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| Jon Raskin (photo by Peter B Kaars) | Justin Morrison (photo by Yvonne Portra) |
The Center for New Music is partnering with The Contemporary Jewish Museum to present four site-specific performances as part of the upcoming exhibition “Work In Progress: Considering Utopia.” The performances will be presented by improvising duos consisting of one musician and one dancer.
Occurring within the gallery, these performances will “activate” Ohad Meromi’s sculpture 1967 and the gallery itself. Meromi is an Israeli artist based out of New York whose work is being exhibited on the west coast for the first time. 1967 is an interactive installation inspired by the community stage in the kibbutz. The work explores the concept of utopia through the lens of the kibbutz across time.
Highlights of Rova founding member Jon Raskin‘s early career include his ’70s participation in new music ensembles directed by John Adams (San Francisco Conservatory of Music) and Dr. Barney Childs (University of Redlands). Before Rova, Raskin served as music director of the Tumbleweed Dance Company (1974-77), was a founding member of the Blue Dolphin Alternative Music Space and participated in the creation of the Farm – an art project that included a city farm. Highlights as a member of Rova include composing a collaborative work for SF Taiko Dojo/Rova, working with Howard Martin on the installation work “Occupancy”, composing music for Mr. Bungle/ Rova, organizing the 30 year Anniversary Concert of John Coltrane’s Ascension, performing the music of Miles Davis at the Fillmore with Yo Miles! Raskin has received numerous grants and commissions to work on a variety of creative projects: NEA composer grant for Poison Hotel, a theater production by Soon 3 (1988); Reader’s Digest/Meet the Composer (1992 & 2000); Berkeley Symphony commission (1995) and Headland Center for the Arts Residency (2009).
Justin Morrison is a San Francisco based dancer and choreographer. As a former member of Amsterdam based collective MAGPIE Music Dance Company, spearheaded by Katie Duck, he has performed with many luminary musicians including Han Bennink, Michael Moore, Mary Oliver (ICP Orchestra), Rozemarie Heggen, Wilbert de Joode, Andy Moor (The Ex), Yannis Kyriakides, and others in the Amsterdam music scene. Originally from San Diego, he’s enjoyed performing with Charles Curtis, Lukas Ligeti, George Lewis, Joseph Waters (SWARMIUS), and members of the Trummerflora collective. His evening length solo entitled WEAPON recently premiered at CounterPULSE in June.
The full slate of performances:
Jacob Felix Heule & Christine Bonansea
Thursday, Oct 10, 2013 | 6:30-7:15pm
Steve Adams & Shinichi Iova-Koga
Thursday, Nov 7, 2013 | 6:30-7:15pm
Jon Raskin & Justin Morrison
Thursday, Dec 5, 2013 | 6:30-7:15pm
Larry Ochs & Dohee Lee
Thursday, Jan 16, 2014 | 6:30-7:15pm