Event Horizon 

The Event Horizon concert series takes place at The Rotunda. It features Electronic, Avant Garde, and Experimental music along with the work of live video projection artists. The concerts are always free and open to all.

Jair-Rohm Parker Wells is an electric bassist and experimental music artist known for hiswork with Embryo and prominent experimental musicians. Drawing inspiration from Lockwood, Feldman, Braxton, and Cage, Wells’ pursuits encompass the Chapman Stick, computer aided composition, and ambisonic mixing. Compositions from his “Liberation” cycle are featured as part of res·o·nant, the light and sound installation by artist Mischa Kuball at the Jewish Museum Berlin. He graces stages across the world, performing at renowned venues such asVahdat Hall in Tehran, Iran, the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, China, the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York, the iconic Globen Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, the vibrant Saxophone Jazz Pub in Bangkok, Thailand, the avant-garde Cafe Oto in London,England, and the prestigious Domicil Jazz Club in Munich, Germany, among many others. Wells’ commitment to innovation shapes the trajectory of experimental music.

Elliott Sharp (e#) is a composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who leads Orchestra Carbon, SysOrk, Tectonics and Terraplane and whose compositional strategies encompass fractal geometry, chaos theory, algorithms, genetic metaphors and new graphic notationtechniques, catalyzing a synesthetic music making approach. In 2015, he won the Berlin Prize and Jahrespreis from Der Deutscher Schallplatten Kritiks. Sharp received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fellowship from the Center for Transformative Media in 2014. He’s been featured in such festivals as Darmstadt, Huddersfield, and the Venice Biennale. His book, “IrRational Music” published in 2019, blends memoir, cultural discussion and music theory. Sharp’s works include a composition for Hilary Hahn’s Grammy-winning album “In 27 Pieces” and operas “Filiseti Mekidesi” and “Port Bou”. Collaborators include Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Cecil Taylor, Debbie Harry, Hubert Sumlin and more.

Janene Higgins is a NYC-based video artist and graphic designer who explores diverse creative realms. Her portfolio encompasses video performance in experimental music, projects for Saks Fifth Avenue and CD package designs for major labels like Sony, BMG and PolyGram,as well as for independent labels. Her collaborators include such luminaries as Ikue Mori, Mari Kimura, Zeena Parkins, and Christian Marclay. Her work has graced prestigious events including the Venice Biennale, New York Video Festival, Documenta and Ruhr Triennale inGermany, and the Impakt Festival in the Netherlands, showcasing her talent on a global stage.

Admission is FREE

Fire Museum Presents: Stephen Gauci, Adam Lane & Kevin Shea Trio:Stephen Gauci is recognized as one of the most strikingly original saxophonists on the New York City improvised music scene.

Stricken by a childhood illness that has left him with a profound hearing loss, Gauci was drawn to the clear, deep, tone of the tenor saxophone. This was the first step in a lifelong relationship with, and investigation of tone, timbre, and especially.. voice. The nature of Gauci’s hearing loss are that outer sounds require of him the utmost level of concentration and focus. The flip side, however, is that inner sounds,  and the inner voice, are magnified… crystal clear and singing. The intense outward focus developed as a result of Gauci’s hearing impairment has been turned inward like a laser to illuminate, and manifest,  the inner voice.

Gauci has performed and recorded with many of the leading improvisers of our time, including Cooper Moore, Joe Morris, Nels Cline, Karl Berger, Kenny Wessel, Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, Daniel Carter, George Garzone, Nate Wooley, William Parker, Steve Swell, Mike Bisio, Adam Lane, Kevin Shea, William Hooker, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Dave Rempis.

Gauci runs the popular Bushwick Improvised Music Series, where he has presented over 600 concerts featuring many of New York’s greatest improvisers, as well as many international touring musicians.  At two years and counting, the Bushwick Series is the longest running weekly avant jazz series in Brooklyn. Gauci also performs at the Bushwick Series every Monday with his working quartet featuring guitarist Sandy Ewen, bassist Adam Lane, and drummer Kevin Shea. Having performed every Monday for over two years, this is arguably one of the longest running avant jazz sets in New York City history.

By combining a disparate set of influences into a unique improvisational voice, Adam Lane has become recognized as one of the most original creative voices in contemporary jazz. His 2006 recording New Magical Kingdom, was recently featured in the Penguin Jazz Guide 1001 Best Records Ever Made, and his most recent recording, Ashcan Ranting received a myriad of critical praise including four stars in Downbeat.

His current projects include his Full Throttle Orchestra, a nine piece ensemble formed to realize his extended jazz orchestral compositions, The Adam Lane Trio, featuring legendary reedist Vinny Golia, Four Corners, a co-lead ensemble with reedist Ken Vandermark, and an ongoing solo project that combines unique processed double bass improvisations with Lane's original story telling. As a sideman he has performed with an eclectic mix of musicians, from tenor great John Tchicai, to alto iconoclast Richard Tabnik, to rock legend Tom Waits. Lane's compositions have been praised for their audacity and originality.

Kevin Shea is best known for his work with the band Mostly Other People Do the Killing, he has collaborated with numerous other avant-garde and jazz musicians and composers, including Storm & Stress, Rhys Chatham, People (with Mary Halvorson), Peter Evans Quartet, Barr Shea Dahl, Micah Gaugh and Alan Wilkinson. During the course of his twenty-plus year career, Shea has recorded on over eighty albums and has performed in more than forty countries. He has also performed with the Armitage Gone! dance company, and was lauded as New York City’s best drummer of 2012 by the Village Voice.

venue is wheelchair accessible

Admission is FREE and advance registration is encouraged. Please register HERE

Get ready to plan with a purpose at the 2024 Planning Workshop! On December 11th, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, we're gathering at the Rotunda on Walnut St in Philadelphia for a fun-filled evening of planning and goal-setting. This isn't your typical workshop - it's a celebration of the future, and you're invited!

Our host for the evening, the dynamic Jasmine Jahwula Seapoe, has invited the talented poet and event curator, Christopher KP Brown, to guide us through the process. We'll be mapping out the year 2024, identifying our goals, and creating tasks to bring them to life. So, grab your planners or calendars and get ready to turn your dreams into reality. Let's bid farewell to 2023 and welcome 2024 with clear vision and high spirits!

Admission is FREE. Please register HERE

PROGRAM

Passing, a short film

Monologue, for solo trumpetTessa Ellis, trumpet

Settle, for two players on one vibraphoneSarah Hennies and Andy Thierauf, vibraphone

Abscission, for violin, cello, and guitarCarlos Santiago, violin; Erin Busch, cello; Jonathan Pfeffer, guitar

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Sarah Hennies is a composer based in upstate New York whose work engages with affective and sociopolitical issues such as queer and trans identity, love, and intimacy by means of psychoacoustics and an expanded field of percussion. Forced to build their own set-ups, percussionists are, for Hennies, the only instrumentalists with the freedom to define themselves. A formally trained percussionist, Hennies’s penchant for the abnormal has yielded maladroit performances of multitudinous cheap, thrifted bells as well as ultra-minimalist poundings of woodblock and vibraphone. Hennies has composed acoustic music for ensembles and performers including Bearthoven, Claire Chase, Nate Wooley, and Yarn/Wire, while her recorded output has been released by Blume, No Rent Records, Astral Spirits, and Black Truffle, among other labels. Hennies is currently a visiting assistant professor of music at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

Founded in 2016, the Arcana New Music Ensemble is a group of Philadelphia-based musicians dedicated to presenting interesting, beautiful, and unconventional music in interesting, beautiful, and unconventional places. Built on a flexible roster of 25 musicians, Arcana is able to perform a broad range of repertoire in numerous configurations. Composers featured in recent programs include Julius Eastman, Morton Feldman, Galina Ustvolskaya, Pauline Oliveros, Tom Johnson, Moondog, and James Tenney. Arcana has performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Fleisher Art Memorial, The Rotunda, The Kitchen (NYC), and collaborated with Variant Six, Prometheus Chamber Orchestra, and Pig Iron Theater Company.More info HERE

Admission is FREE/pay-what-you-can

Poet~tree EnMotion

In Celebration of the New Moon Winter Solstice

(longest & darkest night of the year)

Featuring Live Music, Spoken Word/Poetry, Dance/Movement, Shamanic Sound Journey + Fire/Flow Festivities!

Wednesday, December 20th, 7-9pm-ish (Doors @ 6pm)!

A FREE COMMUNITY EVENT

Donations are Suggested/Appreciated to Benefit - Survival international (www.survivalinternational.org)

Theatrical Dancer/Lyrical Poetess/Emcee & Event Host/Resident Artist +  Mindful Movement Facilitator, Arts Educator & Creator

@plumdragoness @dragonspiritarts @authentic.eccentrics

·      Iron Gump & Guests

Experience a Shamanic Sound Journey where the healing resonance of seed shaking sounds meets the reverberation of Flutes, Bells, Strings, Gongs, Drums, Vocals & beyond…

@irongump_art

ARTIST BIOS:

Iron Gump

Iron Gump is a Sound and Energy Worker. Through his understandings of energy and movement, he utilizes sound and vibration to guide people into spaces where they can freely explore relaxation. Iron Gump has shared his Sound Journeys in Manhattan and Connecticut board rooms and offices, Haitian refugee camps in Dominican Republic, private Japanese arboretum in Maui, boutique hotel on Maderas Beach, Nicaragua and many other places between for the last 7 years. Working alongside Remedy Partners Inc. and Quartet Health, he has lead and set the tone for corporate retreats, office openings, informative talks and more recently for Mental Health Week. His practice is an inclusive experience for people from all walks of life. "In a world of Make-Believe, let us believe in what we make."

IronGumpart.com  @irongump_art

Plum Dragoness (a.k.a. Gabrielle de Burke)

Native to West Philadelphia, Plum Dragoness (a.k.a. Gabrielle de Burke) is a multitalented thespian, dancer, martial artist, instructor, poetess and writer who has been involved with performing arts since childhood. She is known for her poetic style, vocal performance, fire dance, flow arts, and choreographic flair throughout Philadelphia and abroad.

Over the past 17 years, she has toured as a solo artist, founding member/core performer/assistant artistic director of Archedream for HumanKind among many others. She has independently released two albums of original work with the project Plum Dragoness & the Elements, known for its fusion of multimedia, live world-beat musical infusions, spoken-word vocals and lyrical poetry. She has also helped bring together the all-female performance group trio The Femme-Mynistiques, who released their debut EP “Here She Comes…” in the summer of 2016.

Since 2007, Plum Dragoness has been a resident performance artist, as well as host and organizer for the successful performing arts series Poet-tree En Motion. This has allowed her the opportunity to share her own creative performances (including collaborative projects she initiated) and work created by many unique artists within the West Philadelphia community and beyond.

Her work as a healing arts practitioner and instructor continues to intersect with her work as an interdisciplinary performance artist through the incorporation of internal and martial arts forms in combination with dance, poetry and theater presentation. She has been teaching in the Philadelphia area and abroad since 2000.

www.DragonSpiritArts.com & wwwThePlumDragoness.com

+ on IG : @plumdragoness @dragonspiritarts @authentic.eccentrics