3rd of March at Spectrum, New York City
In collaboration with Freemuse and National Coalition Against Censorship
Music Freedom Day is annual celebration in support of artistic freedom and of persecuted, prosecuted and imprisoned musicians, whose only crime has been that they have spoken up against authorities and insisted on the right to express themselves through their music.
Location: Spectrum, 121 Ludlow Street, Floor 2, Manhattan NY 10002
Program
6-9 PM
Listen to the Banned: Brief presentations on censored composers/performers and their music.
Redacted: For Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and Mohamedou Ould Slahi. Trio performance by Florida vocalist Jill Burton, NYC pianist Gordon Beeferman and NYC guitarist Chris Cochrane.
Film screening: THEY WILL HAVE TO KILL US FIRST: MALIAN MUSIC IN EXILE: A documentary feature film premiering at SXSW in March 2015 (excerpt). In 2012, jihadists took control of northern Mali. They imposed one of the strictest interpretations of sharia law in history. On 12 August they banned music – radio stations destroyed, instruments burned and Mali’s musicians faced torture, even death. The film follows Mali’s musicians as they fight to keep music alive in their country.
The Casualty Process: An Iranian electronic rock band in exile led by Natch Nadjafi on guitar, keyboard, MIDI controller, and vocals.
Ravenact: New project by violinist Sara Walraf (Berlin) and pianist Liz Kosack (NYC/Berlin). They move between voices, instruments, light and shadows and respond to a call into subtext and interspace. Based on Sara’s poetry, they compose and explore the dimensions of dialogue.
For more information on Music Freedom Day: http://on.fb.me/1EWATUK
For more information, please visit: www.freemuse.org – www.spectrumnyc.com