What is the music of poetry? How can the rhythms, phrasing, and ideas in a poem be translated into music? And what if the music were to act as a counterpoint, contradiction, or commentary on the text, adding value and nuance of its own? Join us for a reading and musical exploration of the poetry of Joan Logghe, featuring conductor and arts educator Oliver Prezant and improvising musicians Carla Kountoupes, violin; Jerry Weimer, clarinet; and Katie Harlow, cello.
During the program, Joan will read for us, and Oliver and the musicians will create music based on the sound, the language, and the imagery of the poems, as well as your thoughts and impressions."Joan's poetry is so rich in images, sense-impressions, and sonorous word combinations - it's perfect for this kind of musical exploration," said Prezant. "As we take time to experience different aspects of the poetry, the musicians will be ready to capture the mood and the meaning of the moment and turn it into music. We'll rehearse to get ready, of course, but the musicians won't hear the poetry until the day of, along with the audience. Can't wait to hear Joan, and to hear what we come up with musically!"
The program takes place on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 2:00 p.m. at Strata Gallery, 418 Cerrillos Rd. in the Design Center. Program length: about 90 minutes. For more information, call 1-877-466-3404 or email support@holdmyticket.com
General admission: $25. Seating is limited.
Artist Biographies:
Joan Logghe works at poetry on a family compound in La Puebla, New Mexico. She and Michael built their own solar houses, raised three children, and have five grandchildren. Awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry Grants, a Mabel Dodge Luhan Internship, and a Barbara Deming/Money for Women grant. She has worked with diverse populations, from Ghost Ranch to the State Pen, the AIDS community, and schools, kindergarten through college for the past 40 years. She taught poetry in Bratislava, Vienna, and Zagreb, Croatia in 2004. Joan served as Santa Fe’s Poet Laureate from 2010-2012. Joan has authored or edited a dozen books including The Singing Bowl, from UNM press and Unpunctuated Awe: Poems of Santa Fe, published by Tres Chicas Books.
Oliver Prezant has presented lectures and education programs for the Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Performance Santa Fe, the Tanglewood Association of Volunteers, Road Scholar, and the Guilds of the Santa Fe and San Francisco Opera companies. As the music director and conductor of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra, he worked with community musicians and choristers, professional soloists, public school music students, composers, creative artists, and community partners from Santa Fe and northern New Mexico to present a wide variety of innovative performances, unique education programs, and community collaborations. He has presented programs on the relationship of art and music for the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, the Albuquerque Museum of Art, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. Oliver was one of the founding teaching artists in Partners in Education’s ArtWorks Program, which provides arts education workshops for Santa Fe Public Schools students and teachers in the areas of music, poetry, visual art, theater, and dance. As the artistic advisor to the program, he trained teaching artists and classroom teachers, and coordinated with area poets, museums, and other arts organizations. He studied at the Mannes College of Music in New York City and the Pierre Monteux School for conductors in Hancock, Maine, and he was an Assistant Professor in the Contemporary Music Program at the College of Santa Fe and an instructor at Santa Fe University of Art and Design.
Carla Kountoupes, violinist, is a member of the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and Piazzolla da Camera Piano Trio. Carla has toured and performed professionally with orchestras and chamber ensembles in Central America, Taiwan, Germany, and all over the United States, including as a member of the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco and the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra. She enjoys performing and recording many genres in addition to classical, including Latin/world, alt-rock/pop, and jazz. A dedicated music educator, Carla is on the faculty at the New Mexico School for the Arts. She is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory (Violin Performance) and Oberlin College (English Literature). Carla’s violin was made in the 1740s and was inherited from her grandfather.
Jerry Weimer is a composer and clarinetist who has been a part of the Santa Fe music scene since 2001. Known for his unique sound, stylistic versatility, and compelling improvisations, Jerry is a regular presence in the Jazz and Latin music communities of Northern New Mexico, and was a featured soloist with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra in Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No. 1. He has collaborated with many local artists, including Nacha Mendez, Joaquin Gallegos, Jono Manson, Nosotros, Rumelia, John Rangel, the Shiners Club Jazz Band, Revózo, and Victor Alvarez’s SAVOR. Recent performances include Le Carnaval des Animaux with the National Dance Institute, and Amane, with Joe Hay, Words in the Wind, with Melanie Monsour, and Zozobra in 2021. Jerry is a graduate of the College of Santa Fe where he studied with Eddie Daniels.
Katie Harlow, cellist, has performed on cello, mandolin, accordion, and viola da gamba in numerous symphonic, chamber, early, folk, and improvised music ensembles, including the Santa Fe Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, New Music New Mexico, the New Mexico Women Composer's Guild, Opera Southwest, the early music groups Three Bass Blondes and the Boxwood Consort, the improvising music ensembles Out of Context and Playroom, the Bill Horvitz Band (jazz and new music), Cicadas, a mandolin ensemble, the folk music groups Bailiwick and Caledonia, and the band Basement Dancing. In addition, she has created arrangements and compositions for concerts, recordings, and theater productions. Katie holds a Bachelors in Cello Pedagogy and a Masters in Music Education from the University of New Mexico, and was on the faculty of Albuquerque Academy for many years.