Composer/keyboardist/producer Elodie Lauten creates operas, music for dance and theatre, orchestral, chamber and instrumental music. Not a household name, she is however widely recognized by historians as a leading figure of post-minimalism and a force on the new music scene, with 20 releases on a number of labels.
Her opera Waking in New York, Portrait of Allen Ginsberg was presented by the New York City Opera (2004 VOX and Friends) in May 2004, after being released on 4Tay, following three well-received productions. OrfReo, a new opera for Baroque ensemble was premiered at Merkin Hall by the Queen's Chamber Band, whose New Music Alive CD (released on Capstone in 2004) includes Lauten's The Architect. The Orfreo CD was released in December 2004 on Studio 21. In September 2004 Lauten was composer-in-residence at Hope College, MI. Lauten's Symphony 2001, was premiered in February 2003 by the SEM Orchestra in New York. In 1999, Lauten's Deus ex Machina Cycle for voices and Baroque ensemble (4Tay) received strong critical acclaim in the US and Europe. Lauten's Variations On The Orange Cycle (Lovely Music, 1998) was included in Chamber Music America's list of 100 best works of the 20th century.
Born in Paris, France, she was classically trained as a pianist since age 7. She received a Master's in composition from New York University where she studied Western composition with Dinu Ghezzo and Indian classical music with Ahkmal Parwez. Daughter of jazz pianist/drummer Errol Parker, she is also a fluent improviser. She became an American citizen in 1984 and has lived in New York since the early seventies
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Monday, October 31, 2005
Composing with data: a new form of art
The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council is presenting: New Data - a digital media arts exhibition (November 17, 2005 - January 7, 2006) at 15 Nassau Street @ Pine St. NYC, with free Saturday special events from 3 to 5 pm.
November 19: David Stout / Robert Lisek
December 3: Zoe Beloff / Jillian McDonald
December 10: Marc Lafia / Terry Nauheim
David Stout a video artist, composer and performer who creates computer systems that create the piece in a dynamic relationship. Zoe Beloff works with film, stereoscopic projection, performance, interactive media and installation.Jillian Mcdonald, from Winnipeg, uses film clips, images, animation, and sound. Marc Lafia's does multi-screen video compositions. Terry Nauheim explores another artist's hand movements with video and audio machinery. Some of these artists were in residence at Harvestworks, the locus of experimental media in New York. Note that all these pieces have a sound component, but it is integrated with other media in as many ways as there are creators.
posted by Elodie Lauten
3:33 PM
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Get poor and survive trying
An accidental channel switch on the television brought me face to face with the new hot media phenomenon, a film titled Get rich or die trying, a success story about a rapper whose name reads like currency. This is an example of how people can buy into the success = cash (obtained by any means including crime) equation. Only a great level of struggle and frustration can bring people to that state of denial of right and wrong. I can understand how a ghetto kid faced with no alternative to a life of crime would embrace rap music as a propeller – but let’s get some things straight: it is not a means of salvation. The attitude expressed is based on greed, anger and machismo. It is undeniable that rap serves as a social equalizer, but if the standard of success is to be measured only in terms of sales, there is not much hope for music as a consciousness-raising tool. In fact, this kind of music is by nature a consciousness-lowering tool. It brings you to a place where all values are rejected but for the almighty dollar. I remember a group named The Last Poets, way back when, who originated the rap form, with literary panache and sensitivity. Langston Hughes expresses struggle in his uniquely artful and compassionate style. We have to separate the grain from the shaft.
My philosophy is just the opposite: forget about getting rich and try to survive with consciousness-raising creativity. This approach may seem out of sync with capitalism, but it has its benefits, i.e. after a number of years I can live with myself. I don’t know how what’s his face will feel about himself in a few years once the buzz is over.
posted by Elodie Lauten
9:40 AM
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