Water Water Everywhere / Nay Any Drop to Drink

This post comes from Chantal Bilodeau’s Artists and Climate Change Blog

Nora York at Joe's Pub

In Water Water Everywhere / Nay Any Drop To Drink Nora York frames Handel’s Water Music suites with her own original compositions to confront the topic of climate change as it affects water—the oceans, rivers, aquifers, lakes, streams, wells, and our bodies and minds. It is both a love letter and a wake-up call about what is at stake within our current climate chaos. The work asks the audience to consider the essential value of water.

In preparation for Water Water Everywhere / Nay Any Drop To Drink, York engaged in conversations with scientists and activists in the fields of climate change and water. By “distilling the facts” she  identified the dominant images, metaphors, and concepts for her songs. York is also curating visual images for projections during portions of the live performance to create a complimentary metaphoric visual landscape to accompany the music. The visual artists committed to contributing images are Kiki Smith, Kate Teale, Judith Belzer, and Jerry Kearns.

Joining York will be an ensemble of both contemporary and classical musician. Her long time collaborator and co-composer Jamie Lawrence, piano; will be joined by luminaries from the classical and jazz world including Charles McCraken, bassoon; Diane Lesser, oboe; Robin Zeh, Violin: Dave Hofstra, bass; Steve Tarshis, guitar; Peter Grant, drums.

After the concert performance, the audience was encouraged to engage with each other and environmental scientists and activists in an informal conversation in the lobby at The Public Theater and The Library Café on the mezzanine level.

Nora York photo

Joe’s Pub is one of more than 30 institutions participating in Marfa Dialogues/NY. The two-month calendar of events features a mix of environmental panels, live theatre, major art exhibitions, installations, community forums, musical performances and more – all accessible to the public and available via broadcast and digital media.

ABOUT NORA YORK: Nora York has performed and written her own music for theater, film, television, concert and cabaret. She has four CDs in release, been awarded a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation grant, two New York State Council on the Arts composers commissions and her work has been commissioned by The Public Theater in New York and The Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has performed at concert venues, universities and festivals in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Europe. (Ted, Newport Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz festival, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Hall and Lincoln Center Out of Doors.) She has been teaching at New York University since 1997.

ABOUT MARFA DIALOGUE NY: Marfa Dialogues/NY is an examination of climate change science, environmental activism and artistic practice taking place this October and November 2013 in New York City. A collaboration between the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Ballroom Marfa and the Public Concern Foundation, Marfa Dialogues/NY will feature more than 20 Program Partners and a spectrum of exhibitions, performance, and interdisciplinary discussions at the intersection of the arts and climate change. Marfa Dialogues was co-founded in 2010 by Ballroom Marfa, a leading contemporary arts center in Far West Texas, and The Public Concern Foundation (PCF), a New York non-profit devoted to the advancement of public education around social and political topics. Marfa Dialogues was originally conceived as a symposium to broaden public exploration of the intersection of art, politics and culture.

Filed under: Music

Artists and Climate Change is a blog by playwright Chantal Bilodeau that tracks artistic responses from all disciplines to the problem of climate change. It is both a study about what is being done, and a resource for anyone interested in the subject. Art has the power to reframe the conversation about our environmental crisis so it is inclusive, constructive, and conducive to action. Art can, and should, shape our values and behavior so we are better equipped to face the formidable challenge in front of us.

Go to Chantal Bilodeau’s Artists and Climate Change Blog

Powered by WPeMatico