The first Festival Multimod Performer-Composer will take place from 3-6 of November of 2016 at the HEM in Geneva (Haute école de musique de Genève). Its basic premise is to present and examine the world of contemporary performer-composer activities in the context of the multiple modernities concept-a concept, which presents us with a large, international and multifaceted overview of modernity.
As much as the theoretical view of creativity today involves diverse cultural and aesthetic sources, it also involves diverse practices including improvisation, written-out composition and multimedia. The festival comprises performances, lectures, workshops and master classes designed for artists, students and scholars interested in the subject.
The first 2016 edition of the festival will feature some of the world-renowned performer-composers of the AKMI (Aga Khan Music Initiative) roster including Chinese pipa maestra Wu Man, Syrian composer-saxophonist Basel Rajoub and his ensemble, qānun player Feras Charestan, and frame drummer Andreas Piccioni, performing a newly-created repertoire inspired by tradition.
As special guests, we are presenting composer-performers David Rosenboom from the California Institute of the Arts, Feliu Gasull from the l’Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya Barcelona and jazz guitarist-composer Bruce Arnold from Princeton University. Our keynote speakers will include world-renowned anthropologist/author Ellen Dissanayake affiliated with the University of Washington and composer/author Michael Tenzer of the University of British Columbia.
We shall present some of our HEM artists featuring premieres by composer-theoretician Xavier Bouvier and Iranian composer-guitarist Golfam Khayam, concerts by virtuoso pianist-composer Raphael Gogniat, double bass virtuoso Alberto Bocini, original work for early instruments by Rafael Giménez de la Vega, including performance by the HEM guitar ensemble presenting music by Gilbert Biberian and the HEM contemporary chamber ensemble “Ensemble 21,” under the direction of Elena Schwarz.
The festival will also feature an international panorama of diverse composer-performers including the British saxophone player and improviser Mike Fletcher, Brazilian classical and jazz guitarist Alieksey Vianna, Turkish composer and bağlama performer Boran Mert, tanbur player Mirvahid Radfar from Iran, saxophone player and improviser Miguel Angel Crozzoli from Argentina and composer-guitarist Anthony Garcia from Australia.
In addition, we will present two interdisciplinary artists from Italy: cellist, improviser and multimedia artist Mauro Basilio and a collaborative duo Meucci-Finelli with guitarist Duilio Meucci and actor-director Massimo Finelli, as well as a half-dozen workshops which will be held by the participating artists.
An important point: all the concerts, workshops and conferences at the Multimod Festival will be free of charge.
