ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ANNOUNCES 2012-2013 SEASON

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Marc Bamuthi Joseph/The Living Word Project, DC Sonic Circuits Festival, INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival, B-Fly Entertainment’s Liner Notes

JAZZ

Ben Williams and Sound Effects, John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, Luciana Souza Duo, and

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

NEW MUSIC

So Percussion, Cornelius Dufallo, Great Noise Ensemble and Maya Beiser/Michael Harrison

The Atlas Performing Arts Center is pleased to announce its 2012-2013 season. The Atlas will host and present some of the most talented and sought after artists from the local, national and international arts scene. The season will include performances from contemporary classical artists So Percussion and Great Noise Ensemble and jazz artists Ben Williams and Sound Effects, John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble and vocalist Luciana Souza. The Atlas will again be a featured venue for Amy K. Bormet’s Washington Women in Jazz Festival. Additional highlights of the season include presenting two of hip hop arts activist Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s works Word Becomes Flesh and red, black & GREEN: a blues (rbGb), a multimedia performance work about environmental justice, social ecology and collective responsibility. OneBeat Exchange will bring approximately 50 young musicians and students from around the world to the US to perform alongside their American counterparts. DC’s well-known emerging and established artists including force/collision, B-Fly Entertainment and DC Sonic Circuits Festival, recognized for artistically diverse and innovative programs, will perform at the Atlas for the first time. Programming for families and young children continue with Theatre for the Very Young. The highly successful theatre series for children ages 1-5 has been expanded from four to six productions. Holidays at the Atlas will feature Theatre Alliance’s critically-acclaimed Black Nativity and Step Afrika!’s holiday stepping show. Tickets for the 2012-2013 season will go on sale to the general public on June 1. For a full 2012-2013 season listing, visit www.atlasarts.org or call 202.399.7993 ext 2.

“We are thrilled to present such a high caliber season,” says Atlas Executive Director Sam Sweet. “Being the artistic heart in a thriving neighborhood, it is necessary that the Atlas serves as artistic platform connecting audiences with one another and with artists in a shared experience. Our programming was designed to not only entertain, but also to spark conversation and dialogue. Marc Bamuthi Joseph, force/collision and INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival are examples of this direction in programming. We want audiences to view the Atlas as a unique venue where they will see emerging arts forms, established performers in a new context and be willing to try something new.”

As part of its robust presenting series, the Atlas will continue its partnership with DancePlace to include dance. DancePlace and the Atlas will present Brian Sanders’ JUNK, a Philadelphia based dance company known for using found objects and elaborate inventions to bridge the gap between dance and physical theater. The Atlas is also expanding its presenting series by adding world music artists such as Zimbabwean Afro-pop legend Oliver Mtukudzi to its series later this year.

The Atlas continues its performances partnerships with artists in residence Rorschach Theatre and Great Noise Ensemble. Resident arts partners Joy of Motion, Capital City Symphony, Congressional Chorus, Washington Savoyards, Step Afrika! will continue to program and perform their seasons at the Atlas

2012-2013 Season Highlights

Special Presentations

Originally premiered at the INTERSECTIONS 2012 Festival, B-Fly Entertainment featuring Paige Hernandez returns with an extended run of the well-received Liner Notes, a musical journey through hip-hop’s many intersections when multiple artists including The Corner Store Jazz Trio to breathe life into a fading art– the liner note. Based in Washington, D.C. force/collision is a multi-genre contingent of artists and collaborators whose mission is to create new performance works that spark dialogue and create space for the presentation of new work. The Atlas will again serve as one of the locations for the widely popular DC Shorts Film Festival. OneBeat Exchange (Bang on a Can) will feature more than 50 young professional musicians and advanced students from around the world to the U.S. to create and perform innovative work with their American counterparts. Sonic Circuits Festival, Washington’s promoter for experimental music will expose audiences to cutting edge contemporary music that defies genres, and offer artists new platforms to present their music and opportunities to network and collaborate with artists from around the world. The music moves from the sanctuary to the concert hall with the Campbell Brothers who combine gospel music with electric steel guitar and stirring vocals. The 4th annual INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival will continue to showcase talented artists from DC and beyond creating connections between artist and audiences. Marc Bamuthi Joseph/The Living Word Project will perform two dynamic pieces, Word Becomes Flesh and red, black & GREEN: a blues (rbGB), the latter piece explores society’s most controversial themes within a performance setting.

Jazz

Curated by Brad Linde, the 2012-2013 Jazz at the Atlas season features performances from the best emerging and established jazz artists. Composer and saxophonist Steve Coleman, known for his innovative compositional and improvisational style opens the jazz series. Six time Grammy award winner Gary Smulyan in a new project by Mark Masters will play the Duke Ellington Sax Section. Hailed by The Revivalist as “the baddest new bassist on the block,” Washington, D.C. native, Ben Williams makes his Atlas debut with Sound Effects. Additional performances in the fall include Alan Blackman Trio with Donald McCaslin, vocalist Rebecca Martin with Larry Grenadier, Joel Harrison String Choir featuring the music of Paul Motian, drummer’s John Hollenback Large Ensemble and the Mary Halvorson Quintet. Jazz meets hardcore metal in Jerseyband where three saxophones and a trumpet come together in what has been described as lungcore metal. The full season continues in the winter with jazz trumpeter’s Carol Morgan Quartet and Shakers ‘n’ Bakers featuring Jeff Lederer, Mary LaRose, Miles Griffith, Jamie Saft, Chris Lightcap and Allison Miller. Amy K. Bormet’s Washington Women in Jazz Festival will feature DC favorite Geri Allen. Ethan Iverson returns to the Atlas this time with his trio The Bad Plus in the spring. Three well-known faces in jazz, Allison Miller, Ohad Talmor and Dan Tepfer, have joined forces for a trio totally rooted in free-form improvisation. The Luciana Souza Duo consists of Brazilian vocalist and Grammy winner Luciana Souza, one of jazz’s leading singers and interpreters and Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo. After a highly successful performance during the inaugural Jazz at the Atlas season, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society returns for another rousing performance featuring his 22-piece steampunk band.

New Music

Curated by Armando Bayolo, the 2012-2013 season of New Music at the Atlas opens with guitarist Tim Brady, chamber ensemble Prism Saxophone Quartet and performances from Atlas Artist-in-Residence Great Noise Ensemble. Newspeak combines the elements of a rock band with classical music, creating lasting and compelling performances. Sō Percussion explores all the extremes of emotion and musical possibility through collaborations with noted composers including Steve Reich and Arvo Parts and their own compositions. Called one of the “new faces of music,” violinist Cornelius Dufallo, a member of the world-renowned amplified string quartet, ETHEL, brings his unique and critically-acclaimed solo performance to the Atlas. Pictures on Silence, a harp and saxophone chamber duo, explores the diversity of their instrumental combination through compelling programming and a dedication to excellence in performance. The vocal octet, Roomful of Teeth, re-imagines singing for 21st century audiences showcasing vocal works from non-classical traditions. Cellist Maya Beiser has captivated audiences worldwide with her eclectic repertoire, and relentless quest to redefine her instrument’s boundaries. Together with composer and pianist Michael Harrison, the two set a high performance standard closing out the series.

Theatre for the Very Young

The theatre series for young audiences ages 1-5 will increase its productions from four to six in the 2012-2013 season. The series features performances from Washington based theatre companies and artists experienced in making quality theatre accessible to the youngest audiences. Through song, simple stories, movement and imagination, the interactive performances introduce young children and their families to theatre in a playful, ideal environment that promotes learning and cognitive development. Theatre for the Very Young features a full season of performances from Northern Virginia based Arts on the Horizon, and the dynamic Imagination Stage.

About the Atlas

The Atlas Performing Arts Center is located in a historic movie theatre complex on H Street, NE. H Street had been a bustling retail corridor for decades before the 1968 riots. In 2003, spurred by Jane Lang’s vision and commitment to restore the Atlas as a performing arts center, the city adopted a plan to rebuild the corridor and identified the Atlas as central to the revitalization. Vacant for years, the Atlas movie theatre re-opened in November, 2006 following an extensive four-year renovation. In addition to its theatres and dance studios, the Atlas also has administrative offices, dressing rooms, lobbies, a café and production and rehearsal spaces. The center is home to a diverse group of locally renowned theatre and dance companies, symphony orchestras, choral groups and arts education programs.

Through its programs and service to the community, the Atlas seeks to honor and maintain the history and traditions of H Street NE while also fostering the changes taking place to renew the H Street corridor. The Atlas has become the artistic heart of a community struggling uneasily with its transformation, and it seeks to be a center for community conversation, where a range of artistic and individual expressions can come together to be shared and celebrated.

The mission of the Atlas Performing Arts Center is to foster the artistic growth of professional and aspiring performing artists throughout the region; to create a new model for collaborative arts management; to establish a unique community-centered venue for training and education in the performing arts and stagecraft; and to energize and sustain the revitalization of H Street, NE and the surrounding community.

For information on the Atlas and the 2012-2013 Season, visit www.atlasarts.org.

Follow the Atlas Performing Arts Center on Facebook and on twitter @AtlasPACDC.

Long before the Atlas opened we knew that transportation parking could be an issue for some patrons. With the neighborhood’s increased popularity it has indeed proven to be a tricky situation for the Atlas. Being embedded in a community means we have neighbors who, before H Street’s renaissance, were used to parking close to their homes and now find it difficult to park on their own streets in the evenings. Atlas is also home to many large performing organizations, such as the Congressional Chorus and the Capital City Symphony, which rehearse on a weekly basis. And of course many of the patrons who attend performances live far away from the Atlas and often prefer to drive here.

Quite a pickle this.

The District’s Department of Transportation recently implemented a performance plan in the area surrounding the Atlas. The H Street Performance Parking zone will run from 3rd to 15th St NE and from G to I NE. Meters on H Street will be active from 7am-6:30pm Monday through Saturday for 75 cents per hour for a maximum of 4 hours. From 6:30pm-10pm Monday through Saturday meter rates will be $2 per hour without a maximum number of hours, which is helpful for our patrons who want to have dinner before their performance. The residential streets between G and I NE (from 3rd to 15th) all have zone 6-only signs, these are sometimes referred to as resident-only sign, on one side of their block (usually the north and west sides of the street) for Monday-Friday from 7am-8:30pm. The other side has a two hour limit for non zone-6 cars which can be a challenge for those attending a performance.

Recently the Atlas struck up a deal with the United House of Prayer for All Peoples Church at 1314 H Street NE to rent spaces in their lot. Now patrons can purchase a parking spot when they purchase their tickets and print out the receipt to display on their dashboard during the performance. The lot can be accessed via 13th Street NE. If you are going north, the parking lot/alley entrance is the first right once you have crossed H Street NE.
If you are going south, the parking lot/alley entrance is the last left before crossing H Street NE. To purchase parking for an upcoming event go here.

How has the parking situation affected your Atlas experience?

Kara Morrissey and Amanda Clarke are the two genius-moms behind the popular Boogie Babes music series at the Atlas and Eastern Market. The Atlas staff has enjoyed the weekly visits from toddlers jamming in the lobby.

We wanted to know how they have been enjoying the Atlas as a venue and their thoughts on H Street in general. Here is what they had to say.

Amanda:

We certainly do love Atlas! I remember the first time I walked into the Kogod Lobby for one of Kara’s Washington Chorus performances. I could not believe how beautifully open and contemporary the space was hidden behind such a historic facade AND sadly, that I’d never been there before! Then to hear the Chorus sing in the Lang Theater was truly breathtaking. I then made it my mission to tell everyone abut Atlas, this amazing hidden gem on H Street that was a performing arts powerhouse!

It has been since that first visit that Boogie Babes now has weekly performances in the Lobby and more recently the Sprenger Auditorium. There are so many fabulous things about both spaces it’s difficult to pick a favorite. I know that our Boogie Babes kids love both experiences!

The space and amazing Atlas staff makes any performance feel like a true performing arts event rather than just a kid show. I think that this experience allows children to feel comfortable and learn to appreciate the arts in a whole new way, very early on. There are “new” things like a stage, bright lights, instruments, darkness (as in the case of the Sprenger), and fun things like music, dancing and laughing. The Atlas makes all of this very cool and approachable for children to experience in their own individual way. Moms and dads feel comfortable at Atlas too with the roll in stroller parking, super sized and ultra clean bathrooms and the convenience of a snack bar serving adult drinks for when the mood hits!

Not too long ago I took my kids to see “Drumming with Dishes” – my 1, 4 & 5 year old were all captivated by the play. Not a word was spoken by the performers but my children were fascinated by the storyline. We sat on the floor on a brightly colored parachute, only a few feet from the performers. It felt very much like we were a part of what was going on and we all had a fabulous time.

Like my first day at the Atlas, I couldn’t believe we were having such a rich performing arts experience right here in our very own neighborhood. We are so lucky to have the Atlas! Which reminds me, I still need to get my tickets to Aquarium, also produced by Imagination Stage .

What is really fabulous, as the Atlas District continues to grow, is the multitude of lunch options that are nearby. Back in the day, when Frank gave us our BIG start at SOVA, there was no where to eat nearby. Then SOVA introduced their delicious paninis which was such a great addition to their already amazing pastries. Now there are several lunch options up and down the block. It truly is becoming a destination where you can enjoy a show, grab lunch anywhere from Shawafel to Taylor, SOVA to Sadimo, and still get home before nap time.

On the rare occasion my husband and I sneak out and get to H Street, we’ve enjoyed Smith Common, Granville Moore’s and we recently had a great brunch at The Big Board, with kids in tow.

Kara: I’d only add that we love Boundary Road or Granville Moore’s for evenings and Argo with kiddos.
Also, for the future…I am really enjoying the theatre for the very young series. As my kids get older, more musical theatre or music for kids (Peter and the Wolf, etc) or other musical genre concerts geared for kids (jazz for kids, world music for kids, etc)

Jazz at the Atlas curator Brad Linde interviewed composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue last year for Capital Bop. We have cross posted it here. The original interview can be found at http://www.capitalbop.com/2011/01/03/interview-darcy-james-argues-innovative-machines-audio/

If someone tells you that Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society is an old-school big band, they’re not necessarily wrong; they just aren’t giving you the whole story. Argue, a Canadian composer and bandleader who has helmed the 18-piece orchestra since 2005, is inspired by science fiction’s “steampunk” subgenre, which contemplates a world that’s still dependent upon steam power, and therefore neo-Victorian technologies. Old school for sure. But not exactly in a Fletcher Henderson kind of way.

Argue and Secret Society, who have enjoyed a new level of prominence since the very well-received release of their 2009 album Infernal Machines, arrive in D.C. this Wednesday for two shows. One is at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and the other at DIY performance space Subterranean A. The latter gig is especially noteworthy for being the first non-New York production put on by Search & Restore, an innovative organization dedicated to jazz advocacy and concert promotion. Looking forward to Wednesday, we asked Argue a few questions about his music, steampunk and Search & Restore. Here’s what he had to say.

CapitalBop: Can you talk about your influences in composition and arranging? How do compose and develop a piece for your ensemble?

Darcy James Argue: My biggest compositional influence is Bob Brookmeyer, who I studied with at New England Conservatory in the early 2000s. Bob was big on “pre-compositional work” – which, in a nutshell, involves examining your basic materials from every conceivable angle before you actually get down to composing. This is an approach that has served me well in my own writing.

CB: Your album is called “Infernal Machines,” after the John Philip Sousa quote warning of the use of modern technology. With a traditional big band performing in a modern context, how does the music specifically relate to the idea of steampunk?

DJA: Sousa thought the phonograph cylinder would kill music – that was back in 1906. You get someone saying something similar every time there is a new development in music technology. But technology can cut both ways – Creative Commons activist Lawrence Lessig has actually repurposed that Sousa warning in his advocacy of “remix culture.” You’ve now got non-musicians adopting a less passive, more participatory relationship to music by remixing, making mashups, making their own music videos and putting them up on YouTube, and so on.

Steampunk is a genre of speculative fiction that usually evokes an alternate universe, where Victorian technology, design, fashion and so on continues to prevail. Secret Society imagines a world where the big band did not fall out of favor after the rise of amplification, but instead remained a vital part of the popular music landscape right up until the present day. What if Elvis and Hendrix and Bowie and Prince and Beck and Kanye had all fronted big bands? What would that sound like?

CB: The District is very excited to have such an original-sounding ensemble visiting for multiple performances. Can you tell us what to expect from your D.C. shows?

DJA: We’re really excited to be making our debut at the Kennedy Center in their free Millennium Stage concert series. But since that’s an early show (6 to 7 p.m.), we thought we’d take the opportunity to stick around to play again later that night. This also gives us the opportunity to play a double-bill with a really innovative large ensemble from Richmond, Va.: Fight The Big Bull. We’ll be playing unamplified sets at a hip underground space called Subterranean A – a real old-school, basement big-band blowout. We will be playing different material at each venue, so if people really want their Secret Society fix, they can get a double dose.

CB: Search & Restore is presenting Secret Society’s performance at Subterranean A. Tell us about your relationship and work with that organization.

DJA: Search & Restore is a young organization, but they have been doing an amazing job of getting down in the trenches and building the jazz audience of the future. Their focus is on presenting the music in a way that feels vital and exciting, especially for a young audience that’s not interested in getting fleeced at some stodgy upscale jazz club. This is their first time presenting a show outside of New York, but I think you’ll start to see Search & Restore events all up and down the East Coast before too long. They just wrapped up a $75,000 Kickstarter fundraising campaign that will help them document what’s happening on the NYC scene and beyond.

CB: How have you managed to keep the ensemble working steadily, with rehearsals, a core personnel and an ever-developing book of compositions and arrangements?

DJA: Keeping an 18-piece band together is a formidable challenge, both financially and logistically. Taking the group on the road – even for a one-day run-out like this one – is a huge endeavor. I’m very fortunate to have a group of musicians that believe in the music and are willing to make all kinds of sacrifices in order to bring it to new audiences.

–

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society performs this Wednesday at 6 p.m., in a free show at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage. The band plays a second performance at 10:15 p.m. that night, at Subterranean A; tickets are $17.50 in advance, or $20 at the door. For more information on Secret Society, visit www.secretsocietymusic.org.

Brad Linde is a D.C.-based saxophonist who co-leads the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra.

The Washington Post has named Atlas Performing Arts Center Founder Jane Lang and Co-Founder Paul Sprenger as the 2012 recipients of The Washington Post Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theatre Community. They will be honored at the 28th Annual Helen Hayes Awards presented by theatreWashington on April 23 at the Warner Theatre.
As noted philanthropists and theater advocates, Lang and Sprenger, both successful attorneys, are trustees of the Sprenger Lang Foundation which supports and promotes arts and historical organizations in the Washington region. They are most known for their tireless efforts and successful revitalization of the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street NE which opened to great fanfare in 2006. The Atlas is 60,000 square foot state of the art performance center with four theatres and three dance studios in the historic H Street Northeast corridor. The center is also home to a diverse group of locally renowned arts organizations and presents performances in music, dance, theatre and film.
Motivated by the belief that the arts could bring people together, Lang and Sprenger chaired the $24 million capital campaign that helped finance the Atlas’ renovation and worked to generate support for the project by connecting with the residents and businesses located in the H Street Corridor. The re-opening of the Atlas has been credited with sparking and sustaining the economic revitalization that is occurring on H Street, NE. Their dedication and generosity helped the Atlas become the cultural anchor of the neighborhood which was renamed “The Atlas District.”

“We are so delighted that The Washington Post has recognized Jane and Paul for their extraordinary work,” said Atlas Executive Director Sam Sweet. “Jane and Paul always put people at the center of the Atlas’ mission. Whether it’s artists, audiences, or neighbors, everyone should feel welcomed and supported by the Atlas. Even as the neighborhood changes, we want to make sure the Atlas remains the artistic heart of the community.”
Lang and Sprenger were also recently named Outstanding Philanthropists by the DC Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals on National Capital Philanthropy Day this past November.

The Washington Post Award, which began in 1986, celebrates members of the local theatre community who are playing a key role in the growth and development of this important cultural pastime. Recent recipients include: Ford’s Theatre Society, theatre and arts activist Andy Shallal, Helen Hayes Awards Founder Bonnie Nelson Schwartz, and the alliance of Arena Stage, the Crystal City BID, Vornado/Charles E. Smith, Marriott and Arlington County Economic Development.

A guest post from Allison Miller

Washington DC holds TWO special places in my heart. One holding my childhood memories and the other holding new memories I am creating as an adult. I would like to talk a bit about both.

The DC of my youth was a magical, mysterious, and confusing city where my parents took me to get cultured, hear great jazz, and play with my mentors. I grew up just north of DC in Maryland. Back then we called it the Greater Metropolitan DC Area. I just new that my neighborhood felt like the country and DC felt like the big city. Every
time we would drive to DC I would sit in the back seat (usually nervous anticipating the musical butt kicking I was about to receive) pondering the municipal street system of DC. I still wonder who came up with the street system in DC. Lettered streets turn into numbered streets and numbered streets cross over other numbered streets. It makes absolutely no sense. My dad always took 16th street to get to DC. It was the most direct route with the most minimal chances of getting lost. I always looked forward to passing “Allison” street, fantasizing that I might one day sneak out in the middle of the night and steal the “Allison” street sign.

I have many fabulous musical memories of DC as a young drummer. Countless trips to Georgetown to hear the greats of jazz at Blues Alley: McCoy Tyner, Ahmad Jamal, Chick Corea. In fact, one of my most exciting and terrifying moments involved Blues Alley and Charlie Byrd. I was 15 and Walter Salb, my first drum teacher, took me to see Charlie Byrd at Blues Alley. Turns out he was pals with Charlie and Chuck Redd, Charlie’s drummer. Without filling me in on his little plan, he somehow talked Charlie into asking me to sit in with him on “Cute,” the brush feature. Next thing you know I am on stage with Charlie Byrd playing “Cute.” I don’t think I had ever felt so nervous in my life. Who knows how I actually played.

I also have fond memories of Twins Lounge (the first Twins Jazz Club) . I started going to Twins before I could drive. I would go and sit in at the jam sessions, always leaving humiliated yet somehow inspired to go home and practice. Isn’t that a big mystery of life? How one can feel nervous and excited at the same time. And how that nervousness can improve one’s performance. Returning for more humiliation is also another mystery of the human condition.

Here are a few more childhood memories of DC that I must mention: Studying with Fred Begun- timpanist for the National Symphony Orchestra, seeing Prince for the first time, finally getting to see “The Brand New Heavies” at the old 9:30 Club, going to see “Annie” at the Kennedy Center with my family, but having to leave the musical early because my entire family got food poisoning from eating at the cafeteria on the roof of the Kennedy Center, my high school graduation ceremonies at DAR, and the first time I felt the smooth ride of playing with a master bassist like Keter Betts.

My memory of DC as an adult is quite different. Although, both of my DC’s have been equally supportive of my drumming and career as a Jazz musician. DC now represents a kind of musical home-base, instead of a scary trip to the big city and big city venues that I could only ever dream of playing. I now perform on the same Kennedy Center stage where my family once attempted to see “Annie.” I frequently play Blues Alley, the new Twins, and the new 9:30 club. I’ll never forget the first time I sold out Blues Alley. It was a great night. And, in 2010, I was asked to be the Commencement Speaker for my alma mater, Sherwood High School. This was quite the honor and as I nervously approached the podium to humbly impart any knowledge and advice I could offer to the class of 2010, I realized exactly 18 years ago I was sitting in the same place as these graduating kids. And during my senior year, 18 years ago, these graduating seniors of 2010 were being born. This realization sent shivers down my spine as I commenced to speak in front of 3,500 proud family members and students.

I also want to give praise to that DC “swing feel.” It has been a continuum in my entire career as a drummer. DC swing is unique and unlike any other swing in any other city. It’s a perfect combination of northeast forward motion and laid back southern swing. All jazz musicians originally hailing from DC feel this “swing” deeply in their bones. It is always there and will always be a major component in every DC raised jazz musician.

I return to DC once again on March 21st. I am honored to be the guest artist for opening night of the 6th Annual Washington Women in Jazz Festival at the Atlas Theater. This is a new venue and festival for me and I am so excited to be a part it. I am also thrilled to know that a new generation of DC jazz musicians and presenters are dedicated to keeping the DC jazz scene alive and vibrant. This is America’s music and I can’t think of a better city for jazz to be alive and kicking!

And, by the way, I still don’t understand the streets of DC. Still get lost … every time!

-Allison Miller

Last Thursday, P (age 5), T (age 2.5), and I attended Arts on the Horizon’s newest production, Out of the Box (for children 18 months to 5 years old). We really enjoyed Art on the Horizon’s first production, Drumming for Dishes (click here to read our review, accompanied by info about the theater company) so we had high expectations. Luckily, Out of the Box exceeded them all.

First of all, the new space is fabulous – toys (including a soft toolbelt), chalkboard tables, books, hats of all different sorts – the theater has successfully made their “waiting room” a destination in itself. Regarding the play, Out of the Box doesn’t stray far from its predecessor, in that the plot is simple and silent – just a girl playing with boxes, accompanied by a bass player and three stuffed animals who operate as “friends” and costars. Despite the sparsity of the set, Out of the Box manages to make the simple enchanting – the audience waved our hands while the girl’s box/boat sailed through our imaginary waters. Later in the play a large white sheet swooped through the room, which somehow seemed magical. And P’s whole face lit up when given the simple task of shaking a cardboard box. Although slow at times, Out of the Box’s interactive nature kept everyone involved; a huge crowd of 4 year olds COULD NOT stop laughing; and T seat-danced to the tunes from the bass. A lot of the play’s magic has to do with the casting of Tia Shearer, who plays the “girl.” We’ve attended a few plays where an adult portrays a child, some more successful than others (and some more expensive than others) but no actor is as convincing and enchanting as Shearer.

Although Arts on the Horizon’s plays are obviously written and directed for children, one should not discount their message to adults. In a gentle, nonjudgmental tone, you can almost hear the theater company whispering “look how much fun this is. and look how easy. you don’t need fancy toys or a lot of time. just play with them. they’re little and precious and they can teach you so much. just find a box and play. enter their world for a little while.” After watching an Arts on the Horizon production I find it almost impossible to not want to jump in right away, to leave the production and just “be” with my kids for awhile.

As wonderful as I found the play, Arts on the Horizon really scored a home run with its “after the play” activities – an easy take home art project and a few “surprises” in the lobby created a place so fun that my children literally WOULD NOT leave. “Three more minutes, PLEASE. just three more minutes.” Shearer came out out to meet the audience and P could not stop smiling. When asked on the way home what she loved most about the play, P replied “everything. absolutely everything.” While I’m not positive that her statement is entirely correct (during a slow part P asked me, “when is this going to end?”), P’s excitement serves as a great indicator of exactly what Art on the Horizon has managed to accomplish, – they’ve created a space and a play so interactive and engaging that everything flows together – from the toys in the lobby to the actress on the stage. And my kids refused to dissect it, they don’t know exactly what they liked, but they know they wanted to stay. On Friday morning, T asked “another play today, mommy? please!” So, who knows, we may attend another performance of Out of the Box. And another.

The play runs through March 18th at Landmark Mall in Alexandria. The production moves to the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington DC from March 20-25. Tickets are $8 for children and adults (children under 12 months are free). Click here for showtimes and additional info.

The Washington Post has covered the H Street Corridor’s evolving culture and identity since the neighborhood’s heyday as a shopping and entertainment destination in the 1920s and 30s. It’s incredible to see how the area has come full circle, putting the 1968 riots behind it and taking on new energy as one of D.C.’s liveliest destinations for unique restaurants, performances, and nightlife.

September 19, 2002- Plans to redevelop the Atlas Theatre complex in the H Street corridor in Northeast were announced today at the theatre.  (Photo Credit: Dayna Smith/ The Washington Post)

November 12, 2006- Performers and community at the opening of the Atlas Performing Arts Center. (Photo credit: Rich Lipski/ The Washington Post)

“In the 1940s and ’50s, it was one of the District’s more popular destinations for shopping and high-end restaurants. Like other downtown neighborhoods, the area took a notable turn for the worse after being ravaged by the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.”

“A place to party—and to settle down”
Mark Wellborn
Special to The Washington Post
October 24, 2009

 

April 1968- Calvarymen form a human wedge to sweep along between 10th & 11th street on H street N.E.
(Photo Credit: Matthew Lewis/ The Washington Post)

 

A RENEWED COMMITMENT

July 21, 2011- H Street N.E. in Washington, DC.

“But in the years that followed, little else happened, until 2003, when Mayor Anthony A. Williams announced a plan to revitalize H Street. The corridor would get office buildings, residential units, retail, arts and entertainment venues, and a streetcar line.”

“H Street corridor: A work in progress”
By Elizabeth Flock
July 22, 2011

“The District’s long-term goal — hard to envision looking down the desolate strip of empty lots and blank storefronts — is to restore H Street to its bustling commercial glory days, much the way that 14th Street NW, another Washington riot corridor, has been revitalized in recent years.”

“H Street NE, The Next Hotspot”
Daniela Deane
June 12, 2004

 

TAKING ON NEW LIFE

 

 

 

 

 

July 15, 2011- John Stephens, from left, Megan Johnson, Natalie Moreno, middle, and Taryn Buyrns eat dinner at Smith Commons Public House on H Street NE. (Photo Credit: Amanda Voisard/The Washington Post)

 

April 7, 2011- Patrons gather outside the Rock & Roll Hotel on the 1300 block of H Street Northeast, a once predominantly African-American neighborhood gives way to a mix of people today in Washington, D.C. (Photo Credit: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

 

“But then things began to change. The Atlas theater reopened. The Argonaut (itself the victim of a recent fire) and other bars began to move into the neighborhood. The Palace of Wonders offered burlesque and sword swallowing performances, the Red and the Black hosted indie bands before (slightly) growing crowds. Hipsters started hanging out and getting late-night fish sandwiches at Horace & Dickie’s. Then everything exploded, and restaurants and bars began attracting larger and larger crowds.”
“H Street NE Neighborhood Guide”

 

By Fritz Hahn and Stephanie Merry
The Washington Post’s Going Out Guide
Scene In: H Street The Washington Post

 

“The neighborhood is not all new bars and restaurants, and a number of establishments considered local landmarks are still alive and well. The Atlas Performing Arts Center has been providing the community with theater and music performances since 2001, and the Argonaut, one of the pioneering bars in the neighborhood, is still serving discounted beers and sweet potato fries at happy hour.”

“A place to party—and to settle down”

Mark Wellborn
Special to The Washington Post
October 24, 2009

 

REFLECTING ON HISTORY

“The H Street renaissance is among the most recent examples of gentrification in the District… The H Street route, “Hub, Home, Heart: The Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail,” is scheduled to open this spring and will boast 3.2 miles of history. It’s the 13th historic walking trail installed by Cultural Tourism since 2001.”

“But when a heritage trail opens in a transitional neighborhood, it’s often a harbinger of change, like the arrival of a yoga studio or a cupcake shop. It’s also a chance — and sometimes it feels like a last chance — to record modern history, before a neighborhood’s demographics and storefronts are reborn.”
“Heritage trails mark the path to preserving D.C. history”

Emily Wax
January 30, 2012

Click here to view a map of the Greater H Street Heritage Trail.

 

The Washington Post is the founding media sponsor of INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival.

 

The Atlas is once again partnering with neighboring H Street Restaurants to promote the INTERSECTIONS: A NEW AMERICA Arts Festival. This year the list of participating restaurants has grown to 15.

Bring your ticket on the day of your performance and receive 10% off your check at these H Street Restaurants!

The Argonaut
1433 H Street Northeast/1430 Maryland Avenue Northeast
202.250.3660

 

The Atlas Room
1015 H Street Northeast
202.388.4020

 

Biergarten Haus
1355 H Street Northeast
202.388.4053

 

The Big Board
421 H Street Northeast
202.543.3630
Discount not valid Friday and Saturday evenings after  7pm.

 

Boundary Road
414 H Street Northeast
202.450.3265

 

Dangerously Delicious Pies
1339 H Street Northeast
202.398.7437

 

Ethiopic
401 H Street Northeast
202.675.2066

 

Granville Moore’s
1238 H Street Northeast
202.399.2546

In honor of Jane Lang, founder of the Atlas Performing Arts Center:
Moules Lang:  ”Elegant and Artistic”
Morel Mushrooms, Fried Artichokes, Roasted Red Pepper Puree, Champagne Cream

 

The H Street Country Club
1335 H Street Northeast
202.399.4722

Ask for the Intersections menu!

The Liberty Tree
1016 H Street Northeast
202.396.TREE (8733)

 

Pho Bar & Grill
1360 H Street Northeast
202-587-5200

 

The Queen Vic
1206 H Street Northeast
202.396.2001

Ask about the Intersections special!

ShawaFel
1322 H St Northeast
202.388.7676

Ask about the Intersections Special!

Smith Commons
1245 H St Northeast
202.396.0038

Ask about the Intersections Specials!

Sova Espresso & Wine Bar
1359 H St Northeast
202.397.3080

 

Star & Shamrock
1341 H Street Northeast
202.388.3833

 

Sticky Rice
1224 H Street Northeast
202.397.7655

Ask about the Intersections Special!

Toki Underground
1234 H Street, NE
202.388.3086

Ask about the Intersections special!

 

 

The 3rd annual performing and visual arts festival begins February 23. 700 artists. 150 performances. 12 days.

Our retail friends on H street and Capitol Hill are helping us spread the word. Tomorrow, Saturday, February 11, visit  these Capitol Hill businesses, make an in-store purchase and  you will receive a special discount to the Festival!

Participating businesses are:

P and C Market
Atlas Vet
Metro Mutts (Both NE and SE locations)
Fragers Hardware
Marvelous Market of Capitol Hill
Monkey’s Uncle
Dawn Price Baby
Labyrinth Games and Puzzles
Hill’s Kitchen
Chateaux Animaux
Homebody
Schneiders Wine and Spirits

Read about the festival in this month’s Hill Rag

This is a cross-post from the blog  Sequenza21

When Armando Bayolo asked me to perform on his New Music Series at the Atlas Theater in Washington D.C., I immediately thought: what am I going to play at the NATION’S CAPITAL? …the place that’s home to the Smithsonian, the Kennedy Center Honors, and the place from which we all imagine sending time capsules to other planets.

Something I’m proud of is having commissioned more than a few stellar pieces that  could take their places in the 21st Century piano repertory. Particularly, I would cite the multimedia works, with  sound tracks and, sometimes, video.  Not only are they great virtuosic vehicles with all those challenges and rewards, but they have soundtracks that are original, evocative, and infectious. Send them to the moon!!

Also, I saw this as a time to REPRESENT: it’s an America that is about quilting as well as about Steve Reich’s “Different Trains”, about Quaker revival meetings as well as the Metropolitan Opera. I wanted things that reflected the American musical language in some way, and I also wanted to reflect the American sense of humor.

Here’s the program:

“Isabelle Eberhardt Dreams of Pianos” by Missy Mazzoli

“The Same Sky” by Carolyn Yarnell

“On Track” by Anna Clyne

“What Remains of a Rembrandt” by Randall Woolf

“Digits” by Neil Rolnick

You can’t find a better example of the American vernacular crafted into art music than Missy’s piece; Carolyn’s piece is quite simply one of the best piano works of the last 20 years. Anna Clyne may have been born in London, but here she demonstrates a truly American sense of humor and appropriation of found sounds; Neil’s piece exhibits all of the above with an American aesthetic that perhaps finds it roots in Scott Joplin and other early ragtime artists.

These are not the only pieces that I love and am proud to program, but they certainly represent a kind of hit parade for me. But I also wanted something new. What fun is performing without that? Here’s where Randall Woolf’s piece came in. Full disclosure: he’s my husband. He hadn’t written a piece for me in a decade, but did so this fall. It was premiered two weeks ago in Florida (a commission by New Music New College), and I wanted to add it to the mix. The piece is part of a large project on which I’m embarking called Digital Debussy, in which composers create works that either subject Debussy fragments to modern electronic processes or, in some way, realize a 21st century Debussy. Randy is one of those maverick Americans, who is always pushing his and the world’s envelope a little. I knew he wouldn’t disappoint on this.

I can’t wait to see what the audience in Washington D.C. will be like. I’m pretty sure they won’t be bored. Now, to figure out what I’ll wear and what I’ll say…….

-KS

 

 

The review appears here http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inami-winds-quintet-caps-performance-with-klezmer–and-its-a-blast/2012/01/29/gIQAZmPsaQ_story.html

Imani Winds quintet caps performance with klezmer — and it’s a blast

By Joan Reinthaler, Published: January 29

Of all the tools in the arsenal that the Imani Winds quintet wields so skillfully, perhaps the two most powerful are its ability to get into the heart of each piece’s cultural core and to communicate the joy of making music together. Nothing brought this home more clearly than the rollicking finale of the ensemble’s concert Friday at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street NE.

Having recently absorbed klezmer into its multicultural repertoire, the group blew the place apart with a pair of klezmer dances, which were milked for every bit of drama. They were led by clarinetist Mariam Adam, who evoked enough human-sounding wailing, achingly cool slow-dance rhythms and uninhibited emoting to delight even the most rabid klezmer fans.

Coming off a week of performing at Strathmore and offering workshops to children there, the woodwind quintet took its trademark inventiveness to the Atlas. It’s a sure bet that most of this music was new to many in the audience. There were pieces by Eugene Bozza, Brian DuFord, Pavel Haas and John Harbison, and Villa-Lobos’s “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6” (instead of the more famous No. 5). The five had the audience anticipating the jokes in the music, nodding as textural tangles unraveled and following, like fans at a tennis match, themes as they bounced from one instrument to another.

After twittering their way through the wind-sprint-like warm-up of Bozza’s “Scherzo,” the quintet settled into “Variations on an Afro-Cuban Lullaby.” Written for Imani Winds by DuFord, its languid melody wanders through the personas of a hoedown and the dry ironies of a 1920s music-hall piece, then settles in the loosely groomed rhythmic clapping and rattle-shaking of an African dance.

Flutist Valerie Coleman and bassoonist Monica Ellis partnered on a happily coherent reading of Villa-Lobos’s 20th-century evocation of baroque structure, weaving the exuberant colors of ­Brazilian energy around the more predictable foundation of 18th-century harmony with gratifying transparency and balance. Haas’s four-movement quintet, with its heavy-handed third-movement “Ballet” (the dancers get tired and droop at the end), and Harbison’s quintet, a repertoire standard, got the treatment accorded old friends: a pleased welcome and a comfortably intimate collaboration.

 

It has been a thrilling musical week for the Atlas! It began with an amazing concert Monday evening by ETHEL.  Atlas staffers are still talking about the haunting performance

This morning wind quintet Imani Winds performed for first and second graders from  Capitol Hill’s Watkins Elementary School.

Both the performers and the students braved the heavy rains to make their way to the Atlas.  Imani Winds presented an engaging program which introduced the children to the wind instruments and allowed for the children to both participate and listen to the musical stories. This was not a serious, black tie  affair.  These musicians were howling like cats or growling like pirates. The musicians were animated and clearly enjoying themselves as they shared their passion with the young people.

Imani Winds is back tonight for a more grown up event.