ACF Artist News
Project Spotlight
Sorrow is Not My Name by Ross Gay
Desert Bloom Bash Recap
7 Questions for Paul Wiancko
Nativity by Xan Phillips
A Springtime Playlist
A Few of Our Favorite Things
Just a sampling of what some of our beloved artists, alumni, collaborators, and partners have been up to!
The Aizuri Quartet (ACF ‘17) releases their 7th episode of Aizuri Kids - featuring Andrew Yee and an excerpt of Michi’s Lullaby for the Transient.
Gaelynn Lea (ACF ‘18) performs a musical opening at the Microsoft Ability Summit.
Philip Rawlinson (Ei' ‘22) performs in a quartet that presents educational programming in Boston.
Eliza Bagg (ACF' ‘17) releases an album, False We Hope, with Ellis Ludwig-Leon and Attacca Quartet.
The Hands Free (ACF ‘18) performs in the pop-up concert series at the Miller Theater in NYC.
Andrew Yee (ACF ‘21) and Attacca Quartet wins a GRAMMY for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.
Project TRIO (ACF ‘18) works with the Midori & Friends project to bring music to the schools of NYC.
Música Franklin presents community concerts in Greenfield on April 5 and in Turners Falls on April 10.
Che Buford (Ei ‘22) will start a M.A./Ph.D program in composition at Columbia University starting this fall.
Michi Wiancko is commissioned by the Parker Quartet to write a piece inspired by Beethoven’s string quartets.
Yasmin Williams, William Tyler
& ACF guest artists
After a creative retreat at Antenna Cloud Farm this February, guitarists Yasmin Williams and William Tyler, along with ACF/Ei artists Steph Davis (marimba), Philip Rawlinson (viola), Sarah Zahorodni (viola), and Michi Wiancko (5-string violin), reconvened in NYC for a March 22 performance at the Ecstatic Music Festival in Merkin Hall.
We absolutely loved playing together, appreciated the warm and receptive audience, and had lots of fun exploring those sweet spots that exist somewhere between improvisation and notated music. Brainstorming around future performances and even a recording are underway!
Sorrow Is Not My Name
By Ross Gay
—after Gwendolyn Brooks
No matter the pull toward brink. No
matter the florid, deep sleep awaits.
There is a time for everything. Look,
just this morning a vulture
nodded his red, grizzled head at me,
and I looked at him, admiring
the sickle of his beak.
Then the wind kicked up, and,
after arranging that good suit of feathers
he up and took off.
Just like that. And to boot,
there are, on this planet alone, something like two
million naturally occurring sweet things,
some with names so generous as to kick
the steel from my knees: agave, persimmon,
stick ball, the purple okra I bought for two bucks
at the market. Think of that. The long night,
the skeleton in the mirror, the man behind me
on the bus taking notes, yeah, yeah.
But look; my niece is running through a field
calling my name. My neighbor sings like an angel
and at the end of my block is a basketball court.
I remember. My color's green. I'm spring.
—for Walter Aikens
Thanks to all who attended the Desert Bloom Bash, our second virtual warm-weather themed party. The party was once again a hit, this time with very special guest and 2-time GRAMMY winner, Andrew Yee, plus some special musical guest appearances by Ei Fellows. We had a lovely time sharing an afternoon of great conversation, soaking in a bit of Andrew’s warmth and brilliance, and exploring our creative sides! If you weren’t able to make it, join us next time!
Paul is a composer, cellist, and ACF artist!
1. What’s an activity besides music that you are passionate about?
I love fly-fishing. Catching fish is fun but I mainly love having an excuse to stand in the middle of a stream or river and block everything out of my mind except water current and my immediate surroundings. It's a really intimate way of getting to know a new place.
2. What do you love most about your home?
Ayane and I just moved from a small Brooklyn apartment to a house in Cincinnati--so far what I love most (besides the peace and quiet) is having a garage where I can finally get back into some bigger woodworking projects. Part of me misses having to drag my mitre saw down to the sidewalk to make cuts, but I'm happy to not be such a neighborhood nuisance anymore. It'll also be great to be able to work on rainy days.
3. How do you relax after a long day?
After a long day of composing at home, I'd treat myself to a little coffee and a stroll around the neighborhood. After a long day of travel, I'd unwind with a glass of wine and probably some sort of bad murder mystery show.
4. What are you excited to learn more about?
I'm excited to learn more about Japanese joinery. Now that I actually have some space to set up my tools, I'm hoping to up my furniture-making game with some slightly more advanced techniques.
5. What is your favorite animal or type of plant, and why?
I'm a big fan of octopuses. Such emotional creatures that are able to thrive in such chaotic environments.
6. What advice would you want to go back and give to your 22 year old self?
I would tell 22-year old Paul to not be afraid to lean on other people for support and advice.
7. What does your life look and/or feel like in 10 years?
In 10 years, I see myself writing and teaching up a storm, taking my family on outdoorsy adventures, and finally having a dog.
Nativity
in the dream where I run without breasts I am motivated by flight, I haven’t yet begun to unweld the framework, invent new trauma, whip the stitch arching each bosom as victuals dangled, withheld. when I hemorrhage against design it ain’t incognito. the neighbors walk their dogs past me. that’s me smoking in the alley, letting roses from my wrists. petal to puddle, a misgendering of matter. these hooves unhinge themselves as tiny meteors to cudgel dusk. I redress the splintering woodwork notched to my likeness, venial beneath the pomme and lilac cornucopic delight. to partake in a gender, to do so as a participant, and to fashion one’s self a living process of gender is like casting a net of postures, adornment objects, and grooming techniques into a future tense. where have I gone, and who have I built to take my place? I’ve always been unsuccessful at it. the tossing of it. I throw rocks ahead of me and predict where they will land. by virtue of touch, I am every man I manufactured my difference from. the man slipping in the mirror’s moonshine enters and leaves me between my double take. every night the countryside plays against my eyelids. a recurring taunt against my current location, the finale, currents of corn lapping the sun against my arms pumping with youth. the site of my making.
(Thank you, Philip Rawlinson,
for sharing this poem with us!)
Songs reminding us of spring blooms, thawing snow, and suns that set later…
Uummati Attanarsimat (Heart of Glass): Elisapie
Ay Hombre: Xenia Rubinos
Pretty Please: Uncle Maximillien ft. NNAVY
Cranes in the Sky: Tom Misch
Eyes of the Endless: Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, & Shahzah Ismaily
Seasick Dee: Maeve Gilchrist & Nic Gareiss
Sunshine Over the Counter: Madison Cunningham
•Books•
All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
Inciting Joy by Ross Gay
•Visual Artists•
Kateryna Kryvolap: Petrykivka artist (Ukrainian ornamental folk art)
Benjy Russell: Photography, sculpture, & video
•Violet Syrup Springtime Cocktail•
Collect violet flowers and add to a simple syrup reduction - click here for details! Add the indigo-hued syrup to your favorite cocktail recipe, then (as a fun party trick) add a few drops of lemon juice to transform the color to a bright shocking purple!
•Some Moments from Our Camera Rolls•
Fun with pedals & tech at an Ecstatic Music Festival rehearsal
A wintery Massachusetts coastline
Zo showing off her sunglasses from the Desert Bloom Bash
Mini ACF reunion in Brooklyn to hear Ayane and Paul play (and hear a premiere of one of Paul’s pieces!)