Homer and Kenai, AK, August 9-14

Wild Shore New Music, based in Alaska and New York City, joins
forces with the National Park Service (NPS) for its Centennial to
present a varied and compelling series of concerts in Alaska,
New York City, and Washington, D.C. The program considers the NPS mission of preservation and conservation. Humans have always needed to use and understand the natural world in order to survive. Wild Shore stages this struggle, and invites audiences to reflect on it, through instrumental music.

The 2016 Wild Shore Ensemble includes some of the nation’s finest classically-trained musicians: clarinetist Ken Thomson (Bang on a Can All- stars), cellist Mariel Roberts (MIVOS String Quartet), percussionist Owen Weaver (Mantra Percussion), flutist Katie Cox (Hotel Elefant), violinist Andie Springer (TRANSIT New Music), and pianist Conrad Winslow. (Biographies are available at wildshore.org.)

Wild Shore’s 2016 mainstage program is comprised entirely of pieces selected through a call for scores. Wild Shore received over 160 submissions from composers around the world. The program includes:

Albert Behar, Be Hear Now

Ben Cosgrove, Carrying Capacity

Erik DuLuca, Cascades

Aaron Helgeson, a place towards other places

Aaron Kirschner, Cryokenetic Variations

Stephen Lias, Jeffrey Pine

Brian Simalchik, Overlooks

Max Stoffregen, California Crest: Cinder Cove

Together, these pieces will explore how instrumental music makes us stop, look, and listen, while also modeling ways to move through and play with nature.

The mission of Wild Shore New Music, now in its fourth year, is to present adventurous new chamber music in south-central Alaska and explore how art engages the natural world in all its beauty and danger.

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Alaska

Wild Shore begins its 2016 season in Alaska with two Noontime Tunes concerts (co-presented by Kenai Peninsula Orchestra Summer Music Festival). These performances take place at Land’s End in Homer, Alaska, at 12 noon on Tuesday, August 9, and at Kenai Fine Arts Center in Kenai, Alaska, at 12 noon on Thursday, August 11. Both of these concerts are free.

At 8 pm on Thursday, August 11, Wild Shore offers another free concert, in collaboration with local musicians. This event takes place in Homer at The Down East Saloon, a performance venue for artists on the Kenai Peninsula. The concert pairs new music and classical instruments with rock music and improvisation, and concludes with a community jam. Bring your instrument of choice to join in!

Wild Shore’s two mainstage concerts will be held at Bunnell Street Arts Center, a multidisciplinary arts space in Homer, on Saturday, August 13 at 7 pm, and Sunday, August 14, at 3 pm. Tickets are available through Bunnell and at the door.

The Alaska portion of Wild Shore culminates in a public conversation called “What do we make of music?” This free event at Bunnell brings together artists and residents of the community to consider the intersections between art, experience, and nature, with music as a partner in the dialogue.

New York City

On August 23, Wild Shore presents its 2016 program at New York City’s Federal Hall in two free concerts at 12:30 pm and 7 pm.

Washington, D.C.

On August 25, Founders’ Day for the National Park Service, Wild Shore presents its 2016 program at an outdoor evening concert at 7 pm at National Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

A complete schedule of events is available at wildshore.org.