Woodland Pattern™ |
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Alternating Currents Live Archive Alternating Currents Live: Making Sounds Musical |
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Alternating Currents Live presents Jaap Blonk: solo voice Sunday, March 18, 7pm  Jaap Blonk is a self-taught composer, performer and poet. His formal studies are in mathematics and musicology but, after taking up saxophone and composition in the late 70s, he discovered his potential as a vocal performer, at first in reciting poetry and later exploring vocal improvisation and composition for voice.As a vocalist, Jaap Blonk presents a unique and powerful stage presence and almost childlike freedom in improvisation, combined with an exceptional grasp of musical structure. In his first performance for Alternating Currents Live in 1996 he offered a seemingly complete history of sound poetry ranging from Hugo Ball's dada sound poems to the work of Antonin Artaud and the fluxus artists of the 1960s. For his visit here in 1999 he appeared in a remarkable improvising trio with Michael Zerang and Mats Gustafsson. Jaap Blonk began to work with live electronics in 2000, at first using samples of his own voice, then extending the field to include pure sound synthesis as well. His new work in this media featured in his solo performance at Woodland Pattern in 2001. Besides working as a soloist, Blonk has collaborated with many musicians and ensembles in the field of contemporary and improvised music, like Maja Ratkje, Mats Gustafsson, Nicolas Collins, Joan La Barbara, and The Ex. He premiered several compositions by the German composer Carola Bauckholt, including a piece for voice and orchestra and a new solo voice piece was commissioned by the Donaueschinger Musiktage 2002.  This concert is brought to you by the Alternating Currents Live series, broadcast on WMSE (91.7) FM, Milwaukee.
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