FAR FROM SHORES WE KNOW Performance On December 8

Title  -- English： FAR FROM SHORES WE KNOW
                 Norwegian： Fjernt fra kjente land
                Irish：   Fada ón ar gcladaí
                Turkey: Bildigimiz Diyarlardan Uzak                 
                Korean: 먼 바닷가에서              
                Chinese: 致远方

This is a totally different concert than any concerts I attended before.  Almost all the sections were improvisation. It was so difficult to imagine that everyone joins and exits at will. It was harder to imagine that I needed to do  improvisation with my classmates by Chinese instrument.  I used to give up, but Dr. Gilbert encourage me to try it. Sure enough,  I did it, we did it. Not only that, we did network cooperation with  Tromsø and Belfast.  It is so fabulous! 



Paticipants --- 
NYU Expanded Music:                         
Brooks Berg                         ChenChong Deng                 Emirhan Tunca                      Pablo Rodriguez                  Ruoyao Bai                         Shanshan Jia                      Shanshan Yu                         Shuai Zhao                         Shuyi Ji                         
Victoria Schwartzman      Xuran Zhao                         Michelle Rampal                        Jun Zhang                       
Teaching artist and dancer: Jee Yun Hong                        

University of Tromsø                       
 Vidar Alvestad - Trumpet                      
 Anders Melhus - Violin                     
 Sigbjørn Thomassen - Acoustic guitar                       
Jon Marius Aareskjold – Electronics                       

Queen’s University Belfast：                       
 Min Kim — vocals                        
Lisa Conway — violin and electronics                        
Jose Moncaleano — charango                        
Andrew Childress — keys and electronics                       
Robin Renwick — engineer                        

NYU Collaborative Projects of Performing Arts:                       
Professor Tom Beyer                        
Shashank Aswathanarayana                       
Stanley Figaro                          
Lauren Rose Hood                        
Melissa Lucille Muscato                         
Jeet Paul                        
Ian M Pritchard                        
Dominick Paul Chang 



                        

Far From The Shores We Know Rehearsal & Program & Poster on 12/6/2013

In order to prepare the concert on December 8, everyone gathered in theater on Saturday and Sunday. We did sound check, connect with Tromsø and  Belfast. At the same time, Dr. Gilbert prepared delicious meals for us.   

In the mean time, Ruoyao Bai, Shanshan Jia and I need to reorganize the email information to design the program. It was our first time to do this thing, all of us had no idea how to finish it.  So I decided to split up. Ruoyao looked through all emails and picked up the important ones. Then I copied or rewrote the contents based on the template. At last, I sent the formal content to Shanshan to do the layout. 

We finally finished and printed all the programs at 9:00 pm.  All of us felt a great sense of achievement when we finished all by ourselves. 

Cello & Percussion： Steven Sharp Nelson

Steven Sharp Nelson learnt to play the Cello at the age of 8, and learnt Percussion instrument at the age of 12.  When he was 17 years old, he began to learn Guitar.  He combines these three instruments' characteristic elements, and creates a totally different ways to play Cello.

His playing includes such as parody, comedy and comic relief all these signature style.

【Cello Wars（Star Wars Parody）】

【Cello Wars（Star Wars Parody）】

【The Cello Song】

Ideas that developing for the Production

1.       Considering to have food as part of the show – cross cultural, 2 minutes food fest

2.       Part by part, different groups，instruments，styles  together.

3.       Considering using color as a big feature in some aspects of the performance.

a. We could wear different colors in context of the performance.

b. Color theory in relation to music (e.g. Scriabin. Scriabin could see different colors with the tones that he heard. The Philadelphia Orchestra once played Scriabin and projected the colors that went along with it.)

4.       Setting up a deaf student with a computer that enabled him to have a sense of pitch/combinations of pitches with the length/duration as a graph. He was able to graphically create compositions. They didn't have musical coherence, but if you take something strange and listen to it over and over, you start to create connections.

5.       Adding voice in different styles – different characteristics of regions/dialects

6.       Adding different countries’ music – matching pictures and movies.

7.       Chinese instruments （e.g. Guqin & Zither） 

8.       We could do a vocal improvisation – Sprechstimme- Scheonberg’s postmodern music.

9.       Percussion instruments in the resource room on the 7^th floor that we could make use of.

10.   Consider audience involvement – bring them into the scene or bring them onto the stage, or going to them.

11.   Color coding drumsticks or gloves, or something, with cue cards to direct participants with beats.

12.   Compose a small melody with lyrics

13.   We could improvise dance based on the different tasted – taste as scores

14.   Make a plotline / scenes; find a way to link everything as narrative. （e.g. morning & afternoon & evening / school / West and Chinese music / international students）

The Introduction of The Art of Tai Chi Boxing

PLANNING SESSION On 11/29/2013

Dr. Gilbert, Shanshan Jia and I met at 1：00 pm on Friday at Uncle Ted’s on 163 Bleecker Street. It is Chinese restaurant ， I like there so much! I was so grateful that Dr. Gilbert chose the such a nice restaurant. It seems familiar and close to home. We did some planning when we enjoyed the delicious lunch.

After the lunch, we went to a long history coffeehouse named Dante’s. Dr. Gilbert suggested us to drink latte.
Then we continued to finish the scene structure that includes our partners in Belfast and Tromso. 

Celebrating Thanksgiving

This is my first time in New York. I heard lots of teachers and classmates said that there is a very famous parade for thanksgiving in the morning every year. So I woke up very early and  went to 42nd Bryant Park to watch the parade. I absolutely did not think of is,  so many people were waiting there, and some people even  had already waited there all night in order to get a good seat. That's so crazy! At the same time, I admire them so much for their passion！

 When I came home, I was pleasantly surprised that Dr. Gilbert sent our expander a email which he created a piece of song for thanksgiving and sang it by himself. It is so unbelievable. When I was in China, none of my teachers did such creative thing. I have to say, Dr. Gilbert is full of energy and vitality.