High Mayhem Workshop with Thollem McDonas Feb 26/27

[High Mayhem Newsletter]

Fronteras Assembled:
A workshop with Thollem McDonas


Saturday, February 27 from 1-5pm
Sunday, February 27 from 1-5pm

Performance on Sunday, February 27 from 7-8pm

High Mayhem Studio, 2811 Siler Lane, Santa Fe NM

Workshop Cost:  donation to support High Mayhem

Performance Cost: $10 suggested donation at the door

This is a workshop for all levels of musicians.

Spaces are limited. To sign up, please email press at highmayhem.org


Workshop details
From his work with Estamos Ensemble in the U.S./Mexico and his
workshops on listening and large ensemble improvisation, Thollem
McDonas continues with Fronteras Assembled: structured improvisations
based on the social/political dynamics that all the various situations
of geo-political borders create. These are musical meditations on
real-life situations that are constantly affecting the way we perceive
and interact with our fellow human beings within and across the
borders of the world. They are also structures that create unique
musical challenges for large ensembles especially in an improvised
setting that can potentially lead to fresh discoveries of music-making
and relationships among individuals in an ensemble.

For further information regarding workshops: www.thollem.com/workshops

About Thollem McDonas
Thollem's extensive travels as a performer have covered much of the
North American continent
and Europe. In the past 6 years he has added
20 albums to his discography on 9 different vanguard 
labels in 4
different countries. His music is diverse, approaching each album and
concert uniquely, often resulting in dramatically new and different
outcomes.

Not long after birth Thollem began studying the keyboard repertoire
from the medieval to the 20th century. After graduating with degrees
in both piano performance and composition he dedicated his time for
years in grassroots political and environmental movements before
returning to his own music with his full focus. He is currently
touring perpetually as a soloist, in collaboration with many other
individuals and groups as well as leading large ensemble free
improvisation workshops.

Thollem has performed in theaters, art galleries, universities,
elementary schools, concert halls, jazz clubs, rock clubs, festivals,
warehouses, house concerts, streets, forests, riots and on television,
radio and the internet. He has performed piano concertos with
symphonies, played in West African drumming troupes, Javanese gamelan
ensembles, punk bands, with hundreds of free improv groups, and as an
accompanist and a composer for opera and modern dance.

“Thollem’s keyboard flights unleash cascades of notes of seemingly
impossible velocity and no matter where he goes tonally, it always
seems right, fresh and satisfying.” – Terry Riley, 2010

Recent Awards:
Meet the Composer: Creative Connections, 2007
Mid
Atlantic Arts Foundation: USArtists, 2009 - Estamos Ensemble, Director
American Music Center: CAP, 2010 - 'Stirring Awake' debuted at Yerba
Buena Center for the Arts

Duo partners from last couple of years not in order of importance:
Stefano Scodanibbio, Rent Romus, Alex Cline, Amy Denio, Faruq Z. Bey,
Arrington deDionyso, John Dieterich,
 LaDonna Smith, Vinny Golia, Ava
Mendoza, Eduardo Ricci, Tatsuya Nakatani, Jacopo Andreini, Gino
Robair,
 Joel Peterson, Ben Wright, Nicola Guazzaloca, Rick Rivera,
Marco Eneidi, Tim DuRoche, João
 Castro Pinto, Bruce Ackley, Theresa
Wong, Greg Saunier, Jad Fair.

Film makers he's worked with:
 Martha Colburn, Matthew Barney, Peter
Sparling, Tuia Cherici, Carlos Sandoval, David Latreille.

Dancers (dance companies) he's worked with:
 Germaul Barnes (Bitahkiz
Ayeli), Gary Masters, Limón West Dance Company, James
 Brenneman,
Viewsic Expressions, Black Bones Dance, Katja Irvin, San José
Cleveland Ballet



 www.thollem.com