2007 Press

Information and downloadable images related to upcoming events and Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild classes and programs. Media are invited to download text and/or images for use in print and electronic publications. For past press information: 2008 Press Archive, 2007 Press Archive or 2006 Press Archive. For more information, contact Susan E. Schonhorn, Assistant Director for Programs, woodstockguild[at]hvc.rr.com or call, [845] 679-2079.

| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |

January

Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild Receives Grant from New York State Music Fund

Woodstock, New York January 5, 2007 - The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild announced today that it is the recipient of a $75,000 grant from The New York State Music Fund (“The Fund”) to support ROOTS AND TRADITIONAL MUSIC concerts and outreach with an emphasis on Hudson Valley artists. The New York State Music Fund was created when the New York State Attorney General’s Office resolved investigations against major record companies that had violated state and federal laws prohibiting “pay for play” (also called “payola).

The settlement agreement stipulated that funds paid by music businesses would support music education and appreciation for the benefit of New York State residents. The Attorney General’s Office enlisted the services of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, one of the nation’s largest and most experienced philanthropy services, to develop and manage the grant program.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to present these artists that we would not normally be able to afford”, said Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Executive Director, Carla Smith. The concert season will kick off with a performance by the Indie folk trio, Ida and the American folk, M Shanghai String Band in March. Also included in the line up are singer/songwriter / Bar Scott from Woodstock, Ollabelle, the American roots group featuring Amy Helm, Levon Helm’s daughter, Kingston based Singer/Songwriter and Jazz singer extraordinaire Rebecca Martin, The Mammals, the folk rock band inspired by the music of the Appalachian Mountains, Blues singer / Rory Block as well as a Banjo Masters evening with Tony Trischka, Bruce Molsky, Bill Keith and Eric Weissberg. Susan McKeown, from her native Ireland, will perform the last funded concert with her four piece band in March 2008. Also, included is a songwriting workshop for teens with Bar Scott and a fiddle workshop with Woodstock’s Betty MacDonald.

The New York State Music Fund published guidelines and criteria and accepted grant applications in a number of categories, including music education and public performances of music by artists working in hip hop, reggae, fusion , jazz, classical and folk music of all cultures. Applications related to recording, distribution, or broadcast through traditional or new media were also eligible. Special emphasis was placed on reaching underserved populations and broadening awareness of artists, genres or styles with limited access to commercial broadcast or other mass distribution vehicles.

An Advisory Panel comprised of recognized leaders from a cross-section of the music world evaluated and recommended applications based on criteria focusing on artistic merit and community impact, and recommended 218 of 402 applications the Fund received for its second cycle.

Awards to the 218 grantees represent every region of New York State and range from $10,000 - $500,000. Diverse forms of popular or experimental music, including indie rock, salsa, electronic, fusion, and reggae account for almost 37 percent of grants and more than 15 percent celebrate a spectrum of jazz; nearly 25 percent include new classical music. The state’s ethnic or racial minority communities are served by close to a third of all programs, while 28 percent specifically target rural communities. The Fund’s size and emphasis on music of our time in all its forms set it apart from other arts grant programs.

“What a perfect way to begin the New Year” said Carla Smith.

Youth Classes at the Kleinert/James Arts Center

MIXED MEDIA ART DOLLS with Beth Humphrey

HIP HOP DANCE with Byrant “Drew” Andrews

Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY 12498

Cost: Both classes are $100/ 8 weeks. $10 materials fee for Art Dolls Class.

Call The Guild at: 845-679-2079 for more information.

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to present a two month after-school program beginning in January 2007. The offerings will include Mixed Media Art Dolls (ages 7-10yrs) on Tuesdays and Hip Hop Dance (ages 10 and up) on Thursdays. Hip Hop Dance, taught byByrant “Drew” Andrews will meet on Thursdays, January 4th – Thursday, Feb 22nd. Mixed Media Art Dolls taught byBeth Humphrey will meet for 8 consecutive Tuesdays beginning on January 9th – February 27th . Both classes will be offered from 4-5pm at the Kleinert James Arts Center, 34 Tinker St., Woodstock, NY.

Tuesdays, 4-5 pm, January 9–February 27

MIXED MEDIA ART DOLLS with Beth Humphrey
Mixed Media Art dolls with Beth Humphrey is an eight week class where participants will be using collage, fabric, photo transfers, glue, glitter, feathers wire, playing cards and maps in order to explore and make dolls that are art. The projects will include: a self portrait doll, a monster doll and a paper doll set. In addition, participants will look at how artists all over the world make dolls.

Beth Humphrey is a Saugerties based artist who has been working with children for the past 20 years. She is a nationally shown artist and is now working as a freelance illustrator. Beth is currently teaching pre-school art for Saugerties Art Lab.

Thursdays, 4-5 pm, January 4 – February 22

HIP HOP DANCE with Byrant “Drew” Andrews
Drew’s creative energy dance classes promote high energy hip hop dance as a discipline. Combining physical fitness, rhythm and coordination to create an understanding of expressive movement through hip hop dance. This class is for beginners only. Basic hip hop movement will be taught in this class.

Byrant “Drew” Andrews has over 20 years of experience working with youth. He is currently the Program Director of the Drum and Dance Academy in Kingston NY. He has trained in New York City and in Los Angeles at Debbie Allen’s Dance Academy, where he studied and taught with some of the most renowned choreographers in the business. Drew is known for his high energy dance style and his rich, hard hitting choreography.

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February

The Salon Series Kicks Off at The Kleinert/James Arts Center

Date: Saturday, February 24, 2007
Time: 7 pm
Cost: FREE! Open to the Public
Call: 845-679-2079 to sign up
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild proudly presents a Spectacular Talent Show, by kids… for kids, on Saturday, February 24 at 2pm at the Kleinert/James Arts Center in Woodstock. Some of the young talent that will grace the Kleinert’s stage at this event are Cody Robinson/trumpet and piano, Anna Rose & Partner/dance improv, Kenna McWilliams/Voice, Bobby Lavalio/jazz trombone, Eleanor Alford/piano, Marley Alford,/violin, Teresa Curtis/violin and accordion, Ethan Richman/classical piano, Michael Desisto/violin and voice, Jimmy Martucci/jazz piano, Katie Martucci/violin and The Byrdcliffe Children’s Chorus, directed by Nancy Chusid, Hip Hop dancers under the direction of Byrant ‘Drew’ Andrews ,and more to be announced. This event has been successful in the past and provides a wonderful opportunity for area youth to present their natural talent and new acquired skills.

Anyone interested in participating please call the show Producer, Betty MacDonald at 679-8208. No auditions necessary. For more information please call The Guild at 845-679-2079. This event is free and open to the public.

The Salon Series Kicks Off at The Kleinert/James Arts Center

Date: Saturday, February 24, 2007
Time: 7 pm
Cost: FREE! Open to the Public
Call: 845-679-2079 to sign up
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild invites you to the premiere of THE SALON SERIES on Saturday, February 24th at 7pm. All members of The Guild are invited to share their work or their play. Music, spoken word, dance, song, jokes, recipes and works-in-progress are all welcome. This will be the first of the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s SALON SERIES FOR MEMBERS. This event is FREE and open to the public. Please call The Guild at 845-679-2079 to sign up.

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March

An Evening with Two Special Bands; Ida plus M Shanghai String Band

Date: Saturday, March 24
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $20 for Members.  $25 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

Over the past decade, Ida has mapped their own space in the American underground music scene. Ida embraces a broad template of musical ideas- from acoustic chamber pop, old time folk, and free improvisation. Defying easy categorization, the group is driven by three strong singer/songwriters and telepathic musicianship. Ida has performed in many venues in NYC, Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble and The Guild’s Annual Solstice concert. Daniel Littleton – voice and guitar. Elizabeth Mitchell – voice, guitar and harmonium. Karla Schickele – voice, bass and piano. Ruth Keating – drums and percussion.

M Shanghai String Band (MSSB) of Brooklyn, NY, have been playing together since 2002. With an adventurous take on Americana, the MSSB are not easily classified. The players are from diverse musical backgrounds and landed in Brooklyn from both sides of the Mason Dixon line (and the UK). Ranging from 5 to 11 players on any given night, they always deliver a fiery performance. The band’s choreography around a single microphone is a must see! Harrison Cannon – bass, vocals. Austin Hughes – guitar, vocals. Patty Hughes – banjo, vocals. Glendon Jones – fiddle. Richard Morris – mandolin, vocals. Dave Pollack – harmonica. Matt Schickele – guitar, vocals. Corin See – vocals. John Shanchuk – banjo. Philippa Thompson – fiddle, spoons, washboard, saw, vocals. Rose Thomson – guitar, vocals.

"Their performances are highly entertaining, like a modern medicine show." - Tommy Ramone, of The Ramones and Uncle Monk

This show is made possible by support from The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

ANNUAL MEMBERS SHOW

Exhibition Dates: Friday, March 23 - Sunday, April 8
Opening Reception: Friday, March 23 from 5 -7pm - please note new date
Gallery Hours: Friday – Sunday, 12 to 5 pm or by appointment
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

Kleinert/James Arts Center Celebrates FIFTY YEARS with ANNUAL MEMBERS SHOW

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Kleinert/James Arts Center celebrates FIFTY YEARS with the annual MEMBER’S SHOW, a group exhibition at the Kleinert/James from Friday, March 16 through April 8. The opening reception is on Friday, March 16 from 5pm – 7pm. The gallery is located at 34 Tinker Street in Woodstock, NY. Regular gallery hours are Friday through Sunday 12noon – 5pm and by special appointment.

The exhibition features painting, sculpture, prints, photography, ceramics and jewelry by members of The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. In honor of the Kleinert/James Arts Center 50th Anniversary, a blind jury will be awarding two cash prizes in the amount of $50 each. The Member’s Show is open to all Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild members as well as jewelry and ceramic students. All current members are welcome to participate. Each member may submit up to 5 pieces of work and no piece should exceed 25” in any direction. For more information Please call The Guild at 845-679-2079.

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April

A Special Evening of Indian Classical with Veenai Jayanthi Kumaresh

Date: Saturday, April 7
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $15 for Members.  $20 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to present an evening of Indian Classical Music featuring Jayanthi Kumaresh, affectionately known to her fans as Veenai Jayanthi on Saturday, April 7th at the Kleinert/James Arts Center at 8pm. Veenai Jayanthi performs on the veena, which is an instrument considered to be the fountainhead of Indian Classical Music. Jayanthi has toured the globe since 1990 and has been featured in many International festivals in the UK, Europe and the USA. She has been declared the best and most versatile Veena artist in India today. Accompanying Jayanthi will be Pramath Kiran on Morsing (jaws harp) and Arjun Kumar performing on the Mridangam, a type of Indian drum.

“The best and most versatile artist we have today” - The Statesman

“Fascinatingly profound… clearly brought out the intricacies and radiance of Veena music” - The Hindu

Evidence

Exhibition Dates: Saturday, April 14 - Sunday, May 20
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 14  from 4 -7pm
Gallery Hours: Friday – Sunday, 12 to 5 pm or by appointment
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild's Kleinert / James Arts Center is pleased to present Evidence, an exhibition of works by Wennie Huang, Jaanika Peerna, and Patricia Spergel, curated by Carol March.

Evidence may be defined generally as a reliable mark, sign or symptom of a truth; or proof of the existence of an object, event, or circumstance. Evidence causes us to choose one of several competing ideas; it justifies belief. We rely on evidence in our efforts to arrive at an accurate picture of the world.

The three artists in this show all work with indicators—marks, structures, color- clues about the existence of things not literally portrayed.

In her sculptural installation, “Everbloom”, Wennie Huang uses thousands of red chenille pipe-cleaners to create the lacey skeleton of a copper beech tree. This unusual medium evokes memories of a favorite childhood craft-a tactile shorthand mimicking nature’s form. The otherworldly, rich, red color refers to the red velvet covers of the artist’s mother’s many treasured family photo albums from Taiwan. Merging these signs of personal creation and ancestry, Huang’s “Everbloom: is an iconic tree; a sculptural imprint of a memory continually growing.

Jaanika Peerna makes many obsessive marks in her drawings. They are indications of the bits of information which comprise the universe. She says. “There is information out there. It consists of tiny units that can be boiled down to little particles-particles of dust, crystals, digital bits, dots, points of energy, moments of presence. The particles are in constant motion-swirling, jumping, bumping into each other, speeding up and slowing down, in flux between order and chaos.” Peerna Studies “the all-encompassing sense of life” and shows the evidence of it’s energy through drawing, photography, digital imagery, video, and sound works.

The forms in Patricia Spergel’s paintings are signals. They are semi-abstract, flowing, gestural reminders of things that come from the artist’s everyday life. They are about the body--nerves, veins, sexuality, fragile connections and regeneration. Light and color are one in Spergel’s work. The colored light serves as an atmosphere from which organ--like forms appear and disappear. Spergel’s poetic paintings are evidence of both our internal and external landscapes. Many are imbued with a quirky humor that further signifies the wonderful imperfection of human life.

World Acoustic Jazz Ensemble, QANTARA

Date: Saturday, April 21
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $15 for Members.  $20 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to present, “QANTARA”, Music Inside the Arch, on Saturday, April 21 at 8pm at the Kleinert / James Arts Center. Qantara is the Arabic word for arch. The group was formed in 1995 by Simon Shaheen. Mr. Shaheen is a Palestinian composer, violinist and oud virtuoso. He is perhaps the greatest ambassador of Arab world music in the United States. Fascinated and moved by his musician alliances with diverse musical cultures, he was inspired to develop new works that would bridge the two musical worlds and a group that could evoke the musical emotion of these culturally crossed exotic and rhythmically charged sounds. Shaheen’s compositions for the ensemble fuse his Arabic musical heritage with the contemporary sensibilities of postmodern jazz. QANTARA is a remarkable and distinctive example of world acoustic jazz..

Inevitably, a musician of Shaheen’s caliber received many invitations to collaborate with artists in other genres. ”Living in New York, you can’t avoid fusion.” He said back in 1995. “But, it is sad in one way that you hear much fusion of poor quality. It’s a lost formula in which musicians can do anything. There is no structure; no concept. Just mix things together. It’s what we call a Turkish salad, like putting more than fifteen different vegetables together.” He has collaborated with American Jazz musicians and musicians from Europe, Africa, and South America. He comments on these collaborations, “ I have tried to come up with a formula that is original, interesting musically, but not harming the roots. So the QANTARA is a symbol of something that holds different things together, and when you go through it, you don’t know what to expect inside. It’s like a new world. You might see a garden with this beautiful little pool of water. In our case, you go through it and you see this collaboration of different musicians.”

Joining Shaheen at the Kleinert/James Arts Center will be Bassam Saba / nay (Arabic flute) and flute, Peter Slavov / double bass and
Matt Kilmer / percussion. This is sure to be an evening of supreme musicianship as well as innovative sounds. Don’t miss it!

This concert was supported by the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Simon Shaheen was the recipient of this grant.

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May

Bar Scott Returns to the Kleinert/James

Date: Saturday, May 5
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $20 for Members.  $25 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is honored to present Woodstock’s local gem, singer/songwriter, Bar Scott on Saturday, May 5th at 8pm at the Kleinert/James Arts Center. Bar will perform along with her band – Charlie Kniceley on bass, Graham Taylor on drums and Kirsti Gholson singing backing vocals. The concert will feature songs from Bar’s new CD, Parachute, as well as songs from previous recordings.

Bar is known for her soulful warm performances that leave the audience peaceful and wanting more. Her songs have been described as art songs by WFUV’s Vince Scelsa, and she has been described by Women in Music host, Judy Whitfield, as a songwriter who “creates beauty”- something that she seeks to do.

She has played with some of the greats including Ian Anderson, Donald Fagen, Tony Levin, David Sancious, Jerry Marotta and Phoebe Snow. She has recorded 6 full-length recordings pf her own material, as well as 3 cover CDs and one children’s book with accompanying music. Her latest release-Parachute, 2006-is the first studio recording since 2000.

On Thursday, May 3rd, 4:00-6:00 pm also at the Kleinert/James Arts Center, Bar will lead a Songwriting Workshop for young teens with or without song writing experience. Bar has been teaching in many contexts over the last few years and her workshops are lots of fun and very inspiring. Pre – Registration for the workshop is recommended.

For more information or to buy tickets and register for the workshop please call The Guild at 845-679-2079. Tickets for the concert are $25/ General and $20 / Members. The workshop fee is $35. These events are made possible by support from The New York State Music Fund established by The New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Mikhail Horowitz With Gilles Malkine

Date: Saturday, May 12
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $15 for Members. $20 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The profoundly shallow, hermetically soiled and metaphysically unfit comic duo of Mikhail Horowitz & Gilles Malkine will once again lower property values at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Kleinert/James Arts Center on May 12 at 8pm. The pair, who have married great literary works to hip hop, blues, bluegrass, and Mongolian tongue drumming, and who have ruffled the scales of political regressives and religious poltroons of every persuasion with their socially savvy songs and creeds, will be accompanied by bassist John Menegon.

Horowitz and Malkine have shared bills and/or collaborated with Peter Schickele, Ed Sanders, Robert Bly, Jim Hightower, Amy Goodman, Natalie Merchant, Kate Pierson, Davis Amram, Happy and Artie Traum, and Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, among many other living national treasures. They are personally responsible for the de-funding of (at the latest count) 53 arts organizations, the closing and condemning of a dozen clubs, and the suicide of the music critic at Modern Maturity magazine.

SLIDE SLAMS WEDNESDAYS - 2007

ALL SLIDE SLAMS HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED!!

Date: Wednesday nights throughout the year:
 Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

Cost: FREE!!

Call The Guild at: 845-679-2079 for more information or email to sign-up!

In an effort to create a forum for local artists to share their work with each other and the community, the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild invites area artists to sign up to show their work at this 'SLIDE SLAM'.

A visual extravaganza of images!! Artists are invited to bring 10 slides to add to the slide tray and talk about their work for 10 minutes.

Show slides of your work OR be a 'SLAM Spectator' and enjoy watching the visual action happen! We encourage brevity, levity, sincerity, frivolity, relevance, pertinence, and impertinence. All are invited to join in.

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June

The Children’s Requiem @ Kleinert/James Arts Center

Date: Saturday, June 2, 2007
Time: Time: Doors @ 7:30pm. Show @ 8:00pm
Tickets: $20 - General Public and $15 - Guild Members
Call: The Guild at 845-679-2079 for more information and to order tickets

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to present The Gorgeous Mosaic Foundation’s production of The Children’s Requiem, an all choral performance by children and adults on Saturday, June 2 at 8pm at the Kleinert/James Arts Center in Woodstock, NY. The Children’s Requiem is written and composed by Woodstock resident, Judith Fleisher.

In 1989, a young woman jogging in Central Park was viciously attacked by twenty black youths, In 1989 a black teenage boy, named Yusef Hawkins was shot and killed by a gang of white youths. From these two defining and well- publicized violent episodes, we consider the moral issues of personal responsibility, repentance, self-reclamation and the possibility of reconciliation. These themes and the profound expressions of grief are the substance of The Children’s Requiem. The intention of Judith Fleisher’s work in The Children’s Requiem is to focus the attention on the parents, families and friends of those children lost to violence and to those who live with worry in these unsettling times. “ I can think of no anguish, which transcends racial, regional, gender, or ethnic divides, than that of the death of a child, says Fleisher. “If we can comfort each other and take strength from our universal experience of grief, there is hope in the strength of the community”. The Gorgeous Mosaic Foundation, established in 1998, is dedicated to mentoring young people in a professional environment in theatre and media. The Foundation is committed to bringing relevant and meaningful theatre and media into our communities.

Judith Fleisher, composer and writer of The Children’s Requiem has performed and arranged music for shows in the Public Theatre in NYC, Washington DC’s Arena Stage, The Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles, Studio Arena in Buffalo, Lenox Arts Theater and the Schubert in Boston. Ms. Fleisher’s music/theater compositions: Give It Up, Articles of Terror. Autobiography of My Mother, and Brothers and Keepers have been produced in Boston, Woodstock and New York City.

Byrdcliffe Outdoor Sculpture Show

PATHS: Real and Imagined

Exhibition Dates: Saturday, June 9 - Monday, October 8
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 9, from 4 -8pm at The Villetta Inn at Byrdcliffe, 3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way, Woodstock, NY
Daily Hours: Sunrise to Sunset

Participating Artists

Nancy Azara, Barbara Bachner, Cristina Biaggi, Donna Byars, Stella Chasteen, Ursula Clark, Leila Daw, Daniella Dooling, Sarah Draney, Chris Dunbrack, Carol Field, Manuela Filiaci, Bo Gehring, Kenichi Hiratsuka, Lucy Hodgson, Roman Hrab, Gillian Jagger, Tania Kravath, Ken Landauer and Julianne Swartz, Doris Licht, Jason Lujan, Sarah Greer Mecklem, Ann Pachner, Shelley Parriott, Sal Romano, Jane Schneider, Arlene Shechet, Sandy Straus and Grace Wapner.

Curated by Nancy Azara

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to announce the opening of the 2007 Byrdcliffe Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, PATHS: Real and Imagined, curated by Nancy Azara on Saturday, June 9, 4:00pm – 8:00pm. The opening reception will take place at The Villetta Inn, the main house, at 3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way. The exhibition will run through October 8. The Byrdcliffe grounds are open every day sunrise to sunset. Exhibition maps are available outside the Byrdcliffe Theater at 38 Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY.

Curator’s Statement:

PATHS: Real and Imagined on the Byrdcliffe grounds in Woodstock, NY celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Kleinert/James Arts Center. Byrdcliffe, besides having arts and crafts cottages and a main house, dating to 1903, also has open fields, manicured lawns and some over grown and untended winding paths, brambles and flowers. A path can connote both the unknown and the familiar; the path to spirit and the path to home. Thirty sculptors mostly from the Catskill area were invited to design what they perceived to be an idea for a path of any kind, going up, around, across or traversing through the grounds.

One could say that the concept of a “real and imagined” path begins with Ann Pachner’s sculpture which follows the path of her breath “inward,” Sarah Draney’s installation which evokes a path of memory, Salvatore Romano’s Floating Column infused with the energy from reality’s contradictions, Ursula Clark’s Cosmic Wheel of straw and twigs, or Christopher Dunbrack’s cascade in ribbons of color, an “inner and outer” pathway. Find a carved bluestone maze, a Welcoming Stone by Kenichi Hiratsuka, an Endless Squiggle by Roman Hrab or a shingle path to the sky by Lucy Hodgson. Continue along to animal-like painted rocks by Carol Field or to Donna Byars’ Dream Stones on tablets or to three park benches with “sea” images by Leila Daw. Iridescent tennis shoes walking up trees by Barbara Bachner can be seen near the tall cedar planks of the Time/Path by Nancy Azara. Pause in a human nest of wild grapevines, straw and twigs by Cristina Biaggi or visit the small worm trails which climb a solitary log by Jane Schneider. Look for a “wonderfully wacky” sign path by Sandy Straus. Encounter two ceramic warrior women by Tania Kravath. Along the way, visit a jaunty group of bronze travelers by Grace Wapner; find some stepping stones (but not for stepping) by Stella Chasteen, or ones for stepping on a painted stone wall around the old garden by Arlene Shechet. Notice the cast aluminum deer peering out from a shed by Gillian Jagger and the collection of “city” cement blocks (odd fellows in the country) by Manuela Filiaci. Continue along to a “smoke ring” path circling along the trees by Sarah Greer Mecklem and a set of ceramic totem tombstones by Doris Licht, as well as a giant “flower” made from shot gun casings, by Daniella Dooling. On this path find the Color Field installation of Shelley Parriott’s and a flowering vegetation of red plastic flowers by Jason Lujan which “grow” in a stand of birch trees, or “listen” to music (sound waves) in Bo Gehring’s Monk’s April 2 for Thelonius Monk, and then note the bed to “gather in” of wood, paint, dirt and plants by Ken Landauer and Julianne Swartz.

- Nancy Azara, Curator and Artist

Nancy Azara
Time/Path

Donna Byars
Dream Stones.the gifts

Bo Gehring
Monk's April

Lucy Hodgson
I Will Always Be There For You

A Family Program Of African Dance and Drum at Kleinert/James with KIBOLA SOUGEI

Date: Sunday, June 24
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker St. Woodstock, NY
Time: 11:00am
Tickets: General $12/Adult $7/ child Member: $10/Adult $5/Child
Call 845-679-2079 for tickets or more info

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to present a program for the whole family with the African Dance and Drum troupe, Kibola Sougei ,on Sunday, June 24 at 11am at the Kleinert/James Arts Center.

Kibola Sougei is a lively troupe that performs the traditional dance, song and rhythm of Guinea, West Africa. Founded by Mimo Camara in 1995 upon his emigration from Guinea, the group is comprised of both Africans and Americans who share their joy and talent as drummers and dancers. Mimo, was a lead dancer with Les Ballets Africains, the national troupe of Guinea, for 17 years before coming to the Hudson Valley. Known throughout the community as ‘the man who can light the world with his smile’, he is a living heritage and messenger of this rich culture. Guinea and its arts, remained untouched by European influence in the initial years of independence due to Sekou Toure, first president of Guinea, closing the borders to outsiders and promoting the value of these beautiful traditions. Being a member of the country’s top troupe gave Mimo an opportunity to learn not only the traditions of his particular ethnic group, but many others of Guinea’s 24 ethnicities. Mimo’s pride and enthusiasm for these art forms is infectious and he has spread his joy and knowledge to children and adults alike over his years in this valley as a performer.

Guest artists often include master drummers Mohamed Camara, Laurent Camara, Lamine Soumah and Mory Fofana. Performances are quick moving, interactive and an experience not to be missed. Come, bring the kids and join Kibola Sougei at the Kleinert/James Arts Center.

General tickets are $12 /adults and $7/Child and Member tickets are $10/adults and $5/child. To purchase tickets or for more information please call The Guild at 845-679-2079.

BYRDCLIFFE ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM RECEIVES MAJOR GRANT

The Byrdcliffe Arts Colony's Byrdcliffe’s International Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program, celebrating its 17th season, received a $10,000 grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation for its visual artists, including a new Byrdcliffe Master Artist Program. The AIR Program welcomed ten national and international artists to the Colony's Villetta Inn on Tuesday, May 29th. Forty artists (capacity) were selected for the season (June-mid September). The public is welcome to meet with Session I artists on Friday, June 22, at a potluck at the Byrdcliffe Villetta Inn (next door to the Byrdcliffe Theatre) beginning at 5pm.

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Byrdcliffe Arts Colony Artist-in-Residence Program invites the community to this season’s OPEN STUDIOS AND PARTY beginning on Friday, June 22nd at 5pm. Open studio tours begin at 5pm followed by a potluck dinner (please bring a dish or beverage to share) which will be followed by readings and a party.

The Byrdcliffe Arts Colony’s Artist-in-Residence Program offers writers and visual artists one month residencies from June through September. This program provides residents with unobstructed time in which to concentrate on independent creative work in the company of fellow artists. At the end of each session the residents share their work with each other and with Woodstock’s artistic community. Comp and help celebrate!

Dates for the open studios for the rest of the season are July 20, August 17 and September 14. It all takes place at the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony at the Villetta Inn on Upper Byrdcliffe Road in Woodstock, NY. For more information please call The Guild at 845-679-2079.

With the support of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, four visual artists were awarded special P/K Fellowships. Installation artist Devorah Sperber, a former resident of the Byrdcliffe Art Colony and Woodstock artist, was chosen to be the first recipient of the Byrdcliffe Master Award. Devorah will work closely with each of the Pollock-Krasner Fellows in furthering an aspect of their career. A special presentation by Devorah will be given on Sunday, August 12 at 2pm at the Kleinert/James Arts Center.

Successful applicants were chosen from among emerging, mid-career, and established artists. Panelists for the 2007 Summer Session included visual artists Joan Snyder and Donald Elder and literary panelists Gail Godwin, Matthew Spireng, Robert Handel, Evangaline Morphos and Nancy Golliday. Katherine Burger, Program Director of the AIR program for the past 14 years, oversees the 10 artists, usually 5 painters and 5 writers who attend each of four sessions.

ARTISTS FOR SESSION I May 29-June 24

This session we welcomed Melissa Meyer, based in New York, who has exhibited in the U.S. and abroad with more than 120 solo and group shows since 1974. Her work appears in public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R, Guggenheim Museum, as well as many corporate collections.

Poet Mary Pinard of Roslindale, MA, has published many poems in journals in the U.S. and abroad, and many essays and scholarly articles as well. Her extensive list of grants and honors includes finalist in 2006 River Styx International Poetry Contest. At Byrdcliffe she will continue her current exploration of form and work on a second collection of poems.

Also a Poet, Sharon Fain of Mill Valley, CA, has had her work appear in numerous journals and anthologies. Her chapbook, Telling the Story Another Way, won first prize in the 2003 National Looking Glass competition. Honors include a Pushcart nomination in 2006, and a State Department sponsored reading in Kazakhstan.

Emil Draitser immigrated to the U.S. from Russia in 1974 and currently serves as Professor in the Russian Division at Hunter College. His many books include Shush! Growing Up Jewish Under Stalin and A Memoir, forthcoming from University of California Press. In addition he has over 30 short stories and essays published in a wide selection of reviews, plus scholarly articles in a variety of journals. At Byrdcliffe Emil will edit an finalize his novel-in-short stories, Wedding in Brighton Beach.

Coming from Greensboro, NC, David Newton works both in drawing and sculpture. His work has been shown extensively throughout the eastern U.S. in solo and two person shows going back to 1991, and in group and juried shows going back to 1987. His work appears in collections at the RISD Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, and in various private collections here and abroad. His grants and awards include the Freeman Grant for study in China.

Painter Emily Noelle Lambert comes from Brooklyn, NY, with three solo exhibitions to her credit in 2007, including the Priska Juschka Fine Art in NYC, and many group exhibitions throughout the eastern U.S. Publications include the Washington Post and New York Magazine. She will spend her time at Byrdcliffe working on two solo exhibits for the fall.

Michael Costello, a painter from Boston, MA, has shown in numerous solo exhibits dating back to 1989, and group exhibits dating back to 1980. Noted for the extensive work he has done in landscapes, Costello’s work can be found in public and private collections, including the Federal Reserve, Fidelity Investment and the Boston Public Library.

A painter and photographer based in Peoria, IL, Heather Brammeier’s many solo exhibits include galleries in the Mid-west and East Coast. She has also shown extensively in group shows. She has won many honors and awards, including, most recently, nominee for the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award.

Jessica K. Mehr is currently enrolled for her MFA in Fiction Writing at Purdue University in Indiana, having graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the U. of Virginia in 2001. Two of her short stories have been published; also she has achieved several awards and honors, including first prize, Alligator Juniper National Writing Contest. At Byrdcliffe she will continue work on her first novel.

A poet, Ashley Nicole Montjoy comes from Florida with several published poems to her credit, as well as book reviews and encyclopedia entries. Her awards include the Vermont Studio Center Artist-in-Residence and Artist Grant in March 2007. She plans to spend her residency at Byrdcliffe working on her first collection of poetry, creating new poetry and revising older poems.

The one-month residence of these varied artists with multiple talents will culminate at an Open Studio on Friday, June 22nd, to which the public is invited. At 5:00 guests will tour the artists’ studios; following this, all will share in a pot luck supper at the Villetta Inn; and the evening will conclude with readings and dessert. Future Open Studio dates at the Villetta Inn are Fridays on July 20, August 17 and September 14 at 5pm.

Americans Who Tell the Truth

Exhibition Dates: Saturday, May 26 - Sunday, June 24
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 26  from 5 -8pm
Gallery Hours: Friday – Sunday, 12 to 5 pm or by appointment
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Kleinert/James Arts Center is pleased to announce the opening of Americans Who Tell the Truth, an exhibition of portrait paintings of Americans who stand for the truth by Maine painter, Robert Shetterely. Well known painter, Mary Frank, is the guest curator of this exhibition. The exhibition opens on ARTS DAY in Woodstock, Saturday, May 26, 5 - 8pm.

In tribute to America’s proud tradition of protest, Robert Shetterly has chose Americans who have stood up for what he calls “the promise of America” presenting them in a series of accurately painted head and shoulder life-size portraits with their names and a quote scratched in. Inspired by the events of 9/11, Shetterly, an abstract painter, began this portrait series as a way to channel his anger and grief. Shetterly had hoped that the shock of 9/11 would force America to reassess its economic, environmental and military strategies but when it was apparent this was not the path that America was taking Shetterly began the series of paintings. “My original goal was to paint fifty portraits. I’ve now gone beyond that and have decided to paint several more. The more I have learned about American History- the past and present- the more I’ve discovered whom I want to honor in this way”, says Shetterly.

Americans Who Tell the Truth is a traveling exhibition and has been shown in art galleries, museums, universities and libraries around the country. There has also been a book published and a school curriculum created from the series. The Americans that Mr. Shetterly has painted range from such usual suspects as Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to the less familiar likes of child peace activist Samantha Smith, political columnist Molly Ivins, plus controversial figures such as Emma Goldman and Dwight Eisenhower.

The opening at the Kleinert/James Arts Center will be unique in that the newly painted portrait of Pete Seeger will be unveiled. In addition, Mr. Seeger and his wife Toshi will be at The K/J to preview it. The ex-cop, Frank Serpico, who Shetterly has a painted, will also be attending the May 26th opening.

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July

Black & Light

Exhibition Dates: Saturday, June 30 - Sunday, July 29
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 30 from 5 - 8pm
Gallery Hours: Friday – Sunday, 12 to 5 pm or by appointment
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to announce a select group exhibition, Black & Light, which opens June 30. The exhibition brings together nine artists' work in diverse media: painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, monotype, and video. All of these artists work in black and white as part of their practice; these works were specifically chosen for their commitment to the representation and exploration of light and dark. The exhibition continues through July 29. There will be a reception at the Kleinert James Art Center gallery, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock with the artists Saturday, June 30, from 5-8.

Ward Fleming's interactive pinscreen sculptures, allow the viewer to create raised and sunken relief impressions in the array of luminescent pins. The resultant interplay of light and shadow then yield a heightened photo-reality to the three dimensional impression made on the surface.

Charise Isis debuts a series of touching and sensitive photographs of the intimate Drag scene centered around the performance troupe "Hudson Valley of the Dolls."

George Quasha & Sherry Williams have collaborated on a new video named, "Light Writing," that follows the motion of light in darkness.

Maureen McQuillan stretches out lines of white ink in wet black resin creating mesmerizing optical effects through the distortion of the grid.

Mark Thomas Kanter's works on paper harness the accidents intrinsic to his approach to monotype. These works powerfully evoke form, space and motion eliciting imagery from the viewer's experience.

Matthias Düwel's charcoal drawings suggest vast interiors in a state of decay, replete with the detritus of our contemporary world. Raised in post-war Berlin, Düwel's work evokes both the deprivations of disaster and the excesses of the consumer culture we have created.

Barry Price, a well-respected architect as well as a sculptor, contributes a large piece made from black and white marble. Price's sculpture engages and questions our expectations about light and shadow and the interaction between form and what is empty of form.

William Wood's monumental oil and wax paintings use both strong contrasts between dark and light and the gradations extant within the interstices of those two extremes to manufacture images of ethereal, imaginary landscapes unmovable against weather.

Though very different in their intent and results these nine artist's in Black & Light share the impulse to reduce the works shown here to the their core colors, and explore the interplay of light in the darkness and darkness in the light.

Black & Light has been organized by Heather Hutchison, a painter/sculptor living and working in Saugerties, NY who has been exploring light and shadow in her post-minimalist works since 1988.

The gallery will be open late for second Saturdays.

Light is meaningful only in relation to darkness, and truth presupposes error. It is these mingled opposites which people our life, which make it pungent, intoxicating. We only exist in terms of this conflict, in the zone where black and white clash. - Louis Aragon

You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in. - Arlo Guthrie

The Zucchini Brothers

100% Healthy 100% Fun Music for the Whole Family

Date: Sunday, July 1
Time: Doors at 10:30 am. Show starts at 11 am
Cost: $10/Adult $5/Child for Members. $12/Adult $7/Child for Non-Members
Location: Byrdcliffe Barn, Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY
Call 845-679-2079 for tickets or more info

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to present The Zucchini Brothers, often referred to as “The Beatles of Kids’ Music”, on Sunday, July 1 at 11am at the Byrdcliffe Barn.

The Zucchini Brothers, Jack, Steve and Sam offer up a musical stir-fry of styles. You never know just what these three zany guys will do. Originally from Saratoga Springs, New York, but now living in a clubhouse in ZucchiniLand, the Zucchini Brothers are well- renowned for their work in schools, theaters and festivals throughout the country. They also have a nationally syndicated weekly radio show “The Zucchini Brothers, Live! at the Clubhouse.” In addition to producing their own radio show, the Zucchini Brothers make numerous television appearances, and their CD’s are played on radio stations throughout the country. The Zucchini Brother’s music bridges the musical gap between kids and adults, appealing to people of all ages.

General tickets are $12 /adults, $7/Child and Member tickets are $10/adults and $5/child. To purchase tickets or for more information please call The Guild at 845-679-2079.

Weekend Byrdcliffe Furniture Workshop; Learn How to Build Like the Masters

With Rennie Cantine

Dates: Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22
Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Cost: Pre-Registration required. Space is limited. $175 for Members plus $75 materials fee. $200 for Non-Members plus $75 materials fee.
Location: Byrdcliffe Barn, Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY
Experience: All levels welcome. No woodworking or tool experience required

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to present a Byrdcliffe Furniture Workshop on Saturday, July 21 and Sunday, July 22, 9:00am – 12:00pm and 1:00pm – 4:00pm each day.

This workshop will introduce participants to the techniques used to make a piece of furniture in the Byrdcliffe style. You will learn about joinery, materials and finishes that the masters of Byrdcliffe used. Basic tool instruction will also be included as you actually build your own small cabinet, bench or stool to take home with you. The class will take place in the historic 1903 Byrdcliffe barn.

The workshop will be taught by Rennie Cantine. Rennie is a professional designer and builder in the Hudson Valley. Rennie was also raised in an original Byrdcliffe house.

The cost for the weekend workshop is $200 / general and $175 for guild members. This fee will also include lunch. Tools will be provided and there will also be a $75 materials fee. Pre-registration is required. For more information and to register please call The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild at 845-679-2079.

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August

The Seasons

Exhibition Dates: Saturday, August 4 - Monday, September 3
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 4 from 5 -8pm
Gallery Hours: Friday – Sunday, 12 to 5 pm or by appointment
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Kleinert/James Arts Center is pleased to present “The Seasons”, a series of six large-scale paintings by Gregory Amenoff. These ambitious works developed from Amenoff’s long-time fascination and love for the six mid-16th century paintings by Pieter Bruegel on the same subject, five of which are extant.

Autum's End, 2001-2004, oil on canvas 98" x 121 "

Amenoff’s Seasons paintings also divide the year into six sections, each depicting two months. As in the Bruegels, the foreground depicts the present, while the deep space is a portent of things to come. One month gives way to another. The last traces of warm light of fall give way to the cool light of late fall and early winter. We sit firmly in the present both hopeful and anxious about what inevitably will come.

Juno, 2002-2004, Oil on canvas, 79 1/2" x 128"

However, unlike Bruegel, Amenoff’s vision is that of a romantic mystic. He comes from a tradition created by American Modernists such as Arthur Dove, Charles Birchfield and Marsden Hartley. His work allows us to experience that subliminal relationship with nature which seems missing from our highly technological society. Using the languages of paint and landscape depiction to create atmosphere, conditions of light, and forms, he attaches emotional corollaries to changes which occur throughout a year’s cycle.

Solstice, 2002-2004, Oil on canvas, 104 1/2" x 87 1/2"

Gregory Amenoff (b. 1948) lives in New York City and Ulster County. He is the recipient of numerous awards from organizations including the American Academy of Arts and Letters, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts and Tiffany Foundation. He has had over fifty one-person exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the United States and Europe. His work is in the permanent collections of more than thirty museums, including the Whitney Museum of America Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He served as President of the National Academy of Design from 2001-2005. He serves on the Board of Directors of the CUE Art Foundation and is the Foundation's Curator Governor.

Amenoff is the Eve and Herman Gelman Professor of Visual Art at Columbia and is currently the Chair of Columbia's Visual Arts Division.

Byrdcliffe Master Artist Lecture

Vision and Art, The Work of Devorah Sperber

Date: Sunday, August 12th
Time: 2:00 pm
Cost: Free!! Followed by a Q & A
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to announce the appearance of New York artist Devorah Sperber at the Kleinert/James Arts Center at 2pm on Sunday, August 12th. Ms. Sperber will present “Vision and Art: The Work of Devorah Sperber” in conjunction with her role as the first Byrdcliffe Master at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Artist-in-Residency program at the Villetta Inn.

The Byrdcliffe Master Program was created this summer with a $10,000 grant from The Pollock-Krasner Foundation. The Byrdcliffe Master works individually with four juried visual artist Pollock-Krasner Fellows in areas of their interest during their month long residency at the Villetta Inn. The Byrdcliffe Master Program also interacts with the community through a special public event. Devorah has chosen hers to be a public lecture.

Devorah has been a cottage resident at Byrdcliffe, served as a volunteer curator of the Kleinert/James Art Center and inaugurated her “thread” work in the Kleinert/James Art Gallery. Since 1999, Ms. Sperber has created a series of large-scale installations and multi-part works. Interested in the links between art, science, and technology throughout the ages, Sperber will address how the human eyes and brain process sensory data versus the way we think we see. Using ordinary spools of thread, Sperber creates pixilated, inverted images of masterpieces, which appear as colorful abstractions to the naked eye. When viewed with optical devices, however, the works become immediately recognizable as the famous paintings that inspire her work. Ms. Sperber said, “As a visual artist I cannot think of a topic more stimulating and yet so basic than the act of seeing – how the human brain makes sense of the visual world.”

In 2005, Sperber represented the Brooklyn Museum and the United States at the Ljubljana Print Biennale, for which she created new thread-spool works based on Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper and Mona Lisa. A solo exhibition featuring these works was on display at the Brooklyn Museum from January 26 to June 17, 2007.

Also on display were Sperber’s recreations of Picasso’s portrait Gertrude Stein and van Eyck’s Man in a Red Turban, composed of thousands of colored crystals and thread spools. In 2002 Sperber was invited to create a site-specific installation at the Montclair Art Museum. The resulting installation, based on Edward Hopper’s Coast Guard Station, was the catalyst for a series of artwork based on paintings by Jackson Pollock, Chuck Close, Jan Vermeer, Hans Holbein, Salvador Dali, and Leonardo da Vinci.

Please call the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild at (845) 679-2079 to reserve a seat. Admission is free.

This lecture is made possible with a generous grant from The Pollock-Krasner Foundation.

The Beat | Annual Fundraiser at Bearsville Theater

An Unforgettable Evening with ‘Jazz Masters’ Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny and John Patitucci

Date: Saturday, August 18
Time: 8 pm
Cost: $50 and $75
Location: Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker St (Route 212) Woodstock, NY 12498

Legendary jazz musicians entertain for one night only at The Bearsville Theatre

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is honored to present the 2007 Annual WOODSTOCK BEAT. “The Beat” is an exclusive evening featuring world renowned jazz masters, drummer Jack DeJohnette, guitarist Pat Metheny and bass player John Patitucci, at The Bearsville Theatre on Saturday, August 18 at 8pm.

Jack DeJohnette has worked with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman to name just a few. He is widely regarded as one of jazz music’s greatest drummers and has collaborated with most major figures in jazz history. Last year he started a record label, Golden Beams Productions, to release the pieces of his work that major record companies may pass on, like “Music in the Key of Om”, to accompany meditation and “Music from the Hearts of the Masters”, a duo set with Mr. Suso, a virtuoso of the kora, a 21- string harp indigenous to West Africa.

One of the most original guitarists from the ‘80s onward, Pat Metheny is a chance-taking player who has gained great popularity but also taken some wild left turns. Metheny made his recording debut with Paul Bley and Jaco Pastorius in 1974. He spent an important period (1974-1977) with Gary Burton’s group, met keyboardist Lyle Mays, and in 1978 formed The Pat Metheny Group, which originally featured Mays, bassist Mark Egan, and drummer Dan Gottlieb. Within a short period he was ECM’s top artist and one of the most popular of all jazzmen, selling out stadiums. His 1980 album “80/81” featured Dewey Redman and Mike Brecker in a post-bop quintet; he teamed up with Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins on a trio date in 1983; and two years later recorded “Song X” with Ornette Coleman. Among Metheny’s other projects away from the group were a sideman recording with Sonny Rollins; a 1990 tour with Herbie Hancock; a trio album with Dave Holland and Roy Haynes; and a collaboration (and tour) with Joshua Redman. Throughout the years Metheny has retained his popularity and remained a consistently creative performer. He has also recorded for Geffen, Warner Brothers, and Nonesuch and remained active in the 21st century while releasing “Speaking of Now” in 2002, the solo “One Quite Night” in 2003, “The Way Up” in 2005, “Metheny Mehldau” in 2006 and “Metheny Mehldau Quartet” in 2007.

John Patitucci, who is of Italian descent, began playing the electric bass at age ten, composing and performing at age 12, as well as the acoustic bass at 15, and the piano one year later. Patitucci has released twelve albums to critical acclaim. In addition to his solo work, Patitucci has played on albums by B.B. king, Bonnie Raitt, Chick Corea, Harvest, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Was Not Was, Dave Grusin, Natalie Cole, Bon Jovi, Queen Latifah, Sting and Carly Simon. In 1986, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences voted Patitucci the MVP (Most Valuable Player) on acoustic bass. He has won two Grammy Awards (one for playing and one for composing). In addition, his first solo recording, “John Patitucci”, was number one on the Billboard Jazz charts.

Sponsored by: Woodstock Chimes Fund, Markertek, Precision Flow Technologies & Rondout Savings Bank

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September

Collage - A Group Show

LAYERING SPACE, RESTRUCTURING TIME

Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 8 - Sunday, October 14
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8, from 5-8pm
Gallery Hours: Friday – Sunday, 12 to 5 pm or by appointment
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Kleinert/James Art Center proudly presents “Layering Space, Restructuring Time: COLLAGE”, a group show of eight contemporary multi-media artists. Opening on Saturday, September 8th, featured artists Nancy Azara, Sandra Mackintosh, Rosalind Pace, Ann Pachner, Elke Solomon, Melissa Stern, Josette Urso and Jean Young create unique realities by inter-weaving personal visions with diverse fragments of paper, paint, cloth, photographs, leaves and wood. COLLAGE is curated by ceramist Stella Chasteen, whose work can be viewed in The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Byrdcliffe Outdoor Sculpture Show PATHS: Real and Imagined. Ms. Chasteen currently serves on The WBG’s Exhibition Committee and has served on the Board of Directors. Stella was the recipient of the Byrdcliffe Award at the Guild’s White Pines Gala, which was held July 21, 2007.

Nancy Azara is a sculptor whose work is carved, assembled and highly painted wood with gold and silver leaf and encaustic. The wood, paint and layers that make up her sculpture record a journey of memory, images and ideas. Nancy is curator of the Byrdcliffe Outdoor Sculpture Show PATHS: Real and Imagined and author of Spirit Taking Form (Red Wheel/Weisner 2002).

Sandra Mackintosh’s exquisite collages were recently presented at New York City’s Cordier and Esktrom Gallery. Ms. Mackintosh cuts and assembles banknotes into imaginary machines. According to New York Times art critic Vivien Raynor, “They all look as though they would work, mainly because the currency’s scrolls and lettering have been used so ingeniously to define mechanical anatomy and function. Miss Mackintosh is an original.”

Rosalind Pace has been a working artist, poet and teacher for over thirty-five years. She was a member of the original Provincetown Group Gallery and is currently Writer-in-Residence at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School. Her collages of various papers suggest lyrical architecture, or dreamscapes, often with fragmented text as part of the visual vocabulary. She lives in Truro, Massachusetts.

Ann Pachner’s solo exhibitions have included New York City’s A.I.R. Gallery, JBC Arts Gallery in Tampa, Florida and Woodstock’s Kleinert/James Arts Center. For close to forty years Ms. Pachner’s work has been shown in group exhibitions and arts festivals, received awards as well as privately collected. According to the artist, “My work is a practice of following my intuitions as stepping stones to the unfolding of my humanity.”

Since 1979, Elke Solomon has worked as an adjunct professor at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. Throughout the years she has served as ‘Visiting Artist’ at other prestigious universities, including Yale University School of Art, Hampshire College and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Ms. Solomon’s work was most recently exhibited in a group show at Dinaburg Arts in New York City. According to Art in America, “Elke Solomon’s markings are strangely voluptuous, a series of abbreviated gestures that identify painting as a performance of hand, eye and body… Solomon combines a modernist’s allegiance to materials, process and surface with a postmodernist’s urge toward narrative and ensemble.”

Melissa Stern’s work has been heralded as an “uninhibited and exuberant combination of encaustic, collage, paint, charcoal, pastel and oil stick.” In her 2006 exhibition of thirteen short stories that were told in small, mixed-medium drawings of few words, titled Loose Lips, Ms. Stern led the viewers into a “dark and funny world” by touching on family and other relationships. Since 1983, Ms. Stern’s work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Her work has been collected throughout the world, including The Arario Gallery in Seoul, Korea, Bear Sterns & Co. in New York City, The Arkansas Art Center and the Stavenger Museum in Stavenger, Norway.

Josette Urso is preoccupied with the problem of information; or its dual nature as nourishment and interference. In 1995 Ms. Urso stated, “In my collages the visual space is highly randomized and highly ordered. I want to push the visual matrix to a crescendo just before breakdown, to find, in T.S. Elliot’s phrase, ‘The still point of the turning world.’ My circular arrangements put me in mind of roulette wheels, just as they provide an insight into the spectral nature of consciousness.” Ms. Urso’s solo exhibitions have included Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo, Florida, University of Rochester in Rochester, NY and Fine Arts Museum of Long Island in Hempstead, NY.

Jean Young has shown her work at the Springfield Museum of Art, the Rudolph Gallery, the Woodstock Artists Association, and has had a one person exhibition at Marist College. In New York City she has exhibited at Vladimier Kagan’s showroom, the Athena Gallery, the Walter Wicksier Gallery, and the Shirley Fiterman Gallery. Also in New York City, she participated in a 1999 exhibition at the David Findlay Jr. Fine Arts Gallery which included Elaine de Kooning and Esphyr Slobodkina.

Rebecca Martin

Performing with Larry Grenadier (Acoustic Bass) & Phil Grenadier (Trumpet) at Kleinert/James Arts Center

Date: Saturday, September 15
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $20 for Members. $25 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild proudly presents singer/songwriter Rebecca Martin on Saturday, September 15th at the Kleinert/James Arts Center at 8pm. Rebecca will be performing with brothers Larry Grenadier, on acoustic bass, and Phil Grenadier, on trumpet. Ms. Martin is a quintessential American artist, a balladeer in the purest sense, a necessary and honest “shaper.” Her clear and strong voice appears to have no range limits and her songs about the human condition are truly moving. Rebecca’s last CD, ‘People Behave Like Ballads’, received rave reviews. Ben Ratcliff of The New York Times said, “Her soprano voice recalls the range Joni Mitchell had in her younger years.” Rebecca is also active in the jazz world, most recently performing and recording with the Paul Motian Trio +1.

Rebecca has been active in the New York City music scene for 15 years. Her career there began with her group ONCE BLUE (EMI Records) that featured her collaboration with Grammy Award winning songwriter Jesse Harris. Together, they released two recordings and toured the states with Emmy Lou Harris, Lisa Loeb, Shawn Colvin, The Lilith Fair and many others. As a solo artist, Rebecca has released three recordings that feature some of the most intriguing collaborations with members of the NYC jazz scene and showcase her award winning songwriting and vocals. They are: Thoroughfare, Middlehope (chosen as one of the top ten records of the year by the New York Times) and her latest, critically acclaimed ‘People Behave Like Ballads’ released on the MAXJAZZ label. Most recently, Rebecca was chosen as one of the twelve ‘Rising Star Vocalists’ in Downbeat Magazine’s annual critics poll and was recently chosen as the very first singer to work with legendary drummer Paul Motian to make a record of standards titled ‘On Broadway Volume 4 or the Paradox of Continuity’. Rebecca has performed at the Village Vanguard and Carnegie Hall with Paul Motian.

As a teenager in the San Francisco Bay area, Larry Grenadier played with Joe Henderson, Stan Getz and Bobby Hutcherson. In the 1990’s, Larry moved from Boston to play with Gary Burton’s Band and then to New York City where he played in the bands of Betty Carter, Joshua Redman, Danilo Perez, David Sanchez, Tom Harrell, Joe Henderson, John Scofield, Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau as well as recording dozens of records. Currently, Larry is a member of the collective trio, FLY, along with Mark Turner and Jeff Ballard. Their first recording for Savoy was released in January of 2004, and was selected as one of the top 10 recordings in the New York Times.

Trumpeter Phil Grenadier has played with Bob Belden, Chris Potter, Freddie Hubbard, Richie Beirach, Terumasa Hino, Mulgrew Miller and Billy Hart. Phil has appeared on some 40+ CD recordings as a sideman and has released two CD’s as a leader; Sweet Transients and Playful Intentions on Fresh Sound New Talent.

Ollabelle

Date: Saturday, September 29
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $20 for Members. $25 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild proudly presents Ollabelle, at the Kleinert/James Arts Center on Saturday, September 29th at 8pm. Ollabelle’s latest CD, Riverside Battle Songs, is a collection of songs of hard times, loss, compassion and hope. The 13-song set finds the New York quintet building upon the foundation of its self-titled 2004 debut. Drawing from a deep well of gospel, blues, bluegrass and country influences, Ollabelle creates timelessly resonant music that honors the integrity of its source while remaining effortlessly contemporary. The group is a multi-talented, democratic collective. Musicians share vocal and song writing duties to gain strength from their shared sense of mission, as well as their diverse musical and personal backgrounds.

Ollabelle is Amy Helm (vocals & mandola), Byron Isaacs (vocals, bass & dobro), Tony Leone (vocals, drums & percussion), Fiona McBain (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars), and Glenn Patscha (vocals, keyboards & accordion). T-Bone Burnett said, “Ollabelle came together because of these musicians’ love of this music, without thought of success or career or any of the other trappings of the modern professional music business. It has great value to our culture, adding new life to a tradition that is an important part of who we are. But mostly, they sound great. They sing great and they play great, and they are wonderful people.”

Where Ollabelle's gospel-steeped debut album emphasized distinctive adaptations of traditional material, Riverside Battle Songs — produced by veteran producer/multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell, best known for his lengthy stint in Bob Dylan's band, and mixed by longtime admirer T-Bone Burnett — showcases the group's own compositions. Such memorable originals as "Heaven's Pearls," "Fall Back," "Dream the Fall," "Blue Northern Lights" and "Reach for Love" offer subtly riveting examples of the bandmates' vocal and instrumental interplay, mining an evocative palette of acoustic and electric textures to create singularly expressive music.

The band credits the new album's confident vibe to the extensive roadwork that followed their first release. "The first album was made by a group of people who were just getting to know each other, personally as well as musically," Tony Leone notes. "But Riverside Battle Songs is a strong representation of where we are now, and who we are as writers, singers and players."

Riverside Battle Songs' compelling song craft and organic performances demonstrate the potent musical and personal rapport that continues to fuel Ollabelle's creative process. The group originally grew out of an informal assemblage of singers and players who came together to play traditional gospel songs at a weekly jam at the East Village bar 9C. That event became a welcome source of positive energy amidst the darkness that hung over downtown Manhattan in the months following September 11, 2001.

This show is made possible by support from The New York State Music Fund established by The New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

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October

The Mammals

Date: Saturday, October 6
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $20 for Members. $25 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY
Opening Act: Joshua Davis will do a 20-minute set.

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild proudly presents The Mammals, at the Kleinert/James Arts Center on Saturday, October 6th at 8pm. The Mammals, a Woodstock band, boast a loyal North-American following and burst with a dynamic and captivating repertoire. After touring the U.S. for five years in a van full of guitars, banjos, fiddles, drums and upright bass, the quintet is making some larger journeys. Their singularly enthusiastic reception at the Woodford Folk Festival in Australia last winter gave birth to a seven week follow-up Australian tour this March and April, and the summer was full of major festivals on two continents. All along, The Mammals have crafted shows that connect rock and traditional Appalachian music in a very organic way. Fine song writing has pulled these players to the front of the pack, and although they are musically adventurous, this band has thrived in the midst of a widespread old-time, neo-traditional movement.

At a Mammals show, party meets personality. The old-time music that they love is great for rhythmic escape. Interspersed with these dancey numbers, the band’s three singers, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Michael Merenda, and Ruth Ungar bring dynamic and heartfelt leads and harmonies to the forefront. At times familiar, and at times original, their songs all have something to say.

The Mammals greatest joy is performing for festival audiences, but their acoustic roots enable them to feel as comfortable in an intimate setting. The sensitivity of their charismatic drummer, Chris Merenda, and bold strokes of their impeccable bassist, Jacob Silver make all things possible.

“The Mammals are the finest young bluegrass/old-timey band in the country, the country-branch house band for the new weird America. They perform total energy, off-kilter folk that more resembles the twisted quirk of the Holy Modal Rounders than the clean jeans or alter-ninnies currently claw hammering banjos.” – LA Weekly

“Combining a modern pop sensibility with organic musical honesty, you hear everything from string sections to claw-hammer banjo. The band’s ability to unite disparate forms to create fresh amalgamations makes them special among the young bands.” – Vintage Guitar

The Mammals “create a collectively harmonized howl as thrilling and rocking as any band currently subverting folk traditions.” – No Depression

Five-piece band: Tao Rodriguez-Seeger (banjo, guitar, vocals), Ruth Ungar (fiddle, guitar, ukulele, vocals), Michael Merenda (guitar, banjo, vocals), Chris Merenda (drums) & Jacob Silver (bass)

Joshua Davis is the product of both city and country. An early interest in songwriting, country blues and finger-style guitarists pave the way for his original material, which is a seamless union of new and old.

This show is made possible by support from The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Happy Traum presents: Guitarist Mike Dowling

Date: Saturday, October 13
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $15 for Members. $20 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to present Grammy-winning guitarist Mike Dowling at the James/Kleinert Arts Center on Saturday, October 13th at 8pm. Mike Dowling draws inspiration from deep in the musical bag of American roots guitar. Firmly grounded in authenticity and possessed of a musical soul as old as the vintage instruments he favors, Mike has captured the hearts of acoustic music fans throughout the world with his engaging voice, self-deprecating wit, and elegant interpretations of an arsenal of old blues, swing, ragtime and original compositions.

A professional career that's spanned four decades has taken Mike from sideman, session player and band leader, to solo performer and composer of amazing versatility. Influenced by traditional Piedmont style fingerpickers like Mississippi John Hurt and swing jazz legends like the great George Barnes, Mike's developed a style, uniquely his own, that he translates fluently to arch top, flat top, and resonator guitars alike. From bottleneck blues on a well-worn National to elegant swing interpretations reminiscent of the great old jazz artists, Mike Dowling can do it all

Mike grew up in central Wisconsin and early in his career in the midwest he caught the attention of mandolinist Jethro Burns, jazz violin great Joe Venuti, and master fiddler Vassar Clements. In the 1970's he worked and recorded with Burns and Venuti in Chicago and joined Vassar's first touring band for a stint on the road. Clements called him simply, "One of the finest guitar players there is, anywhere." Long respected among his peers as a truly "tasty" player, Mike can be heard on dozens of recordings including Clements' 1979 grammy-nominated "Nashville Jam".

In 1995, after years of playing with various ensembles, as well as fronting his own bands, Mike launched a solo performance career and with the release of his first album, the critically acclaimed "Swamp Dog Blues", he began headlining at concerts and festivals in the U.S. and Europe. In 1996, buoyed by his success as a soloist, Mike packed up his guitars and his fishing gear and moved from Nashville, Tennessee to a little mountain town in northwestern Wyoming where he and his wife opened "Wind River Guitar", a unique live-in school for private master instruction. In 2001 they launched the week-long "Greater Yellowstone Music Camp" for acoustic blues and swing instruction in the beautiful northern Rockies. A gifted instructor, articulate and patient, Mike is the rare artist who teaches as well as he plays. His teaching credentials include staff positions held at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia, Port Townsend Blues Week, California Coast Music Camp, the Swannanoa Gathering, the International Guitar Seminars, and the European Blues Association's Blues Week in Northhampton, England. Mike's instructional books and DVDs are available from Homespun Tapes and Acoustic Music Resource.

During a ten year stint in Nashville Mike had a string of songwriting successes that include tunes recorded by such artists as the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Emmylou Harris, Tim O’Brien, Kathy Mattea, Claire Lynch and Del McCoury. He and his wife Jan wrote a #1 hit for Canadian country artist George Fox and have four tunes listed in “The Decade’s Top 200 Bluegrass Songs” as compiled by Bluegrass Unlimited (Jan. 2000). One of those tunes “Backtrackin’, written by Mike and recorded by the Nashville Bluegrass Band, was nominated for Bluegrass Song of the Year in 1994 by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Since leaving Nashville Mike has focused on writing instrumental music for the guitar. His compositions have been featured in the pages of Fingerstyle Guitar and Acoustic Guitar magazines, and his haunting arrangement of a Civil War era melody he calls “Rosalie” is included on the Acoustic Guitar compilation CD, Habits of the Heart.

Mike continues to write and record from his Wyoming retreat. He's been a frequent guest on public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion" and maintains a busy tour schedule playing concerts and festivals throughout the world and teaching at a variety of camps and clinics. In 2005, Mike was one of a dozen fingerstyle artists who won a Grammy for "Pink Guitar" for their solo guitar arrangements of Henry Mancini compositions.

This performance is made possible with public funds from the New York Council on the Arts, a State Agency.

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November

An Evening with The Banjo Masters

Date: Saturday, November 3
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $20 for Members. $25 for Non-Members - SHOW IS SOLD OUT!! There is a waiting list, please call to be added.
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild proudly presents The Banjo Masters, a unique and special evening with four of the top banjo players in the country performing solo and together, at the Kleinert/James Arts Center on Saturday, November 3rd at 8pm.

An unique evening with four of the top banjo players in the country all under one roof performing solo and all together. Featuring: Bill Keith, Bruce Molsky, Tony Trischka and Eric Weissberg.

Bill Keith is one of the living masters of bluegrass banjo and the inventor of the melodic picking techniques widely referred to as “Keith Style.” He has toured and recorded extensively with top bluegrass bands and artists. He has written several banjo instructional books and was co-author on the Earl Scruggs instruction book and record. Bill owns and operates the Bacon Banjo Company in Woodstock, NY.

With a guitar, fiddle or banjo in hand, Bruce Molsky has been exploring traditional music from an astonishingly broad range of cultures over the past two decades. He synthesizes and refracts the music through his own evolving sensibilities to the point where the source of his inspiration transforms it into a sound that is uniquely his. Bruce tours extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe.

The avant-garde banjo stylings of Tony Trischka inspired a whole generation of progressive bluegrass musicians. Tony is not only considered among the very best pickers, but he is also one of the instrument’s top teachers. Tony has played and recorded with Bill Evans, Bela Fleck, Earl Scruggs and William S. Burroughs, to name just a few. After delivering the keynote address at this year's International Bluegrass Music Association Awards conference Tony went on to win awards for all three of his nominations including: Recorded Event of the Year, Instrumental Album of the Year and Instrumental Performer - Banjo Player of the Year.

Considered by aficionados to be one of the best five-string banjo players ever, Eric Weissberg has been a major force on the folk scene and a ubiquitous presence on the studio scene for more than four decades. He had a number one single and album with Dueling Banjos, the soundtrack from "Deliverance", which earned him two gold records and a Grammy Award. Lately Eric has re-appeared on the live scene singing and picking music in concert, both solo and as an accompanist.

An Evening with Geoff Muldaur

Date: Saturday, November 10
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $20 for Members. $25 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild proudly presents an evening with Geoff Muldaur at the Kleinert/James Arts Center on Saturday, November 10th at 8pm. Geoff Muldaur is one of the great voices and musical forces to emerge from the folk, blues and folk-rock scenes centered in Cambridge, MA and Woodstock, NY. During the 1960's and '70's, Geoff made a series of highly influential recordings as a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and the Paul Butterfield's Better Days group, as well as collaborations with then-wife Maria and other notables (Bonnie Raitt, Eric Von Schmidt, Jerry Garcia, etc.). He left the stage and recording world in the mid-1980's for a working sabbatical but continued, however, to hone his craft, albeit 'flying beneath radar'. He composed scores for film and television, garnering an Emmy in the process, and produced off-beat albums for the likes of Lenny Pickett and the Borneo Horns and the Richard Greene String Quartet. And his definitive recording of "Brazil" provided the seed for - and was featured in - Terry Gilliam's film of the same title.

With his magical voice and singular approach to American music in tact, Geoff is once again touring the world. Recent performances have included Lincoln Center in New York City, The Getty Art Center in Los Angeles, Royal Festival Hall in London, as well as folk and blues festivals in Newport RI, Edmonton Canada, Dublin Ireland, San Francisco CA, Bergen and Notodden Norway to name a few. Geoff may be heard regularly as a guest on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" and has been featured on a variety of National Public Radio shows, including Weekend Edition and All Things Considered.

Geoff's newest albums have met with high critical acclaim and feature Geoff's unusually crafted interpretations of classic, oftentimes obscure, American material as well as his own unique compositions. The recordings include performances by David Lindley, The McGarrigle Sisters, John Sebastian, Van Dyke Parks, Roswell Rudd, Amos Garrett, Lenny Pickett and Howard Johnson in supporting roles.

In addition to tours and recording, Geoff continues to apply his arranging skills to a variety of projects for albums and film. Although he is known as a musicians musician, it is clearly his voice that most identifies him.

Notable praise for Geoff Muldaur:

Geoff Muldaur "...succeeds not because he copies the timbre and inflections of a down-home African American but because his voice - reedy, quavering, otherworldly - is so unusual that [the music] he sings becomes little more than a context, a jumping-off point." –The New York Times

About a recent performance in London, The London Times wrote, "Immaculate guitar picking was matched by vocals that were rich, and bore out the guitarist.”

Richard Thompson's praise for him: "There are only three white blues singers, and Geoff Muldaur is at least two of them.'"

"Geoff Muldaur was and is one of my musical heroes. When I listen to him sing and play, I can hear the coal mine, the cotton field, and last, but certainly foremost, the boy's boarding school." -- Loudon Wainwright III

"I was immediately taken with Geoff Muldaur's rich soulful voice, masterful phrasing and guitar playing when I first heard him." -- Lucinda Williams

This show is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Woodstock Biennial

Exhibition Dates: Saturday, October 20, - Sunday, December 2
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 20, from 5-7pm
Gallery Hours: Friday – Sunday, 12 to 5 pm or by appointment
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

To view some of the show, click here.

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is pleased to announce the premiere of the Woodstock Biennial, a multi-media exhibition of contemporary art from forty-six artists across the United States, including California, Connecticut, Georgia, the Hudson Valley, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington State. The Biennial was juried by Nohra Haime, owner and director of the Nohra Haime Gallery on 57th Street in New York City. Informed by the artwork itself, Ms. Haime viewed nearly 300 noteworthy submissions to select a comprehensive range of works that reveal a certain complexity, structure and overall relationship to one another. The exhibition unveils evidence of distinct responses to a variety of artistic, social, political and cultural experiences.

Nohra Haime was born in Bodega, Columbia. She attended Finch College in Manhattan from 1970 to 1974 and received her Masters in Art History from the Sorbonne in Paris. Nohra has been the Director of the Museum of Modern Art (Bogota) as well as the Director of the National Restoration Center in Bogota. In 1979 she returned to New York where she opened the Nohra Haime Gallery that concentrates on contemporary art. She has curated a number of exhibitions as well as written many art related articles. was born in Bodega, Columbia. She attended Finch College in Manhattan from 1970 to 1974 and received her Masters in Art History from the Sorbonne in Paris. Nohra has been the Director of the Museum of Modern Art (Bogota) as well as the Director of the National Restoration Center in Bogota. In 1979 she returned to New York where she opened the Nohra Haime Gallery that concentrates on contemporary art. She has curated a number of exhibitions as well as written many art related articles.

Biennial Artists: Kathleen Anderson, Barbara Bachner, Diane Barcelo, Darla Bjork, Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, Judd Boloker, Allen Bryan, Katherine Burger, John Cason, Mercedes Cecilia, Michael Cohen, James Crable, Peggy Cyphers, Rebecca Daniels, Katie DiChiara, Ann DuBois, Melissa Fleming, Mark Freedman, Chris Gonyea, Kathy Goodell, Mimi Czajka Graminski, Ginger Hardeman, Cari Hernandez, Amy Hill, Jim Holl, Judith Eloise Hooper, Jessica Houston, Einat Imber, Dale Klein, Joanne Klein, Polly Law, Deborah Lacativa, Ye Leen Lee, Harry Longstreet, Linda Lovinger-Siegel, Norma Markley, Meadow, Maria Mijares, Franc Palaia, Richard Pantell, Laura Pepitone , John R.G. Roth, Takayo Seto, Elizabeth Unterman, Margeaux Walter & Adam Welch.

Show will be hung by Heather Hutchison and Alan Baer.

December

Blues Singer Rory Block

Date: Saturday, December 1
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $20 for Members. $25 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild proudly presents Rory Block at the Kleinert/James Arts Center on Saturday, December 1st at 8pm. Heralded as “a living landmark” (Berkeley Express), “a national treasure” (Guitar Extra), and “one of the greatest living acoustic blues artists” (Blues Revue), Rory Block has committed her life and her career to preserving the Delta blues tradition and bringing it to life for 21st century audiences around the world. A traditionalist and an innovator at the same time, she wields a fiery and haunting guitar and vocal style that redefines the boundaries of acoustic blues and folk. The New York Times declared: “Her playing is perfect, her singing otherworldly as she wrestles with ghosts, shadows and legends.”

Rory Block has won the W.C. Handy award for “Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year” in 1997 and 1998 and “Acoustic Blues Album of the Year” in 1996 & 1999. Add to these laurels her latest award, the French “Trophees France Blues 98 -- International Guitarist Acoustique ‘98” -- and one can see that Rory Block has become one of the all-time highest regarded blues artists in the world. When Confessions of a Blues Singer won Acoustic Blues Album of the Year in May of 1999, Block thanked Bonnie Raitt for her support in making a guest appearance. The album included Robert Johnson's "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" and "Ramblin' On My Mind", Charlie Patton's "Bo Weavil Blues", songs by Louise Johnson, Furry Lewis, Bukka White, Blind Willie McTell, Reverend Robert Wilkins, William and Versey Smith, and two original songs.

Block joined the Telarc label with the September 2003 release of Last Fair Deal, a mix of eight original tunes and six compelling covers of early blues and gospel songs. Last Fair Deal finds Block at the absolute height of her creative powers, bringing a world full of life lessons to bear on what she calls “a total celebration of my beloved instrument and best friend, the guitar.”

Rory maintains an intensive worldwide solo touring schedule that includes art centers, theaters, listening rooms and major festivals such as The San Francisco Blues Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, The Telluride Blues Festival, The Philadelphia Folk Festival, Memphis In May, The Edmonton Folk Festival, The Montreal Jazz Festival, The Womad Festival in England, The Pinkpop Festival in Holland, The Notodden Blues Festival in Norway, The Peer Festival in Belgium, and The RAWA Festival in Poland, and the Cognac Blues Festival in France. Rory was one of the featured guitarists in the prestigious Columbia Artist Management GUITAR SUMMIT tours, which presented guitar masters in various fields. Rory toured with Michael Hedges, Stanley Jordan, Herb Ellis and Sharon Isbin.

Ms. Block has performed and recorded with such luminaries as Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Wonder, Mark Knopfler, Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo, Jorma Kaukonen, the Band, Mary Chapin Carpenter and many others. She is an esteemed presence as a songwriter, having garnered not only a gold record in Europe for her album, Best Blues And Originals, but has also won three INDIE awards for “Best Adult Contemporary Album of the Year.”

This show is made possible by support from The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

8th Annual 5 by 7 Show

Exhibition Dates: Friday, December 7, - Sunday, December 23
Opening Reception: Friday, December 7, from 5-7pm
Admission: $10.00. Free for participating artists.
Gallery Hours: Friday – Sunday, 12 to 5 pm or by appointment
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY
Each unique artwork sells for special price of $50 during show’s final week!

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s annual 5 x 7 Show continues through Sunday, December 23rd. With special sponsorship by TD Bank North, each unique work will be sold at a discounted, closing-week rate of $50. This highly anticipated exhibition, which hosted a highly successful opening on December 7th, features 216 original works by prominent artists living in the Hudson Valley and beyond, such as Gregory Amenoff, Nancy Azara, Jake Berthot, Donald Elder, Melissa Meyer and Joan Snyder. All proceeds support future exhibitions at the Kleinert/James Arts Center in Woodstock, NY.

Karl Berger and Friends

Date: Saturday, December 8
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $15 for Members. $20 for Non-Members
Location: Kleinert/James Arts Center, 34 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY

The Kleinert/James Arts Center proudly presents Karl Berger and Friends on Saturday, December 8 at 8:00pm, featuring world renowned accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier, John Lindberg (bass), Ingrid Sertso (vocals/poetry) and Tomas Ulrich (cello). Jazz composer Karl Berger and friends create a unique musical atmosphere during this rare performance of newly composed works along with melodies from Berger’s project "No Man Is An Island". "No Man Is An Island" has been called a pivotal recording of Karl Berger & Friends, exploring what Karl Berger calls "sense of space". With a grant from Chamber Music America, leading French accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier joins the band for a one-time performance of timeless and gentle beauty.

Karl Berger, co-founder and director of the Creative Music Studio and six-time winner of the Downbeat Critics Poll as a jazz soloist, has been a highly respected artist in contemporary music for several decades. Matinier, whose distinctive sound is reminiscent of Astor Piazzolla, is regarded as one of the most adventurous virtuosos on his instrument and is a jazz and new music celebrity in Europe. Their collaborations have been praised as “unexpected and exquisitely beautiful.”

Karl Berger’s compositions received the highest critical acclaim: "This is music of great maturity and coolness."(Jazzdimensions). “Engaging, thoughtful, and playful music that never fails to entertain and – if you are patient enough – enlighten.”(Jazz Review)

Karl Berger became noted for his innovative arrangements for recordings by Jeff Buckley ("Grace"), Natalie Merchant ("Ophelia"), Better Than Ezra, The Cardigans, Jonatha Brooke, Buckethead, Bootsie Collins, The Swans, Sly + Robbie, Angelique Kidjo a.o.; and for his collaborations with producers Bill Laswell, Alan Douglas ("Operazone"), Peter Collins, Andy Wallace, Craig Street, Alain Mallet, Malcolm Burn, Bob Marlett a.m.o. in Woodstock, NY. New York City, Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, Paris, Rome.

Founder and director of the Creative Music Foundation, Inc., dba The Creative Music Studio, a not-for-profit corporation, dedicated to the research of the power of music and sound and the elements common to all of the world’s music forms; and to educational presentations through workshops, concerts, recordings, with a growing network of artists and CMS members worldwide. In the 90s, Dr. Berger was Professor of Composition and Dean of Music Education at the Hochschule fuer Musik, Frankfurt / Germany. Chairman of the Music Department at UMass Dartmouth until 2006. Now re-establishing CMS programming, directing the CMS Archive Project, recording and producing. CMS is joining forces with Planet Arts, Inc. Performing internationally with the Allstar Ensemble "In the Spirit of Don Cherry" and with numerous projects, collaborating with vocalist/poet Ingrid Sertso.

Parisian accordion master Jean-Louis Matinier, arguably the most adventurous and open-minded virtuoso on his instrument, presents his long-awaited debut album as a bandleader. Matinier studied classical music, then turned to jazz and other improvised styles, easily crossing the borders between ethnic traditions, swinging grooves and daring innovations in the new classical vein. Matinier studied classical music, then turned to jazz and other improvised styles, easily crossing the borders between ethnic traditions, swinging grooves and daring innovations in the new classical vein. An irreplaceable collaborator for many of his colleagues, Matinier can be heard on recordings by (among others) Louis Sclavis, Gianluigi Trovesi, Michel Godard, Anouar Brahem and - most noticably - bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons. An irreplaceable collaborator for many of his colleagues, Matinier can be heard on recordings by (among others) Louis Sclavis, Gianluigi Trovesi, Michel Godard, Anouar Brahem and - most noticably-bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons. His duet album with Garcia-Fons, "Fuera" (ENJ-9364 2), received highest critical praise. His duet album with Garcia-Fons, "Outside" (ENJ - 9364 2), received highest critical praise. "A CD that grabs you from the first joyous note. It's an exciting trip" (The Gazette, Montreal). "A CD that grabs you from the first joyous note. It's an exciting trip." (The Gazette, Montreal). Those familiar with the album "Fuera" (that already included several tunes of his) know that Matinier the composer is inspired by folkloristic melodies as well as rock rhythms and loves the surprise of sudden changes and twists.

Through her work with such avant-jazz musicians as Don Cherry and Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso established herself as a captivating, adventurous vocalist, capable of blending jazz, African, South American and other worldbeat influences into a distinctive, hypnotic sound. Vocalist Ingrid Sertso is an utterly original vocalist and poet, who engages the listeners with the soft intensity that is her trademark. She effortlessly alternates and mixes song interpretations with sound improvisations and spoken word.

"Sertso spent over 20 years honing her art. She has taught, while performing in North America and Europe with the likes of Cherry, Ed Blackwell, Lee Konitz, Sam Rivers, Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Moses, Dave Holland, Perry Robinson and Jumma Santos. In 1974, she released Kalaparush on Trio Records in Japan. It was followed in 1975 by Peace Church Concerts on India Navigation/CMC Records. During the early '80s, Sertso remained a co-director at the Creative Music Studio, while continuing to record and perform with a variety of musicians, including such mainstays as Don Cherry and Karl Berger, as well as Paulo Moura, Nana Vasconcelos, Steve Gorn, Dan Brubeck and Mike Richmond. In 1990, Sertso catapulted back into the mainstream jazz spotlight through her version "Until the Rain Comes" on Don Cherry's Multi Kulti album. Shortly afterward, she began working on a new album, but she became sidetracked by collaborating with Karl Berger and guitarist Paul Koji Shigihara. The trio blended original compositions with Sertso's poetry, improvisations and interpretations of traditional tune. Sertso also regularly performed poetry readings at the Tinker Street Cafe in Woodstock and the Knitting Factory in New York, and she also regularly played clubs along the Northeast coast. In 1994, she released her comeback album Dance with It, which earned postitive reviews". - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

This show is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Annual Solstice Concert

With Happy and Artie Traum and Friends

Date: Friday, December 14 - PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE!!
Time: Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm
Cost: $30 for Members. $35 for Non-Members
TICKETS ARE SOLD-OUT. STANDING ROOM ONLY $25.00
Location: Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker St (Route 212) Woodstock, NY 12498

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild proudly presents the Annual Solstice Concert with legendary folksingers Happy & Artie Traum and Friends at the Bearsville Theater on Friday, December 14th at 8pm. Performing with The Traums will be Larry Campbell, Cindy Cashdollar, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, John Sebastian and Teresa Williams. You can also count on one or two surprise guest appearances. This concert is made possible with special sponsorship from the Ulster Savings Bank and the Woodstock Chimes Fund.

Left to right: Larry Campbell, Gary Burke (drums), Cindy Cashdollar, Artie Traum, Happy Traum, Frank Campbell.

Happy and Artie have been active and important figures on the American music scene for over thirty years. Full-time musicians since the 1960’s, they have performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia, solo and with many well known artists.

Happy Traum was one of the young folk musicians, along with Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger, Peter LaFarge and The Freedom Singers to have gathered in Folkways Records’ Studio in 1963 to record the historic album, Broadsides. Happy’s group, the New World Singers cut the first recording of “Blowin’ in the Wind”. Happy also sang a duet with Dylan on his song, “I Will Not Go Down Under the Ground”.

Artie Traum played with The Blues Project and The True Endeavor Jug Band. He recorded his first major label album with The Children of Paradise. Artie’s music can also be heard on Brian DePalma’s first festure film, Greetings, featuring Robert DeNiro.

Austin-based Dobro and steel guitarist Cindy Cashdollar's career has worked with many of the leading artists in contemporary music including Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan, Asleep at the Wheel, Garrison Keillor, Marcia Ball, Jorma Kaukonen, Leon Redbone, BeauSoleil, Daniel Lanois, and Redd Volkaert. Cindy first heard the unique sliding sound of the Dobro in her hometown of Woodstock, New York. She honed her skills playing with bluegrass legend John Herald, blues great Paul Butterfield, Levon Helm and Rick Danko of The Band, and many others who lived in the small, but musically hip Catskill mountain town. Eight years and thousands of miles on the road with the premier western swing group Asleep At The Wheel brought her five Grammy Awards and opportunities to work with musicians of the caliber of Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton and The Dixie Chicks.

The contributions of John Sebastian have become a permanent part of our American musical fabric. His group The Lovin' Spoonful played a major role in the mid-'60s rock revolution, but what leader, singer and songwriter Sebastian had in mind was actually a counter-revolution. "We were grateful to the Beatles for reminding us of our rock & roll roots," John explains, "but we wanted to cut out the English middlemen, so to speak, and get down to making this new music as an 'American' band." This the Lovin' Spoonful did like nobody before or since, putting their first seven singles into the Top 10. His father was a noted classical harmonica player and his mother a writer of radio programs. Regular visitors to the family's Greenwich Village home included Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie, so it was no surprise when young John became a fan of, and then a participant in, the folk music revival that swept the nation in the late '50s. As a member of the Even Dozen Jug Band, his skills on guitar, harmonica and autoharp soon made him a sought-after accompanist on the Village folk scene, working with Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, Mississippi John Hurt, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan and many others.

He had been involved in music for films (most notably Francis Ford Coppola's "You're A Big Boy Now" and Woody Allen's "What's Up Tiger Lily") and Broadway, but when producers of a TV show called "Welcome Back Kotter" commissioned a theme song in 1976, Sebastian's "Welcome Back" became a chart-topping solo record. Throughout the '70s and '80s he continued to record and tour, pleasing old fans and winning new ones. There's no telling how many aspiring musicians have been nurtured by his instruction books for harmonica and guitar, but he aimed to inspire an even younger audience with the publication in 1993 of the delightful children's book "JB's Harmonica." The '90s also saw John return to the group format with the J-Band, a contemporary celebration of his jug band heritage. Thankfully John's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 hasn't slowed him down. He is the subject of the current PBS special "Do You Believe In Magic: The Music of John Sebastian," and a new album of duets with David Grisman is due later in 2007.

Larry Campbell is a multi-instrumentalist who has been a studio musician and a respected sideman, since the seventies. He moves freely between rock, blues, country, folk and Celtic, playing guitar, fiddle, mandolin, pedal steel, cittern, dobro and banjo. He presently has his own solo acoustic guitar album out called "Rooftops". Over the past few years, Larry has recorded with Judy Collins, Linda Thompson, Sheryl Crow, B. B. King, and Willie Nelson just to name a few. As a sideman, Larry is probably best known for his time spent in Bob Dylan's band. Larry was a member of Bob Dylan'