ARTICLE | The beginner's guide to Philip Glass

Often regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the twenty-first century, American composer Philip Glass is best-known for his minimalist compositions.

He is a minimalist composer

Minimal music is a modern style of classical music, developed in the early 1960s by the likes of Glass and his contemporaries, Steve Reich and Terry Riley. The minimalist music genre is best categorized by its use of repetitive sounds over long periods, which has a hypnotic, meditative feel. Although his works can be described as minimalist, Glass prefers to describe himself as a composer of ‘music with repetitive structures.’

The hypnotic structures of Indian music inspired many of his works

In the mid-1960s, Glass met Indian musician Ravi Shankar (the man who introduced The Beatles’ George Harrison to psychedelic music). Hired as an assistant, it was Glass’s job to transcribe Shankar’s music in a way that western musicians could play. At the time, Indian music was unfamiliar to many westerners, meaning few had transcribed the hypnotic melodies of eastern music. Immersing himself in the addictive structure of Indian music lead to Glass journeying around India, the Himalayas and North Africa. It was his first trip to India, in 1966 that inspired Glass to create an opera on Mahatma Gandhi. Satyagraha (an ancient Indian word meaning ‘truth-force’) premiered in 1980.

His trilogy of ‘portrait operas’ are like nothing you’ve ever seen before

Throughout his career, Glass has composed more than 25 operas. Out of all his operas, the three ‘portraits’ are some of the best known. The first in the series, Einstein on the Beach, premiered in 1976, pushing minimalism into the mainstream. The opera (as with the others in the trilogy) focuses on a major historical figure, in this case, the famous scientist. The piece has neither dialogue nor a narrative, and Einstein himself is played by a violinist. Four years later, Satyagraha, an opera on a much larger scale, was premiered. This time Gandhi is the focus of the work, specifically his early years in South Africa and his approach to non-violent protest. The non-conventional libretto is loosely based on texts from the Bhagavad-Gita, a scripture in the ancient Hindu language, Sanskrit. Satyagraha was Glass’s first major work to use a traditional orchestral line-up and cast of soloists.

While planning the third part of his “Portrait Trilogy,” Glass turned to smaller music theater projects such as the non-narrative Madrigal Opera (1980) and The Photographer (1982).

He also writes music for films

Glass began composing music for film in the 1970s, when he scored a number of documentary films. In 1982, he worked on American experimental film Koyaanisqatsi, his score plays almost uninterrupted for the duration of the film. Pre-existing and original compositions can be heard in 1998’s The Truman Show. Glass also has a cameo in the film. Have a watch of the video to see him playing the piano whilst Truman sleeps. He is perhaps best known, however, for writing music for the 2002 film, The Hours, staring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. It was for this work that Glass won the BAFTA award for best film music.

RELATED PROGRAMMING: THE PHOTOGRAPHER | MAR 20-22, 2020

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DIRECTOR'S NOTE | THE PHOTOGRAPHER

There is a need for modern opera in the Puget Sound area, and Whidbey Island is the perfect venue to fill this need.

While there are many professional orchestras in the Seattle area that provide a wide variety of musical programming, there are few opera companies. The Seattle Opera has the highest profile, and there is a smaller opera company based on Vashon Island. But other groups mounting opera are few and rare.

One would think that having a major opera company like Seattle Opera would fulfill most of the public’s need for this special kind of theatrical and musical presentation, but the Seattle Opera draws almost exclusively on older romantic-era operas, like Puccini and Verdi. Notably, they also produce Wagner’s The Ring every few years. These operas are wonderful, and very popular with their audience, but there is an almost complete absence of modern opera. Indeed, modern music in general is rarely performed in the Puget Sound area. 

By modern I mean the sea-change of style and substance after Charles Ives broke all the rules of classical music at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Classical music for a hundred years became more atonal, and incorporated polyrhythms and dissonance to create a modern soundtrack inspired by the bustle of cites, industries, mechanization, and the forces of modern life. 

As time went on, this music became less accessible to many concert goers, who often seek something beautiful, and not disturbing. Sometime modern music is actually shocking. When Stravinsky premiered The Rite Of Spring in 1913 in Paris, the audience rioted and tore the seats out of the opera house. Now, a hundred years later, we accept Stravinsky into the standard repertory, and find it hard to believe people would react that way. But today’s audiences, in fact, favor 19th century classical music, and as a result programmers avoid the more daring of 20th Century modernists. This is especially true in the world of opera.

But opera has a great history through the 20th Century, from Britten to Bartok, which moved beyond romantic conventions, and were much more daring. And finally, in the late 20th Century, there was an explosion of creativity from Glass, Adams, and a new generation of composers who continue to write today. These later composers finally reverse the atonality of the earlier decades, embracing consonance and melody, and brought other modern values to the music, some of which is very accessible, yet rarely performed. 

We seek to end the dearth of modern opera by creating an opera unit on Whidbey Island that will bring modern music to modern audiences. People must be exposed to new forms or they will never know they like them. And liking them, they will demand more. 

Whidbey Island is the perfect incubator for this project. Located just outside Seattle, the most devoted of opera fans will take the effort to make the easy commute from the metro area for something unusual and exciting. Locally, Whidbey itself is home to a world-class audience, which has been cultivated by decades of intelligent programming from the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts and the Saratoga Orchestra, both well known for quality performances. 

But being slightly off the beaten track is a benefit for the actual production, based on the fact that costs for musicians and performers on Whidbey is significantly lower than recruiting and casting from the professional Seattle environment. Yet the quality of players is as top notch as any in the region. This means we can produce high-quality work for a fraction of the cost of the major city producers. And this makes experimentation and risks are far easier to manage. When a major production is mounted in Seattle, or San Francisco, or Los Angeles, the costs can be prohibitive unless the program concept is pre-sold to area subscribers and patrons. Thus the safe choices that are made by these urban companies. But Whidbey can push the leading edge of art and music in a way that is simply financially impossible for larger companies. 

Additionally, after creating more daring opera, the most successful shows can be put on the road in the region, and will find many opportunities to recoup investments and development through additional performances to art-hungry audiences throughout the Pacific Northwest. Including Seattle.

In this way, Whidbey Island is a safe haven, an incubator for new and exciting tastes, a laboratory that will test the appeal of modern music and theater, art that speaks to our age, in our own time. And art that will spread and grow from this isolated island into the world at large. Whidbey Center for the Arts has the opportunity to be the center of this new renaissance.

By Tim Everitt, Director

RELATED PROGRAMMING: THE PHOTOGRAPHER | MAR 20-22, 2020

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MEET THE ARTISTS | THE PHOTOGRAPHER

THE AUTHORS

Philip Glass (music) was born in 1937 and grew up in Baltimore. He studied at the University of Chicago and the Juilliard School. Finding himself dissatisfied with much of what then passed for modern music, he moved to Europe, where he studied with the legendary pedagogue Nadia Boulanger (who also taught Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, and Quincy Jones). He returned to New York in 1967 and formed the Philip Glass Ensemble – seven musicians playing keyboards and a variety of woodwinds, amplified and fed through a mixer… learn more here.

David Byrne (lyrics) is a Scottish-born musician and interdisciplinary artist who was best known as the front man of the influential American art-rock group Talking Heads. He went on to gain respect for an eclectic solo career… learn more here.

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Tim A. Everitt (director) holds an M.F.A. in Production from U.S.C.'s graduate film program, and a B.F.A. in Directing from Drake University's Theatre Department. He is also an award winning Writer/Director, Animator, and Visual Effects Artist. Tim has won awards for directing at the Houston International Film Festival, the New York International Film and Television Festival, the Chicago Film Festival, the Independent Film Producers of America, and many others. He has written and directed feature films, including Too Fast, Too Young, starring Michael Ironside, and Fatally Yours, starring Roddy McDowell and Sage Stallone. He has served as a Visual Effects Supervisor for Animation and Compositing on major Hollywood studio films including The Last Samurai (winner Visual Effects Society Award) and Pirates of the Caribbean III (Academy Award Nomination). Tim is a co-founder of Opera Zeitgeist, a regional music and theatrical group dedicated to bringing modern classical music, opera, and theater to the Pacific Northwest.

Erik Ibsen-Nowak (conductor) brings a multifaceted, 21st-century approach to the concert experience. As a conductor, composer, and arranger, he recognizes that audiences today come to know and appreciate music not only via live concerts, but also through listening to film, television and online gaming music, as well as AR/VR. His contemporary, integrated programming weaves together not only sound and silence, but often, other sensory elements to provide a full concert experience. As a synesthete who can “see” subtle nuances distinguishing different qualities of sound, he is uniquely able to combine music with visual complements to enhance the narrative for the audience or the viewer. As music director of Tacoma’s Luminosity Orchestra for the 2017-2018 season, his work programming, arranging, and conducting the Halloween Grand Guignol concert earned this appraisal: “Luminosity Orchestra’s Artistic Director Erik Ibsen-Nowak guided the musicians through the evening like the captain of a ship on a sea of stormy music” — (Tacoma Weekly, 27 October, 2017). In that performing season, he also collaborated with guest artists such as internationally renowned Uilleann piper Géza Frank and Emmy Award-winning composer Hummie Mann. He is currently in production on the scores for two feature films, as composer and conductor, one of which will premiere live in concert. His teachers and mentors have included Diane Wittry, Anna Edwards, Sarah Ioannides, Hummie Mann, George Shangrow, Kenneth Kiesler, and Tracy Knoop.

Megan Moore (choreography) is a choreographer, dancer, and performing artist based in Seattle. She began her training at Huntington Academy of Dance and studied the Cecchetti. Megan attended Huntington Beach High School's magnet arts program, APA, in 2011. While in the program, she had the opportunity to travel around Southern California for numerous festivals, to New York City for the YAGP Group Contemporary Finals, and to Prague for the New Prague Dance Festival under the direction of award winning choreographer, Marie Hoffman. In 2015, Megan began attending Cornish College of the Arts as a Dance Major. During this time, Megan choreographed for several projects including a musical, as well as presenting nine original works. Through Cornish, Megan performed for Gerard Theoret, Alia Swersky and Babette DeLafayette Pendleton, Laura Ann Smyth, Bruce McCormick, Sam Picart, Wade Madsen, Bruno Roque, and Deborah Wolf. Megan also had the opportunity to Rehearsal Direct, and create a film for Wade Madsen’s work, Faeries. Following her graduation in 2019, Megan performed in Dance This (at the Moore Theatre) and created and performed a new piece for Chlo & Co Dance’s Drove VII.

Rob Scott (stage management) has previously appeared on the WICA stage as the Angels City Four bass in City of Angels, Fezziwig in Scrooge the Musical, James Talbert Winston in The Kentucky Cycle, Jonas Fogg in Sweeney Todd, and as Frederick Arnott in Enchanted April. He has been the stage manager for WICA’s productions of SEX, Rumors, Our Town, Metamorphoses, Oliver!, On Golden Pond, The Rocky Horror Show, and Rabbit Hole. He co-produced Whidbey Children’s Theater’s Pirates of Penzance and was the technical director for Les Miserables.

THE CAST

Logan Ball (Larkin) is a recent transplant from Dallas, TX. Logan’s theatrical life began during adolescence, and saw its height with a performance in front of a crowd of a hundred thousand in South Korea. He has also worked in lighting, sound, and scenic design. You may have seen Logan onstage in WICA’s It’s a Wonderful Life or as Theseus in Island Shakespeare Festival’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Logan now spends his days in the world of architectural rendering.

Jameson Cook (Prosecutor) began working at Whidbey Children’s Theater at age seven. His WCT credits include The Shoemaker and the Elves, Treasure Island, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, STOMP, Charlotte’s Web (Templeton), and Robin Hood (Robin). Jameson has appeared on the WICA stage in The Kentucky Cycle (Joshua Rowen), Oliver! (Charlie), and Big the Musical (Billy). Jameson studied performance at Everett Community College. While there, he performed in Don Juan and two student-written plays, and directed Six Characters In Search of An Author for his final project. Jameson plans to continue his education in fine arts.

R James Enslow (Leland) first trod the boards in 1985 at The Clyde Theatre in An Enemy of the People. He appeared in the world premier of the musical Charley Parkhurst, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, The Rainmaker, Picnic, and The Foreigner. Since “graduating” to the WICA mainstage, he appeared in Mrs. California, The Dining Room, The Miracle Worker, Nevermore, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and It’s a Wonderful Life. In addition to acting, he has worked the lights and sound boards, crewed backstage, and created and operated special effects.

Betsy Harvey (Flora) received her modern dance training at Cottey College in Missouri and her opera training at Western Washington University. Her most notable recent performances have included Maxene and Lady Beckley in SEX and Betty Haynes in White Christmas. Other favorite roles have included: Hedy LaRue from How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, and Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. When she is not on stage, Betsy stays busy raising two boys and plethora of animals with her husband Bert on their hobby farm, teaching voice lessons locally, and running her Wedding Officiating business We Do – I Do’s.

Nicholas Horiatis (Pendergast) was last seen in the world premier of 99 Tropes at Seattle’s 12th Avenue Arts. Other stage credits include The Skin of our Teeth, Next Fall, and Enchanted April. The second half of last year was filled with film projects, including Roseblood, Play Dead, and Boyish, which are all due to hit various film festivals this year. Nicholas studied at Freehold Theater and has a BA and MBA (in things that don't matter anymore).

Jon Tate Self (Policeman/Judge) is an intellectual property attorney focused on biotech patents who recently moved to the area after spending a decade on the east coast.

Dwight Zehm (Muybridge) has appeared onstage and backstage for 20 years. He most recently played Ross in the WICA production of Macbeth. Other roles include Constable Warren in Our Town, Dr. Bradman in Blythe Spirit, Marley in Scrooge, the Musical, Sydney in Inspecting Carol, ensemble Metamorphoses, Antonio in Twelfth Night, and Judge Jim and Ezekial Rowan in The Kentucky Cycle. His Island Shakespeare Festival roles include: Baptista in Taming of the Shrew, ensemble in Richard III, and Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers. He has worked with local playwright Tom Churchill and performed in three movies by Richard Evans. This is his first opera.

The Dance ensemble

Jessica Fleck is excited to be among so many experienced artists. This is her first production in Washington. Starting off in musical theatre as a kid, and after ten years of musicals she discovered a love for opera and auditioned for Orange County School of the Arts (CA). She got into the Classical Voice program, where she attended junior and senior year, learning skills such as conducting, music theory, and choral singing. Jessica is working on a farm in Langley to learn new skills while living in close proximity to WICA.

Catlyn Griswell was born in Georgia and raised in Montana. She left the country to pursue a dance degree at Southern Utah University. She later transferred to Cornish College of the Arts and graduated magna cum laude in Dance. Caitlyn worked with choreographers Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Wade Madsen, Gerard Theoret, and Bruno Roque. In the past year, she had the pleasure to be a company member of Saettle’sFothun+Rome Dance Theater and Intrepidus Dance.

Cindy Rutstein returns to the theater after raising two sons who recently earned their degrees in Film and Television. Cindy studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC and her favorite performances include Grandma Tzeital in Fiddler On The Roof, Frosine in L’Avare, and Penelope-Ann in Bye Bye Birdie. Cindy is best known as co-founder of musical duo, “disappear fear.” For her music recording work, Cindy has been honored with the GLAAD Award for Best Album and her CD, Get Your Phil, went to #1 on the Folk charts. Cindy was most recently seen in WICA’s production of SEX.

THE MUSICIANS

Gemma Balinbin (Alto) is excited to be making her Whidbey Center for the Arts debut! Recent performances include Fritzie/Sally u/s in Cabaret, Sacharissa in Princess Ida, La Princesse in L’enfant est les Sortilèges, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Gertie Cummings in Oklahoma!, The Sparrow in Sparrows, and La Damoiselle in La Damoiselle élue. Special thanks to her family for their continued love and support.

Ashley Biehl

Sean Brown (Principal Horn) is a Whidbey Island native and Coupeville High School graduate based in Oak Harbor. He is an active free-lancer, mainly serving as a brass lesson teacher of 30+ students, as well as the director of an extracurricular brass ensemble program for middle and high school students. He also runs the Whidbey Island Brass Camp, a week-long day camp in July. As a performer, he is principal horn with the Saratoga Orchestra of Whidbey Island, and was a featured soloist in 2017 on the premiere of his own Concerto for Horn & Orchestra No. 1 “Reverence”. He is an active composer and arranger for brass ensembles and solos, concert bands and orchestras. His education includes a Masters in Horn Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Bachelor’s in Performance from Central Washington University. He maintains a music blog at SeanBrownMusic.Weebly.com.

Alec Chinnery (Horn II) graduated from South Whidbey High School in 2017, and he then attended Seattle Maritime Academy, where he became licensed in maritime. He now performs with several groups in his spare time. He has performed with several ensembles including Saratoga Orchestra, Seattle Symphonic Band, Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Whidbey Island Horn Ensemble, and the Whidbey Island Community Orchestra.

Katrina Finder (Soprano I) most recent appearances were as a Cercatrice in Suor Angelica (Seattle Modern Opera Company) and in Jules Massenet’s Manon by Jules Massenet at Puget Sound Concert Opera. Other roles include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. Katrina got married this past summer on Whidbey Island and is excited to return for this exciting production!

Christa Lynn Ford (Soprano II) is a Vocalist, Pianist & Private Music Instructor newly relocated back to Whidbey Island. Christa was featured as the Alto in Mozart's Coronation Mass "Gloria" Quartet with the Saratoga Orchestra conducted by Anna Edwards (January 2020). In December 2019, she was a soloist in Whidbey Community Chorus' Christmas Concert "Rejoice & Be Merry," under the direction of Darren McCoy. Christa, a vocal and piano instructor, received her education at APU and California State University, Fullerton.

Larry Heidel (Trombone I) is a freelance performer in the Seattle area as well as private trombone teacher on Whidbey Island. He loves when students finally grow big enough to reach seventh position! Larry performs regularly with Everett Philharmonic, Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, and Whidbey’s Saratoga Orchestra, where he also serves as Executive Director. A resident of Whidbey since 2004, Larry has performed in WICA productions from Cabaret to City of Angels. He is also production manager of Symphonic Plays™, a company that specializes in orchestral theatrical shows based on the lives of composers, commissioned and produced by the likes of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, New World symphony (Miami), Colorado Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Philadelphia Orchestra.

Kate Jones (Violin I) recently established herself as a performer in the greater Seattle area. Her greatest passion is for orchestral music, but she also loves contributing to any and all theatrical productions, and working with contemporary composers to premiere new compositions. In addition to her frequent performances, she also an avid educator and has been teaching violin since she was in her teens. She is currently the Assistant Concertmaster of the Olympia Symphony Orchestra, and has also appeared with other groups such as the Symphony Tacoma, the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, and the Saratoga Orchestra. She holds a Master’s degree in violin performance from the University of Missouri, Columbia where she received an assistantship as a member of the Mizzou New Music Ensemble. She is an alumnus of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN and holds a Bachelor of the Arts degree in music and theatre. She is the proud owner of a 2008 Guarneri model by Robert Clemens.

Kate Johnson (Flute) holds a master’s degree in flute performance from the Crane School of Music (NY) and is an established freelance flutist in the Seattle area. She served as the principal flutist in the Federal Way Symphony in the early 2000’s and recently returned its ranks. During her career, Kate performed Symphony Tacoma, Tacoma Opera, Tacoma City Ballet, and Village Theatre. She is the founder of the Puget Sounds Wind Quintet.

Brian Kenney (Violin II) began playing the violin at age five has put his fiddle to use playing in orchestras, string quartets, chamber ensembles, rock bands, improvisational groups, traditional Irish, old-time fiddling sessions, and more. Since moving to Whidbey Island in January of 2013, he has played with the Saratoga Orchestra, Island Consort, and many other musical ensembles, including guitar for local rock band Marshlands. He teaches String Orchestra at the Whidbey Island Waldforf School as well as private violin lessons. In addition to musical ventures he works as a farmer for Deep Harvest Farm in Freeland.

Brady McCowan (Alto/Tenor Saxophone) is a Tacoma-based performer, compose,r and teacher in the South Sound area. He has performed and recorded on many instruments, including saxophones, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, trombone, drums, and percussion; and participates in diverse musical styles ranging from original music to classical, jazz, progressive rock, and alternative music. He is featured on albums by Cameron Hatch, Humidity & Static, and the Gravities, and is in the process of completing albums with Bes, the Playtonics, and Cape Nowhere.

Linda McLean (Alto) has been singing and playing the piano for as long as she can remember. Her first teacher, her mom, created a strong passion for music that inspired Linda to dedicate her life to sharing her love and knowledge of music with others. She is the choral and drama director at North Whidbey Middle School in Oak Harbor where she conducts three choirs and teaches two drama classes. After 35 years of teaching, Linda looks forward to retiring in June 2020.

Lauren McShane (Cello) is a freelance cellist and teacher in Seattle. She performs regularly with Portland Cello Project, Seattle Rock Orchestra, and Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. After graduating from Brown University, she embraced bringing classical music and contemporary music together. She has worked with Macklemore, Emily Wells, Laura Gibson, and Father John Misty, among others. Lauren teaches a full private cello studio, along with coaching various student ensembles throughout Seattle. 

Claudia Mitchell (Soprano I) is honored to be part of the vocal ensemble for The Photographer. Singing since age five, she earned a gold medal in high school state-wide competition. College found her singing the leading role in Amahl and the Night Visitors, H.M.S Pinafore, and in a USO Pacific tour. After graduating cum laude with a degree in biology from the University of California, Riverside, her demanding careers in clinical lab administration and medical sales limited singing to occasional solo work and community theatre. Retiring to South Whidbey Island in 2015 restored time for music. A supporting role in Outcast Theatre’s 2017 production of Follies lead to current membership in Island Consort’s chamber vocal ensemble, and performance with local duo, Moonglow.

Genie Murphy (Piano) is a seasoned performer pianist from the San Francisco Bay Area. She moved to Whidbey a year and a half ago with her husband, Rich. Genie has performed for decades in solo, chamber, and choral groups; and particularly enjoys accompanying, as well as two-piano, and piano four-hand configurations. She maintained active teaching studios in Salt Lake City and Marin County (CA) and shared her love of classical repertoire with students of all ages.

Antonio Portela (Trombonist II) is a trombonist with a diverse performance background that began in the United States Marine Corps. He graduated with a double major in music performance and music education at California State University of Sacramento. While in school, Antonio played in a variety of ensembles including the Sacramento State Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble, Roseville Brass Quintet, and the 59th Army Band. He has performed professionally with the Sacramento Philharmonic and the Sacramento Jazz Orchestra. In 2018, Antonio relocated to Seattle to continue performing and teaching throughout the Pacific Northwest. He has since performed with the 5th Avenue Musical Theater in their production of West Side Story, the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, the Auburn Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony Tacoma. Through his travels and experiences Antonio has performed for the Queen of England, President Jimmy Carter, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, George Steinbrenner, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the governors of Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, and Mexico. He has performed with musical artists Terell Stafford, Dave Pietro, Scott Whitfield, Nancy King, Wayne Bergeron, Wycliffe Gordon, Dana Hall, Mark Colby, Phil Woods, Jimmy Heath, Jeff Hamilton, Jane Bunell, and many others. 

Fred Winkler (Soprano Saxophone) has become one of the leading concert saxophonists in the Pacific Northwest performing frequently as a soloist and chamber musician. Mr. Winkler has performed as principal saxophonist with the Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Opera, Northwest Sinfonietta, Symphony Tacoma, and has performed on several recordings with the Grammy-winning Seattle Symphony’s label. In June 2020 he will be on tour with Pacific Northwest Ballet at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Tricia Wu (Viola) currently serves as principal violist in the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra and the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra and is an active chamber musician in the Seattle area. She studied viola in Eugene, OR with Leslie Straka and has performed in master classes for Roberto Diaz and the Berlin Philharmonic String Quartet. She is also a research scientist in the field of hearing loss at the University of Washington after graduating with a biochemistry degree from the University of Chicago.

RELATED PROGRAMMING: THE PHOTOGRAPHER | MAR 20-22, 2020

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BIOGRAPHY | DAVID BYRNE

David Byrne (born May 14, 1952) is a Scottish-born musician and interdisciplinary artist who was best known as the front man of the influential American art-rock group Talking Heads. He went on to gain respect for an eclectic solo career.

As a child, Byrne moved with his Scottish parents to Canada and then to the United States. While attending the Rhode Island School of Design in the mid-1970s, he co-founded Talking Heads, serving as the group’s principal singer and guitarist. Identified with the punk and new wave movements, the band released its debut album, Talking Heads ’77, in 1977. It was followed by releases — including Remain in Light (1980), Speaking in Tongues (1983), and the concert-film sound track Stop Making Sense (1984) — that reflected Byrne’s interest in experimental pop and African rhythms. After issuing the album Naked (1988), the group dissolved.

Even at the peak of Talking Heads’ popularity, Byrne pursued other creative projects. During a band hiatus in the early 1980s, he wrote the score for choreographer Twyla Tharp’s The Catherine Wheel (1981) and collaborated with Brian Eno on the album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981), a groundbreaking collage of rhythmic grooves and vocal samples. He wrote lyrics for The Photographer in 1983. Byrne subsequently wrote and directed the offbeat film True Stories (1986), and his contributions to the score of The Last Emperor (1987) earned him an Academy Award. Also during the 1980s he provided music for two theater works staged by director Robert Wilson.

As a means of introducing American audiences to various strains of world music, Byrne established Luaka Bop Records in 1988. His solo musical career began in earnest with Rei Momo (1989), which drew on Afro-Latin styles; other solo releases include Uh-Oh (1992), Feelings (1997), and Grown Backwards (2004). In addition, he collaborated with Eno again on the gospel-inspired Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (2008) and with singer-songwriter St. Vincent on Love This Giant (2012).

In the 21st century Byrne continued to work in film and theatre, notably teaming with electronic deejay Fatboy Slim to create Here Lies Love, a disco musical about the life of Filipina political icon Imelda Marcos. During the show’s development, its songs were recorded and released as an album (2010); it premiered onstage in 2013. Throughout his career Byrne produced and exhibited art, and he published several books, including Bicycle Diaries (2009) and How Music Works (2012). In 2018 Byrne launched a wesite and lecture series entitled Reasons to Be Cheerful (named for a song by Ian Dury), enumerating hopeful developments in recent history, and also that year he released American Utopia, on which he again partnered with Eno. The album inspired the Broadway production David Byrne’s American Utopia (2019– ), which also featured songs from Talking Heads.

RELATED PROGRAMMING: THE PHOTOGRAPHER | MAR 20-22, 2020

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BIOGRAPHY | EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE

Eadweard Muybridge, then Edward James Muggeridge, was born in a market town southwest of London, in 1830. England changed rapidly during his youth, as the Industrial Revolution widened the gap between the wealthy and those living in poverty as new technologies were developed and traditional agriculture waned. Muybridge's father worked as a coal and grain merchant and this position, coupled with the position of his home town as a trade center, meant the family were secure despite the changes. Muybridge and his two younger brothers were exposed to the delights of the modern age without the dangers. Muybridge was reportedly adventurous as a child, with a desire to explore the world from an early age. Muybridge's father died in 1843 and his mother took over running the family business, which operated successfully into the 1850s.

Muybridge, whose name's spelling transformed a number of times throughout his youth, initially left for London, where he worked as a sales agent for the London Printing and Publishing Company. This job allowed him to make his way to New York and San Francisco, where he arrived between 1852 and 1855. California was, at the time that Muybridge arrived, a relatively new state in the midst of a gold rush and Muybridge positioned himself to cater to the growing mercantile class, opening a bookstore and an office for the London Printing and Publishing Company. Muybridge's building was next door to the daguerreotype studio of R.H. Vance, one of the most important photographers documenting the gold rush, and was shared with William Shew, a portrait photographer. While the specifics of his introduction to and training in photography are unknown, Muybridge soon began to sell others’ photographs, alongside books and engravings.

Muybridge's two younger brothers arrived late in the 1850s to work alongside him as booksellers in California and he took advantage of this to make plans to return to Europe in 1860 for work, travelling via St Louis and New York. His stagecoach, however, hit a tree in Texas, leaving Muybridge with a severe head injury. He went to Arkansas, New York and then London for treatment.

While in England, Muybridge filed a lawsuit and won a settlement from the Butterfield Overland Mail Company in 1861 and applied for patents for two inventions, one of which was a metal plate-printing device and the other of which was a kind of washing machine for textiles, exhibiting these in London at the International Exhibition of 1862. It is almost certain that Muybridge would have seen the significant display of photography held at the exhibition, with an emphasis on technologies that could shorten exposure times, and followed the event's central debate over whether photography was an art or a science. There is little information available on Muybridge's activities in these years, though he had become financially involved with mining in Nevada and banking in Turkey by 1865 and must have worked to develop his understanding of photography while in the United Kingdom. His speculative ventures collapsed in the Panic of 1866 and Muybridge returned to San Francisco after this, beginning his career in photography under the name HELIOS Flying Studio. Muybridge's background gave him an excellent ability to promote his own work and he quickly established himself as a "view artist," marketing himself to art galleries, collectors, government bodies, railroad companies and newspapers.

By 1868, Muybridge had established himself as a photographer specializing in Californian landscapes, positioning himself as a competitor to Carleton Watkins, who had pioneered photography in Yosemite Valley. In 1871, Muybridge married Flora Stone, having assisted her in securing a divorce from another husband earlier in the year. Stone had worked with Muybridge as a retoucher and was supportive of Muybridge's photography and frequent absences for work that involved travelling, though Muybridge quickly became suspicious of his wife developing independent interests and spending time with others.

In 1874, Flora Muybridge gave birth to a son. Muybridge's mother died only a few days after this, disturbing Muybridge emotionally and complicating his feelings about the birth. Muybridge reportedly discovered a photograph of his child bearing the inscription 'Little Harry!' leading him to believe that the child had been fathered by another man, Harry Larkyns, with whom his wife was acquainted… continue reading.

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SOURCE: The Art Story

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