Moving Art with Kevin Reese

"I must say, I am so excited about this festival. It's an incredible honor to be a part of something that brings so many different artists, cultures and disciplines together in one creative extravaganza.

Although I won't be performing on a stage, I'll be in the lobby on March 5th from 2 to 5, creating spontaneous mobiles with whoever walks by. Each person will be given a piece of colored card stock that they can cut into any shape that they want. Then they'll write on the piece their own answer to the question, "what are you an intersection of?" I'll add each piece to the mobile and we'll see where it goes. I really enjoy creating these mobiles because you never know how they're going to look. The finished product is always great, but it's the process that I enjoy more than anything.

I hope to see you all there!" --Kevin Reese
~~

Balancing at the Intersection with mobile artist Kevin Reese
Participate in the creation of a moving piece of art! Make one of the many pieces that will come together to balance in a high-flying mobile built on-site at the festival. Mobile artist Kevin Reese, founder of SchoolSculptures, works with communities across the United States to envision, design and install playful visual celebrations of many parts becoming one beautiful whole. All ages are welcome to be a part of his unique INTERSECTIONS creation.
Saturday, Mar 6
2:00 - 5:00 PM
Lobby
FREE

www.schoolsculptures.com

D.C. Bluegrass? Yep, that's right!

The Extension Agents

Jacqueline Lawton: What type of artist are you?
Extension Agents: We are a bluegrass band from DC.

JL: Where were you born? How did you end up where you are now?
EA: We were born in the living room of Amanda's urban farmstead in southeast DC a year and a half ago. We grew up playing at farmer's markets, coffee shops, bars, and hootinannies.

JL: List five words that describe your personality.
EA: Banjo, fiddle, mandolin, bass, guitar.

JL: How do you feel your performance fits into the festival?
EA: We are hoping to have some listeners who haven't heard bluegrass before and wouldn't imagine people play it in DC.

JL: Finish this sentence: I am an intersection of...
EA: strings and fingers.
~~

Extension Agents
Get your feet tapping to Bluegrass tunes both classic and eclectic with this popular Atlas District Band who’ll be warming up our Café before Tom Chapin.
Sunday, Mar 7 from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Kogod Lobby
Free

Enjoy some down-home picking with The Extension Agents, DC’s own bluegrass band. With fiddle, banjo, bass, mandolin, and guitar they are sure to get you tapping your feet to tunes both classic and eclectic. Sit a spell in our Café and take in these Atlas District regulars who host a hoe-down every other Thursday at Sova Espresso and Wine bar.

http://www.myspace.com/extensionagents

A New Dawn with Imani

Imani
New Dawn, a world music voyage with an exquisite DC-based jazz singer and her trio dubbed by the Washington Post as “the answer to jazz fans’ prayers.”
Saturday, Mar 6 at 7:30pm
Sprenger Theater
Tickets: $15
For audiences of all ages.

Sooth your soul with the sounds of Imani, who has been hailed as “an espresso-voiced song-weaver of rich, earthy texture and stunning vibrancy.” Relax into the groove of this DC-based favorite who has charmed audiences at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Curaçao Jazz Festival, San Antonio Jazz Festival and the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Sink into songs from the golden age of jazz, original compositions, reinterpretations of well-loved standards and contemporary pop classics. Imani and her trio create a warm energy that captivates and connects with all audiences.

http://www.zanganomusic.com/

David Emerson Toney's Elysian Fields

David Emerson Toney & Chris Youstra MusicalCome hear Act One of Elysian Fields, a vibrant new Toney-Youstra musical collaboration that resets Shakespeare’s King Lear in the deep South. Jennifer L. Nelson directs this star studded cast.
Sunday, Mar 7 at 7:30 PM
LAB 1
Tickets: $10
For audiences ages 13 and up.

Be the first to experience the compelling words of playwright David Emerson Toney and the haunting music of composer Chris Youstra in a word premier reading of Act One of Elysian Fields. Actor/singers will bring to life the story an old freed black slave in the Civil-War-Era South who, after a windfall, divides his property among his children. Inspired by Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy, King Lear, this musical asks: "When can we no longer blame the world around us for our own shortcomings?" The audience will be invited to share their responses to this powerful new work in a post-reading talk-back. The Atlas is proud to welcome back the playwright-composer team who created its opening production, Coming Home.

Cast
Keith Brown
Desire Dubose
James Johnson
Omoro Omoighe
Erika Rose
Aaron Reader
Kenyatta Rogers
Jefferson A. Russell
Frederick Strother
Addison Switzer
Nick Vaughn
Craig Wallace
Brandon White
Lance Coadie Williams
and more...

FeStIvAl cLoSiNg PaRtY! Sidwell Friends Jazz Ensemble

An Interview with Taylor Richard of Sidwell Upper School Jazz Ensemble
Jacqueline Lawton: What type of artist are you?
Taylor Richard: I am a jazz drummer.

JL: Where were you born? How did you end up where you are now?
TR: I was born in DC, but I've lived in Arlington my whole life.

JL: If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?
TR: I would be a sloth, because I love relaxing.

JL: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
TR: If I could be anywhere in the world right now, I would be in San Francisco.

JL: List five words that describe your personality.
TR: Mellow, dorky, generous, gentle, and irreverent.

JL: What is your favorite quote?
TR: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

JL: What is the best advice you have to give?
TR: Once you find what you want to do, don't stop doing it.

JL: How do you feel your performance fits into the festival?
TR: Jazz is a perfect form of expression; it fits in just about anywhere.

JL: Finish this sentence: I am an intersection of...
TR: I am an intersection of science and soul.
~~
Festival Closing Party
Come raise a glass and move your feet to celebrate three weekends of boundary-breaking arts at INTERSECTIONS. Music by Sidwell Friends Upper School Jazz Ensemble students.
Sunday, Mar 7 at 8:30 PM
Sprenger Theatre
Tickets: $20 (includes hors d'oeuvres and one drink at a cash bar.)

Click HERE to buy tickets!

Three-time Grammy Winner, Tom Chapin

An Interview
Jacqueline Lawton: What type of artist are you?
Tom Chapin: I am a singer/songwriter, an acoustic musician who plays guitar, banjo, autoharp, mandolin and didgeridoo.

JL: Who are your heroes?
TC: In no particular order: Pete Seeger, The Beatles, Nelson Mandela, Louis Armstrong, Bonnie Raitt, my two artistic grandfathers and the incredibly strong, wise, resilient, loving women in my family.

JL: Finish this sentence: I am an intersection...
TC: musical styles, performance art, writing genres, and have spent my personal and professional life learning how to collaborate.
~~
Tom Chapin: In Concert
In Concert, a concert with this legendary folk singer celebrating the intersection of music and social change.
Sunday, Mar 7 at 7pm
Lang Theater
Tickets: $20
For audiences ages 8 and up.

Dubbed “one of the great personalities in contemporary folk music” by the New York Times, Tom Chapin is a beloved singer-songwriter, storyteller and multi-instrumentalist whose music spans styles and generations. A three-time Grammy winner, Tom has entertained and enlightened audiences of all ages for more than thirty years with life-affirming original songs told in a sophisticated array of musical styles.

www.tomchapin.com

Symphony Space: Selected Shorts!

Symphony Space
Selected Shorts, a rich selection of short stories in performance by Broadway and Hollywood actors, produced by the popular New York City venue Symphony Space and featured on public radio around the country tours to the Atlas. Starring actors Joe Morton (City of Hope, Eureka) and Selected Shorts host Isaiah Sheffer.
Saturday, Mar 6 at 5pm
Lang Theater
Tickets: $20
For audiences ages 14 and up.

Experience how short stories take on a new life when performed by stars of the stage and screen. Join Selected Shorts Host Isaiah Sheffer for an all-star presentation and discussion of novelist and satirist Percival Everett’s story, "The Appropriation of Cultures.” The story chronicles the adventures of a young black musician who embraces the racially charged symbols meant to degrade him and turns them back on his would-be tormentors.

www.symphonyspace.org/shorts