Contact information: 413/775-1228
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Contact: Matthew Shippee
Phone: 413/775-1228
E-mail: shippeem@gcc.mass.edu

Media contact: Liz Carroll
Marketing & Publications
413/775-1420 | carroll@gcc.mass.edu

Release date: March 14, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GCC inaugurates music performance/lecture series

Public invited to free events showcasing outstanding Valley performers

Area music lovers have a new venue to meet and enjoy renowned musicians at Greenfield Community College's Music Department performance/lecture series at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, through April 20th. The events, which are free and open to the public, take place in music classroom N253 on the main campus.

"The series is an opportunity for music lovers to hear a variety of specialists give master classes in their area of expertise,” says Matthew Shippee, Music Department Chair. "These performers are among the best from the Valley music scene.”

The lecture/performance combination, which Shippee says is unique in the Greenfield area, is an outgrowth of the college's new music curriculum, first introduced a year and a half ago. "We'll be hearing 20th century composition, bebop, Japanese, and Afro-Caribbean music,” says Shippee. "I think the program reflects our department's broad approach to music education, and our interest in bringing together all kinds of music.”

On March 30th, three of New England's premier jazz players will discuss and demonstrate aspects of jazz performance, improvisation and collaboration. The "Ambassadors of Light Trio” combines Claire Arenius' ethereal-cosmic-jazz drumming, pianist Eugene Uman's strong melodies and Latin rhythms, and bassist Jamie MacDonald's "freebop” electronics and rock influences. Together, they improvise in both traditional and free jazz idioms and playfully navigate experimental musical horizons.

"I think performers value having a place like this to share what they do,” says Shippee. "There aren't enough places where musicians can do this kind of thing. So it's providing an outlet, a space, and new audiences with whom to share their music in a special way.”

For music students at GCC, the series displays a wide range of possibilities for creating music and for creating careers in music. "They get to learn that there are many, many wonderful alternatives to having a hit song on the radio or MTV,” says Shippee, "and that will have a huge impact on what they do in the rest of their education and career.”

On April 6, composer Mike Vargas, author of "86 Aspects of Composition,” will be sharing an overview of his development as a composer and improviser, including his extensive work in the world of dance. His solo piano performances will illustrate his improvisational and compositional techniques.

Under Shippee's direction, the GCC music department has grown into a community that can support and benefit from this type of activity. "Students are already telling me that they're getting out of it just what I was hoping,” says Shippee, "in terms of hearing multiple voices that illustrate and build on their creative musicianship class. One student told me, ‘These lectures have been great because I get to hear how other people found their own way into music and careers.'”

April 13th will feature John Hughes on the African Kora, which is the ancient double-strung calabash "harp” of the Mande Jelis (griots). Hughes is a nationally recognized sculptor, instrumentalist, singer, dancer, instrument builder and teacher. He has studied the music of west Africa for more than 13 years, training with master drummers, dancers and kora players from Guinea, Mali and Guinea Bissau.

The series concludes with Japanese Shakuhachi (bamboo flute), performed by Phil Nyokai James. James will introduce some of the concepts of traditional Japanese music and compare them with Western music. He will also play a few of the oldest and most meditative pieces for solo shakuhachi. A licensed master in several styles of Japanese music, James has been teaching and performing throughout the United States for over 25 years.

After April 20th, the performance/lecture series will return in the fall. "My vision for the series, besides building community within the college and music department, is to bridge the college community with the wider community,” says Shippee. "I envision a future where we're in a bigger space and we have an even broader turn-out from the public.”

For more information, please call Matthew Shippee at (413) 775-1228 or shippeem@gcc.mass.edu.