photo from dom

Playing with Ilia Belorukov at DOM in Moscow, September 29, 2009.

Novosibirsk College of Music Improv Class

I taught a large improv ensemble tonight at the Novosibirsk College of Music. Many had never done free improvisation, and nearly all had never done it in a large, leaderless ensemble. Here are the fruits of their labor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHwrxwk02bA

Academgorodok Concert

Last night had a concert at Niikuda Art Club in Academgorodok, just 40 minutes outside of the city. Tried to upload video here but there is a problem. Today I will teach an improvisation ensemble at the Music College in Novosibirsk - mostly jazz students who have not done free improvisation before. They attended our meeting last week at the school when I first arrived in town.

For some strange reason, the video uploaded just fine to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qZCf5OKcsg

Another clip from Saint Petersburg 9-27-09

Here is another improvisation from our concert in Saint Petersburg.

Allen & Stolyar, St. Petersburg, Sept. 27, 2009 GEZ-21

GEZ-21 is an Experimental Sound Studio on Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, Russia. We gave our first concert there last night with the young Russian saxophone player, Ilia Belorukov [www.myspace.com/belorukov]. The audience was amazed to see a harp (and a harpist!) playing in this setting. Here is a clip of Roman and me in our opening duo of the set:

Red Square, Moscow, 9-26-09

On the first day, Roman and I wandered the streets of Moscow until our train left for Saint Petersburg that night. The lady with the loudspeaker is advertising personalized tours of the area. You can see the Kremlin Wall, as I pan past Lenin's tomb, and finally rest on St. Basil's Cathedral. Ivan the Terrible commissioned St. Basil's in 1555 and it was so beautiful, it is said that he cut the eyes out of the architect who designed it, so he would not be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Each of the 8 domes of the Cathedral had a chapel beneath it. A ninth chapel with spire was added in 1588 to house the tomb of its namesake, Basil the Blessed. The eight domes form an eight-sided star, with the spire of the ninth dome in the center that is also a symbol of the Christian Church. Originally, the domes were unpainted and the carved designs on them stood out vividly against the red bricks. In the next two hundred years, the swirling designs were painted. The interior of the cathedral is rather cramped and dimly lit and is decorated in delicate floral designs. The cathedral has escaped destruction many times since its creation.

28 hours countdown

I leave my home at 4 AM on Friday morning and arrive Moscow at 11 AM Saturday morning - they are 11 hours ahead of us so that will be midnight Friday/Sat. in California. Roman was on Moscow radio yesterday explaining how we met in 2005 - I Googled "free improvisation Siberia" and got his name - it is an amazing story. The harps are all confirmed for Saint Petersburg and Moscow as well as Novosibirsk! Here we go! Stay tuned for video and daily updates on my trip!

Moscow Webcam

Look here for a live webcam from Moscow:

http://www.mdmbank.com/webcam

Here for Saint Petersburg:

http://www.livecam.ru/huge.php

Here for Novosibirsk, Siberia:

http://webcam.lnd.ru/

A photo of the Ob river running through Novosibirsk:





I have the kayagum case - it is beautiful. If you ever need a custom ATA case for anything, go to Philly Cases - Dan was the man who made mine and it is amazing. The kayagum just slipped right in, tight as a bug in a rug. Just packing now with my pickups and amp wires....improv kit with super balls, picks, quake hold for the pickups for the harp and kayagum...I leave Friday morning at 4 AM!

Russia schedule!

Here is the final schedule for the Russia trip:

Sunday, Sept. 27 Concert at GEZ-21 (Experimental Sound Gallery)in Saint Petersburg at 8 PM with Roman Stolyar and Ilia Belorukov

Here is a photo of Belorukov and Stolyar







Monday, Sept. 28 Harp Master Class P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Moscow






Tuesday, Sept. 29 Concert at DOM www.dom.com.ru
at 8 PM with Sergey Letov, Roman Stolyar and Ilia Belorukov




Friday, Oct. 2 Meeting and class at the Novosibirsk College of Music

Photo of Novosibirsk, Siberia




Saturday, Oct. 3 Concert at Vagrant Dog Club (www.sobaka.su) at 5 PM with Roman Stolyar

Sunday, Oct. 4 Concert at Niikuda Art Club (www.niikuda.ru) with Sergey Belichenko and Roman Stolyar

Tues, Oct. 6 recording session

Wed., Oct. 7 Concert at Novosibirsk Museum of Local Lore with Roman Stolyar, 7 PM

Various things...

Still preparing for the Russia trip. I have been billed for the new Kayagum case so I expect to find it on my doorstep any day now. I have my visa, and all the reservations, so it is exciting that everything is underway. CalArts orientation is this week and I am meeting all the new students. They are all such wonderful musicians and I look forward to working with all of them! Meanwhile, I keep working regularly with my wonderful trainer Chris Chandler who is helping me change my lifestyle and body in great ways. www.pathofmotion.net

The Russians

Here are Roman Stolyar and Sergey Letov together improvising. We will appear as a trio at DOM in Moscow, Russia on September 29, 2009 at 8 PM.

The Kayagum Case for the Russia trip 2009

Woke early this morning having to give the final measurements for the kayagum to Dan at Phillycase.com

He is amazing. I am having him build a custom case for the kayagum so I can take it along to Russia and it must be under 80 inches, width + length + depth. Dan had it at 88 inches and now he has it under 80 with full padding. Quite a task. But now I will be mobile with the precious instrument and can take it far and wide.

Here is a photo of me in the 90s in the Kayagum class of Ok Ja Paik in Woodland Hills. I am second from the far right in the pink dress. Nevermind the preggies look - the traditional dress is like that no matter how big your girth! Notice I am the only Westerner....eek. You can't buy these instruments here; I rented one from my teacher for a long time. Finally in the 2000s I went to Korea and bought my own Kayagum. This is the one I am having the case made for....

Seattle August 18, 2009

Just winding up a week long visit to my mother and stepfather near Seattle, Washington. It is beautiful here - temperature in the high 70s with a light breeze and everything is green unlike hot southern California. Their property is surrounded by beautiful alders and pines.

We have been talking about my upcoming trip to Russia and I was able to meet a woman who was on many peace keeping missions there in the 1980s. It turns out my Russian ballet teacher from childhood, Maria Kedrina in Santa Barbara, escaped from the revolution and danced with Nijinsky and Pavlova in the Bolshoi.