is a performance artist with a background in painting and dance who lives and works in Philadelphia. She graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Masters degree in Performance in 2004. She received her BFA from Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Medellin. She has been awarded several grants and scholarships, including the James Nelson Raymond Fellowship in 2004, the Trustee Scholarship from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, a Colombian Government Scholarship for Graduate Studies abroad, and a Graduate Studies Scholarship from Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 2002. Kata Mejía received a 2009 Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.Kata Mejia website
The LAB (for installation + performance art) is a New York based, converted storefront turned fishbowl producing 20+ fast paced performance art and installation exhibitions annually. Aimed at the furious midtown foot traffic, The LAB’s programming is designed to confront modern relationships between art and audience and seeks to force an interaction between the high energy, “outrospective” exhibitions it produces and the nearly 25,000 daily passersby. The LAB is located on the North East corner of 47th and Lex and is a Roger Smith Collaboration. The LAB Gallery website
For further information contact Danika Druttman on 212.339.2092 or email rogersmitharts@rogersmith.com
The Roger Smith is a hub for social media in #NYC. People. Art. Food. Wine. For 10% off our best available rooms rate: bit.ly/RSrooms
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October 9th 2011: Second Sundays Guitar Concert, Performance by 350 Duo
Posted on 26. Sep, 2011 by danikadruttman in Art at Roger Smith, Arts, Events
Sunday October 9th, 4pm
The Solarium at The Roger Smith Hotel
501 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
10017, 47th and Lexington map
Subway: E, 6, V to 53rd and Lexington
or 4, 5, 6, 7 to Grand Central
Price: $15 includes Wine (pay at door, cash only)
Reservations: 212.339.2092 or send us an email
Threefifty Duo has been described as “a classical guitar duo with a rock edge,” as guitarists Brett Parnell and Geremy Schulick seamlessly weave their contemporary rock sensibilities into the rich fabric of classical guitar. After years of writing and performing together and with a second album under Threefifty’s belt, the duo’s stylistic tendencies have further expanded, with genre blurred by an intensely personal sound that is rhythmic, infectious, engaging, and at once both new and accessible.
Formed in the halls of The Yale School of Music, taught by renowned classical guitarist Benjamin Verdery, and molded by the multi-faceted music scene of their hometown New York City, Threefifty Duo has gone on to play in a diverse array of venues and festivals, from concert halls to rock clubs. Highlights include SXSW, The 92nd Street Y, The New York Guitar Festival, Southpaw, Pianos, The Monkey, Wittenberg University, Sarajevo’s Dom Armije, Genghis Cohen, Connecticut Guitar Society, and California State University at Long Beach, where choreography was set to their music. Recent projects have also included a collaboration with video artist Jennifer Stock. In the fall of 2010 Threefifty Duo set off for a three-week tour of the UK, where they played as part of CMEAS’ Fall UK Tour and the Lancaster Music Festival.
Their self-titled debut album marked the duo as innovators in classical guitar programming, moving effortlessly between the compositions of their classical heroes, contemporary counterparts, and their own creations. While the album captured the verve and enthusiasm of a well-practiced and polished duo, it is Threefifty’s sophomore effort, “Circles,” that presents the listener with a volume of all original compositions and a full emergence of the duo’s distinctive voice, highlighted by Dominic Frasca’s sumptuous production.
Threefifty Duo has been featured on WNYC’s “New Sounds” with John Schaefer and Premier Guitar magazine’s website, and has received critical acclaim from Time Out NY, Guitar Edge Magazine, Vintage Guitar Magazine, Classical Guitar News, Minor 7th, Lancashire Life, and the UK’s Classical Guitar Magazine, who wrote of it: “Brilliant! … each track is an attention-grabbing item and throughout there are no low-points. The style is difficult to describe: performing on classical guitars and steel-stringed guitar, Circles is an amalgamation of classical/rock/folk; sometimes romantic, sometimes thrillingly energetic, but at all times spell-binding. Loved every second of it and will play it time and again.”
Roger Smith Arts is a multi-disciplinary arts production company providing cultural entertainment as a way to promote dialogue within and between the leading disciplines of the New York and global art worlds. The company’s mission is to establish itself as a pre-eminent and sought after cultural institution to the city of New York. Recognizing dialogue as the backbone of any cultural organization, RSA embraces variety as a means to foster the exchange of creative ideas. RSA produces performance art and site specific installation exhibits, jazz and acoustic singer/songwriter concerts, poetry readings, chamber music concerts, and ongoing speaker series, all with leading creative intellectuals of their various fields.
The series is co-sponsored by the New York City Classical Guitar Society.
The mission of the New York City Classical Guitar Society is to provide a framework for the shared enjoyment and exploration of the classical guitar in New York City, and to promote awareness and appreciation of its heritage and influence across musical genres, bringing together performers, composers, supporting members of the guitar community, and the listening public in ways that enrich the experience of all.nyccgs.com
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