German born composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, one of the most important composers of the 20th Century, is the focus of the eighth annual Phoenix Experimental Arts Festival (XFest) presented at the Center for the Performing Arts at Paradise Valley Community College Feb. 8-9. This two day festival is spearheaded by the ensemble Crossing 32nd Street. Concerts both nights begin at 7:30p.m. in the Center for the Performing Arts located at Union Hills and 34th St.
Stockhausen emerged as a composer of singular voice in post WWII avant-garde musical movements. His work relied on a detailed approach to the use of electronics and pre-recorded tape and a sophisticated, and often conceptual, use of compositional methods and materials. His compositions range across a spectrum of styles and genres including everything from solo instrumental works, theatrical presentations and even a string quartet staged in multiple helicopters.
“There is no area of modern, experimental composition that Stockhausen has touched and influenced,” says Crossing 32nd Street ensemble member Brett Reed.
The catalog of his compositions is over 300, many of an extended nature either in time or resources. This creates a challenge for a 2-day event in creating and focusing the programming since only a fraction of his work will be performed.
“The festival, in many ways, centers around his work Kontakte , for piano, percussion, and tape. A groundbreaking work that has one of the best tape parts in the history electronic music,” says Reed.
The tape for this work also influenced such varied artists as The Beatles, Yoko Ono, Kraftwerk, and Björk. His influence extended into popular culture with his appearance on the cover of the Beatles’ album Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Kontakte is also the centerpiece of a theatrical work, Originale , also being presented during the festival. The work can be seen as his response to the staged happenings of John Cage and others in the late 1950s. Also focusing on theatrical presentation will be a performance of the percussion sextet, Musik im Bauch (“Music in the Belly.”) In this work the percussionists, as automatons, attack a giant bird-man, viscously removing from him music boxes that play melodies based on the Zodiac.
X-fest will feature some his most well known chamber works in Zyklus for solo percussionist, Refrain for keyboard trio and a lesser known work In Freundschaft for solo saxophone. The performance of In Freundschaft will also feature long-time X-Fest participants CONDER/dance who will be bring a trio of dancers and choreography by Carley Conder to the festival.
Crossing 32nd Street
Named Phoenix’s “Best New Classical Music Ensemble” by the Arizona Republic, Crossing 32nd Street strives to increase the awareness and understanding of modern music through an aggressive commitment to performing relevant contemporary works at the highest level. Performances routinely include the music of the modern masters, including, among others, John Cage, Steve Reich, Louis Andriessen, Iannis Xenakis, Lou Harrison, Terry Riley, John Luther Adams and James Tenney, as well as the exciting new works of emerging composers
Carley Conder
Carley Conder is an Arizona native. She received a B.F.A. in Ballet and an M.F.A. in Modern Dance from the University of Utah . Carley has been a performing member with Arizona companies Semaphor Danceworks, Scorpius Dance Theater, Garner-Gutierrez Dance, Mary Fitzgerald Dance, and Los Angeles based company Keith Johnson/Dancers. She has enjoyed working with such choreographers as Steven Koester, Stephanie Nugent, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, and Ashleigh Leite. Her choreographic work has been commissioned by many academic institutions and companies including University of California – Santa Barbara , Arizona State University, Brigham Young University , University of Utah , University of Texas – Pan American, Snow College , and Ballet Yuma. She is the Grand Prize Winner of the 2000 Palm Desert Choreography Competition, 2006 Professional Winner of the Arizona Choreography Competition, and a 2006 Project Tier Awardee through Regional Dance America . In 2011, Carley was invited to teach at Dance New Amsterdam in NYC as part of the Modern Guest Artist Series. Carley is currently a Faculty Associate at Arizona State University, Adjunct Faculty at Scottsdale Community College and has served as Visiting Faculty at Brigham Young University . Her work has been supported by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Target Arts Grants, City of Tempe and Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction. She and her husband Mike are the proud parents of three children. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of CONDER/dance.
Momentum: Women/Art/Technology
The gallery features artwork by Muriel Magenta, Adriene Jenik, and Mary Neubauer, faculty at Arizona State University. Organized by PVCC faculty Adria Pecora and Nathan Feller, the exhibit draws from an international online database Momentum: Women/Art/Technology which features work by distinguished and emerging women artists, authors, curators, and educators who embrace technology as their mode of expression. The database was created by Magenta in concert with the Institute for Women and Art at Rutgers University and the School of Art at Arizona State University. It has been presented at the 2012 College Art Association conference in Los Angeles and has been featured at celebrated international locations including the Brooklyn Museum and the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York.
Center for the Performing Arts
Paradise Valley Community College
18401 North 32nd Street
Phoenix, AZ 85032
Box Office: 602.787.7738
paradisevalley.edu/cpa