Voices A Cappella Performance Visits the Redfern
KEENE, N.H., 3/29/10 - Inspired by vocal music’s great beauty and power, innovative composer/musician Philip Hamilton brings Voices, a dynamic, pan- global concert of original a cappella music to Keene State College’s Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond on Tuesday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. In addition to this performance, Hamilton and members of his nine-voice ensemble will conduct a lecture-demonstration on Wednesday, April 14, at 2 p.m. in the Redfern’s Alumni Recital Hall. The lecture-demonstration is free and open to the public. Tickets to the evening concert range from $25 for adults to $14 for children.
Hamilton’s Voices fuses global rhythms and influences by combining unique, international vocal tones and techniques - such as Tuvan throat singing, Balinese monkey-chanting, and hip-hop’s beat-boxing - with the rich sounds of diverse a cappella singing styles, including doo-wop, Bulgarian choirs, barbershop quartets, South African miners’ songs, Gregorian chants, and Meredith Monk-inspired vocal works. Voices is a multimedia performance that features an international cast of singers. This visual and vocal journey through time and cultures will use both live and recorded voices, as well as video imagery and movement, to enhance aspects of the performance.
In concert, Hamilton and his ensemble perform selected pieces from his work for film, dance, and theater, as well as Hamilton’s original “songs,” which are inspired by visionaries Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, and Bill Withers. This combination adds both a cinematic and intimate feel to his performances, which lead audiences on a journey through time, music, rhythms, and emotions.
Hamilton, whose music has been hailed as “powerful” and “explosive” by the New York Times, is joined by renowned beat-box artist Kenny “The Human Orchestra” Muhammad, a veteran of performances with the New York Symphony Orchestra, Public Enemy, Vernon Reid, and more. Hamilton’s ensembles, both live and in the studio, have featured some of the music world’s best and brightest performers including Greg Osby, Chieli Minucci, John Medeski, Matt Garrison, Bill Evans, Mike Manieri, Richard Bona, Gil Goldstein, Ottmar Liebert, and Vernon Reid.
In addition to his work with jazz and world music artists, Hamilton has also collaborated with dance troupes Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, Rennie Harris Puremovement, and Ronald K. Brown. A Middlebury (Vt.) College alumnus from the class of 1982, Hamilton is considered one of the most exciting contemporary vocalists on the international jazz and world music and dance stages. Hamilton also creates a landscape of sounds for film and theater. His soundtrack for Lifted, a film from award-winning filmmaker Randy Dottin for Fox/Searchlight Films, is gaining wide recognition in independent film circles. Hamilton’s score for River Deep: A Tribute to Tina Turner, has also garnered high praise for its mix of classic R&B; influenced showstoppers to Gregorian chant- like compositions.
For further information about the performance and the lecture-demonstration, call the box office, 603-358-2168, or visit www.keene.edu/racbp, where you can view video clips of the Voices performance.
