D'Arcy Reynolds is a well known composer on the West Coast where her compositions have been premiered at numerous concert halls and music festivals. In recognition for her outstanding work D'Arcy has won several grants from such prestigious organizations as the American Composers Forum, the American Music Center and Meet the Composer.
She has written works for Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Chorus, Chamber Ensemble, Voice and Piano. She has completed three song cycles for soprano and chamber ensemble (The Past Keeps Changing, Beyond Dreaming, and Listening to Winter), all of which have been written in collaboration with living poets. Recent premieres include Cloven Dreams, performed by Tessa Brinckman & the East/West Continuo in Portland, Oregon, Elegy by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, 21 for piano, and The Past Keeps Changing, performed at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
In addition to her work as a composer and pianist, D’Arcy Reynolds is the founding Director of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the American Composers Forum. The Chapter became an important arts organization for artists throughout Northern California, and as Director of the San Francisco Chapter, Ms. Reynolds developed an innovative Composer in the Schools Program, held salons with new works by Northern California Composers and administered interdisciplinary granting programs with composers, poets and choreographers.
She received a 2004 Meet the Composer Global Connections grant and is traveling to South Africa where the Sontonga String Quartet will perform her string quartet Cloven Dreams at the University of Cape Town.
|
|
|
|
|
Saturday, April 09, 2005
2 April Township Tour
The township tour was led by Nathi. He is a township resident, and gave an excellent and moving tour of the District 6 museum, District 6, and a few townships near Cape Town. The first photo shows a street map of District 6 that has been signed by the residents - it covers a good part of the first floor of the museum. Residents have contributed photos, street signs, memorabilia, letters, and stories to the museum. Nathi said that the viewpoint they have is to forgive, but not to forget the atrocities of the apartheid government.
In school, the township children are taught in English, but Lhosa is spoken at home, so most children are not bilingual. There are some good programs being created by the township communities. In Langa, there is a new community center where residents are taught trades, and the products such as pottery, sculpture, and musical instruments are sold. The music program at Langa includes piano, guitar, and traditional African music. Henry Lenares showed me the storage room that is filled with African percussion instruments and guitars. Every Saturday, the music teachers work with the children, and they are encouraged to come to the center on weekdays to practice.
posted by D'Arcy Reynolds
9:33 AM
| |
