Making Music as Part of Art

Music will fill the streets as part of the 21st Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival  May 18-20, 2012 at Reston Town Center. 

The festival will open on Friday night May 18 (tickets required), surrounded by over 200 contemporary art exhibitors.  

The New York-based International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) will lead the musical entertainment.  The contemporary and innovative group as performer, presenter, and educator, organizers say.  ICE will make its Northern Virginia debut at the festival and will perform a variety of unique and engaging new pieces of work designed specifically for the festival.

Performance examples include: 

Reston Bells (ICE + hand bell choir + audience cell phones)  - Bells have historically been a means of communication over distance - to mark time, signal alarm, announce celebration, call to prayer, etc. Now bells are used primarily as musical instruments, but still carry with them these associations.

Despite the changes in long-distance communication, we still respond to the sound of a bell to answer the door, or a telephone, or to see that a message has arrived to our inbox. Reston Bells is a look into the sounds and meanings of our means of communication - equal parts concert piece, installation, and happening.

Adapted from other works in Nathan Davis' "Bells" cycle, Reston Bells will feature ICE soloists, Reston's own Trinity Ringers circulating throughout the area playing their handbells amongst the audience. The audience is encouraged to move about and to participate with their cell phones.

ICE performed the world premiere of “Bells” by composer Nathan Davis at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York City.

Percussion Park – is a work that makes use of the many trees in Reston’s Presidents Park.

By hanging a variety of wooden, metal, and drum instruments from the branches by rope, ICE percussionists will present a unique audio-visual environment including works by composer John Cage and those who were influenced by his profound respect for sounds of the natural environment.

Spectators are invited to don headphones (also hanging from the tree branches) which are connected to a directly amplified tree in the park. In addition, numerous other exotic instruments will be struck from their suspended positions in interpretations involving motoric rhythms, phenomenal sonic textures, and subtle percussive virtuosity.

The Listening Tent - The Listening Tent is exactly that - a room in which children listen. They listen to one another, to themselves, to the musicians of ICE, and have the musicians of ICE listen to them.

Inspired by a decade of explorations with students, ICE launched the Listening Room in 2010 and has brought the program to public schools in New York, Chicago, Berlin, Paris, and Cologne. The Listening Tent creates an opportunity for young people with no prior musical experience to create and perform original compositions.  

Red Balloon - is a unique opportunity for kids of all ages to engage with music, sound, and the moving image in collaboration with ICE musicians and Albert Lamorisse’s classic “The Red Balloon”.  The academy award winning short film introduces a school-aged boy to a new friend; a large balloon which moves and behaves playfully on its own accord.  Select images will trigger audience participation as they ring bells, stamp feet, and assist ICE in creating the sound score for this touching film. 

Musical Line Up 
The festival also announces the 2012 musical line-up featuring artist such as popular folk singer Dulcie Taylor, Songwriters Association of Washington President Jean Bayou, the hypnotic youthful rock sounds of Margot MacDonald and folk contemporary duo Chatham Street. 

Click here for a complete schedule of performance art and musical entertainment.

Admission to the event is free, however for a voluntary donation of $10 to GRACE at the events’ ArtCarts, visitors will receive a $10 gift certificate to dine at participating Reston Town Center restaurants. Donation proceeds benefit year round educational and outreach programs produced by GRACE throughout the Northern Virginia area.