IN A JOINT THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE WITH THE LOCAL

PERCUSSION ARTIST DALE SPEICHER FEBRUARY 12, 2005

Seattle, WA— DoubleSharp, Nonsequitur and Washington Composers Forum are co-presenting the Sylvia Smith Percussion Duo’s debut performance in Seattle on Saturday, February 12, 2005, at 8 pm, in Town Hall (8^th Avenue & Seneca Street). This concert, also featuring the local percussion artist Dale Speicher, will present the music-theatrical works for the percussion instruments by Stuart Saunders Smith, as well as works by Tom Baker, John Cage, Udo Kasemetts, Dale Speicher, and Roger Zahab.

The Sylvia Smith Percussion Duo, founded in 1998, is a women’s percussion duo centered around music that integrates percussion, spoken language and theater. Its founder Sylvia Smith is also the owner and editor of Smith Publications/Sonic Art Editions, publishers of American art music. Her publications have received six Paul Revere Awards for graphic excellence. Her scholarship includes publishing several articles on music notation and curating many concerts of John Cage’s music. As a percussionist, Sylvia Smith has performed at Merkin Hall in New York, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and the Sylvia Smith Percussion Duo. Her performances are recorded on oodiscs and Eleven West Records. The recipient of numerous honors, Dr. Smith was awarded the American Music Center Letter of Distinction in 1988.

Ayano Kataoka is a marimba specialist, beginning her marimba studies at the age of five, and is a graduate of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and the Peabody Conservatory in the United States. She has worked as a marimba soloist and percussionist in Japan and is recorded on Respect Records. She approaches percussion performance as essentially theatrical, using standard percussion instruments along with spoken voice, singing, acting, and elegant props.

Dale Speicher is a percussionist committed to presenting adventurous music by forward thinking composers from all over the world. Dale has performed with many talented musicians throughout his career, including most recently Tom Baker (Seattle) and Chris Leonard (NYC). When not performing, Dale is managing partner of Arundel Books of Seattle and owner of a music distribution company Algetic Media Distribution (AMD).

The program features works by Stuart Saunders Smith (1948), an American composer, editor, and poet. Smith has created an unusual body of musical and literary compositions, encompassing the diversity of the contemporary music world. His interest in notation and indeterminate composition has developed into a kind of theater which reintegrates the arts at their compositional roots. The unifying thread in all of his works is a primary interest in the psychology of performance. Smith believes that each sound is intelligent and, when one listens to them, they can direct the course of events. So Smith listens to each sound until it tells him what sound should come next.

The program also includes works by composers of the Pacific Northwest.

DoubleSharp is a non-profit organization established to present artistic and educational events with excellence, creativity, and diversity in order to actively promote the appreciation of contemporary and world music and to challenge, educate, and enrich our audiences. DoubleSharp is dedicated to researching contemporary and world music and to enriching American and world audiences with musics of other cultures. For more information, visit www.DoubleSharp.org.

Nonsequitur is a non-profit organization producing recordings (The Aerial compilation series and ¿What Next? label), concerts, and events of experimental music and audio art since 1989: contemporary classical, improvisation, electronic/computer music, sound art, radio art, sound poetry, acoustic ecology, installations, historical avant garde, etc. Active in New Mexico for 15 years, the organization moved to Seattle in 2004 where it continues its work, collaborating with local venues and presenters. For more information, email nonseq@drizzle.com.

Washington Composers Forum (WCF) is a non-profit arts organization that nurtures the creation, performance, and dissemination of new music. For more information visit www.washingtoncomposers.org.

Town Hall is Seattle's community culture center located in the historic First Hill neighborhood, on the edge of downtown, at 1119 Eighth Avenue. Town Hall showcases the community's cultural energy with diverse music, arts and humanities. For more information call (206) 652-4255.

Tickets are $10 general admission and $8 for seniors, students, and WCF members. Tickets are available at the door with cash or checks accepted. For ticket information contact Washington Composers Forum at (206) 985-7003.

Program

Saturday, February 12, 2005, at 8 pm

Town Hall, Downstairs Performance Space

PERCUSSION ON THE EDGE

The Sylvia Smith Percussion Duo

Dale Speicher, percussion

John Cage Child of Tree

Stuart Saunders Smith and Udo Kasemetts Two Snare Drum Solos from The Noble Snare

Tom Baker Fold Redux (premiere of the solo version)

Roger Zahab Deceived by Starlight

Dale Speicher Songs for Percussion and Voice

- intermission -

The Sylvia Smith Percussion Duo:

+Sylvia Smith, percussion, voice

*Ayano Kataoka, percussion, voice, theater

Works by Stuart Saunders Smith:

+*When Music is Missing, Music Sings

+*Thinking About Anne Sexton

+Family Portraits: Delbert (great-grandfather)

*…And Points North (percussion opera in three scenes)

Scene I (in the city)

Scene II (in the forest)

Scene III (above the timberline)

Program and artists subject to change

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Media Contact: DoubleSharp@DoubleSharp.org; (425) 802-3503

For ticket information contact Washington Composers Forum at (206) 985-7003