Namo Maitri - Live from ElectricLattéLand! 

Namo Maitri says, "When I DJ, I like to take people on a journey through sound. Each DJ set is different. We never know what will happen or where we will go but the journey is alway a get up and dance vibe. One main influence is Carl Cox. Lately, I have been enjoying seeing James Hype spin. I love to DJ house deep house trance music and add a twist to the tracks. Every time I DJ is a new experience."

Cash App/ Venmo : @namomaitri 48

Music can be found on all digital platforms under Namo Maitri

This event will be streamed live from ElectricLattéLand. You can catch it at https://youtu.be/6NWQEl2a3N4

Doors open at 6:30PM

Tickets: General Admission $25. Purchase here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/philly-loves-ukraine-a-benefit-concert-tickets-298612928307

Organized by: Philly Stands With Ukraine

Join us for an evening in solidarity with Ukraine with live music from West Philadelphia Orchestra 

LIMITED ROOM CAPACITY - TICKETS SELLING FAST!

If you can’t make it, but still want to donate, donation-only tickets are also available. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/philly-loves-ukraine-a-benefit-concert-tickets-298612928307

All proceeds will be donated to Revived Soldiers Ukraine. https://www.rsukraine.org/

#StandWithUkraine

#phillystandswithukraine

Ukrainians are currently facing a brutal invasion simply because of existing as a sovereign state striving for a freer, more democratic, and less corrupt future. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, thousands of people have been killed, and more than 3 million people have fled their homes. To show our support for Ukrainians whose peace, freedom, and lives are threatened, we are organizing a benefit concert in West Philly.

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West Philadelphia Orchestra is a brass band inspired by the Romani brass "orkestars" and "fanfares" of Eastern Europe. Known for stellar musicianship and dynamic live shows, the band’s sound is large, loud and extremely danceable. WPO began as a village band for their neighborhood in 2006, performing at parks, rocking street festivals and collaborating with community theaters. They’ve released a few albums over the years - WPO in 2008, Live at Tritone in 2012, and Tour de Filly in 2016 - all of which are available on the band’s Bandcamp page and streaming platforms. And lots of new music is on the way, including The Cosmic Trilogy in collaboration with Oolala, an anthropocene-themed EP, and an LP of party jams. You can find WPO on stages, beer gardens, protests and wedding celebrations throughout the Philadelphia region. WPO plays a wide-range of music, including traditional Balkan music (emphasis on Serbian and Macedonian repertoire), klezmer music rooted in Philadelphia’s klezmer tradition, NOLA style ‘jazz,’ and a bit of frevo, ska and American pop music. On stages and record, however, the band focuses on their original compositions which meld all of those influences together. They have collaborated with artists as varied as RJD2, Dr. Dog, Martha Graham Cracker, Johnny Showcase and the Trisha Brown Dance Company. With driving percussion, yawping tuba, wailing reeds and blaring trumpets, WPO's sound hits hard and lifts the spirits.

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100% of the proceeds raised will be donated to Revived Soldiers Ukraine, a 501(c)(3) US non-profit organization dedicated to providing aid to the people of Ukraine in support of their fundamental human rights and medical rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers. Revived Soldiers Ukraine is currently working around the clock to deliver medical equipment and supplies, arrange humanitarian aid, and provide medical treatment to injured Ukrainians.

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COVID-19 Policies (Subject to change):

- Masking required of everyone over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status.

- Please stay home if you feel unwell or have been in contact with someone diagnosed with Covid up to 14 days before the event.

- Please let The Rotunda know if you come down with any Covid symptoms up to 10 days after attending an event here. Email information@TheRotunda.org. We will never share your name or personal info.

Event Horizon presents 

Proteus-3, WeirdSmith, and PYXL8RProteus-3 is an improvisational electronic music trio consisting of multi-instrumentalists Juan Garces (The Melting Transistor, The Equinox Project, Black Thujone, Liquid Science Division), George Bley (Liquid Science Division), and Mike Hunter (Ombient, Black Thujone & host of the WPRB radio program Music With Space).

PYXL8R is the ongoing musical project of Cosmic Crossings co-founder and visualist Ken Palmer. Atmospheric, otherworldly, and always dense with unusual sonic textures, PYXL8R’s long-form synthesizer compositions are always performed completely live with no backing tracks. To achieve all of this on stage, Ken is joined by his talented spawn, Kyle and Sage. His wife Ruth provides the live visuals, so the whole clan has come to embrace the nickname “the Partridge Family of Electronic Music,” so c’mon, get happy!

Admission is FREE. Limited seating. Masking and contact tracing enforced. 

And coming up next!

Saturday May 7 - Ritchie DeCarlo and TBD

Ritchie DeCarlo has been playing drums for 50 years and started playing live in the Philadelphia area in 1982 with various bands and singer songwriters. He has released many albums with artists such as Percy Jones, Markus Reuter, Michael Manring, Scott McGill, Michael Bernier, Tony Levin and many others! 2009 he found the world of modular synthesizers and his music hasn’t been the same since. Today he is combining drums, electronic percussion and synthesizers to present music that takes you on a journey like no other you’ve experienced.

The Event Horizon concert series 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.

Bowerbird is pleased to present Liminal States, a series of late night, live streamed concerts intended to be listened to as you fall asleep. Aiming to center and calm, the musicians will seek to lead listeners to that magic space between awake and asleep. Tune in and bliss out. Composer and performer Sarah Hennies will perform from her home in New York.

This event is part of the Liminal States Series

Sarah Hennies is a composer based in upstate New York whose work is concerned with a variety of musical, sociopolitical, and psychological issues including queer & trans identity, love, intimacy, psychoacoustics, and percussion. She is primarily a composer of acoustic chamber music, but is also active in improvisation, film, and performance art. She presents her work internationally as both a composer and percussionist with notable performances at MoMA PS1 (NYC), Monday Evening Concerts (Los Angeles), Le Guess Who (Utrecht), Festival Cable (Nantes), send + receive (Winnipeg), O’ Art Space (Milan), Cafe Oto (London), ALICE (Copenhagen), and the Edition Festival (Stockholm). As a composer, she has received commissions across a wide array of performers and ensembles including Bearthoven, Bent Duo, Cristian Alvear, Claire Chase, R. Andrew Lee, Talea Ensemble, Thin Edge New Music Collective, Two-Way Street, Nate Wooley, and Yarn/Wire.

Admission to this online event is Free / Pay What You Wish. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. SPACE IS LIMITED. A link will be sent to you the day of the event. The performance will start at 11:00pm Eastern Time and will run approximately 45 mins. Please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sarah-hennies-tickets-207265987147

Fire Museum PresentsTHE CURATORS OF THIS EVENT REQUIRE THAT EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE SHOW PROOF OF VACCINATION AT THE DOOR. MASKING AND CONTACT TRACING ENFORCED. SEATING IS LIMITED FOR PURPOSES OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. Please register HERE

New MUSE 4tet is:Violinist Gwen LasterViolist Melanie DyerCellist Alex WatermanBassist Dara Blumenthal-Bloom

Created in October 2015 and founded by Violinist/Composer Gwen Laster, New MUSE4tet is an improvising string quartet offering 20th and 21st century new works and original compositions as a vehicle for social activism. Her commissioned work “Black Lives Matter Suite” premiered shortly after the inception of the ensemble and continues to draw great audiences and critical acclaim. New MUSE4tet sheds new interpretive light on familiar works and introduces audiences to the voices of the now. The artists joining Gwen are violist Melanie Dyer, cellist Alex Waterman, and bassist Dara Blumenthal-Bloom

Laster was selected as a Sphinx Foundation MPower grant recipient to support the release of Blur Lotus.

New MUSE 4tet’s debut album Blue Lotus was released on February 26, 2021.

Gwen Laster is a nationally acclaimed musician who has been the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts, Jubilation Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Arts Mid Hudson, Lila Wallace, and the Cognac Hennessy 1st place Jazz Search. She’s a native Detroiter whose creative influences come from the Motor City’s exciting urban and classical music culture. Gwen started improvising and composing because of her parent’s love of jazz, blues, soul and classical music and her inspiring music teachers from Detroit’s public schools.

​Laster relocated to NYC after earning two music degrees from the University of Michigan. She began collaborating, performing and recording with internationally-known creative and commercial artists including Anthony Braxton, Nona Hendryx, Aretha Franklin, Wadada Leo Smith, William Parker, Danny Elfman, Sun Ra Arkestra, Tyler the Creator, Gladys Knight, Emeline Michel, Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Shaggy, Andrew Baba Lamb, Natalie Cole, Solange, Mark Anthony, and J Lo and Shakira at President Obama’s Inaugural Neighborhood Ball.

Melanie Dyer is a violist who moves across free jazz, jazz, orchestral, and experimental music. She has studied with William Lincer, Lee Yeingst, John Jake Kella and Naomi Fellows. Recently she performed and recorded with William Parker, Sun Ra Arkestra, Henry Grimes, Tomeka Reid, Heroes Are Gang Leaders, New Muse 4tet, Women with an Axe to Grind, and other luminous musicians in the United States, Europe, and South Africa. She founded WeFreeStrings, a string/rhythm collective rooted in creative improvisation, and plays viola in Gwen Laster’s New Muse 4tet.

Alex Waterman is a composer, performer, producer, and scholar, exploring how social bodies can live and interact with one another in more musical ways. He has created a diverse body of works including sound installations, television operas, film and video works, exhibitions, amateur choral works, radio and film scores, and solo performances as a cellist, electronic musician and storyteller.

Dara Blumenthal-Bloom began her double bass studies with Dr. Michael Klinghoffer at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and earned her MA at New England Conservatory with Donald Palma. She continued musical projects with Myrna Herzog’s Phoenix Ensemble where she learned violone and viola da gamba and later joined the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra on the double bass. She later enrolled in Juilliard School’s Historical Performance Department as a bassist. She’s currently enjoying performing, recording and collaborating in NYC’s diverse musical offerings.

Bismuth Quartet (featuring Matt Engle, bass):

One of Philadelphia’s hidden gems, Bismuth Quartet takes the string quartet into new territory as performers, composers, collaborators, and improvisers.  Past and future projects include cross-disciplinary collaborations, diverse programming, and performing original compositions. Equally at home playing modern, classical, experimental, and improvised music, Bismuth has performed at notable venues such as the Mann Center, Union Transfer, and the Mütter Museum, among others.  The Quartet presents a unique experience to its audiences and has partnered on productions across Philadelphia performing on the Moon Viewing Platform as part of the 2019 Site/Sound Festival, playing spectral music presented by Fire Museum Presents at the Icebox Project Space, and collaboratively composing and performing scores to silent films alongside Not So Silent Cinema. Bismuth Quartet maintains active projects across the Philadelphia music scene at-large and has been featured with Jazmine Sullivan, Arcana New Music Ensemble, Philadelphia Jazz Project, indie rock bands Whitney, and  Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, with NYC-based performer/improviser/composer Anaïs Maviel, and video artist/choreographer Nora Gibson aka CHROMA. Bismuth encourages the creation of new work and is in the midst of a commission in collaboration with composer Adam Berenson to be recorded in the fall of 2022.

Carlos Santiago – violinVeronica Jurkiewicz – violaCarolina Diazgranados – cellowith special guest Matt Engle – bass

Matt Engle grew up in the Philadelphia area and has been an active member of the creative and improvised music scene for 20 years. He has contributed to many varying musical situations and has previously performed with Dan Blacksberg, Bobby Zankel, Sonic Liberation Front, Bird Fly Yellow, Shot By Shot, The Scriptors, Yapp, Jarrett Gilgore, Split Red, Dave Liebman, Tim Young, Marshall Allen, Anomalous Warmth, Watson, Roberto Pace, Sam Newsome, Rick Iannacone, Jaimie Branch, Elliot Levin, Anthony Pirog, Raymond King, David Middleton, Vince Johnson, Veronica MJ, Muhammad Ali, Oliver Lake, Seth Meicht, Tim Berne, Jack Wright, Thurman Barker, Jay Lunar, and Brandon Seabrook among many others.

Admission is FREE though donations are appreciated. THE CURATORS OF THIS EVENT REQUIRE THAT EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE SHOW PROOF OF VACCINATION AT THE DOOR. MASKING AND CONTACT TRACING ENFORCED. SEATING IS LIMITED FOR PURPOSES OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. Please register HERE

COVID GUIDELINES

• Seating is limited.

• Masking is required of everyone over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status. 

• The Rotunda does not require vaccination proof or temperature checks.

Please stay home if you feel unwell or have been in contact with someone diagnosed with Covid up to 14 days before the event.

If you come down with any Covid symptoms up to 10 days after attending an event here, please alert  The Rotunda:  information@TheRotunda.org. Your name or personal info will always remain confidential. 

Bowerbird is pleased to present a sneak preview screening of Sound Mechanic by Skizz Cyzyk about Baltimore native Neil Feather.

Neil invents new musical instruments and sound making devices, frequently incorporating bicycle parts, bowling balls and sex toys. His inventions are then used in live performances and installations. This observational documentary feature gives the audience a chance to spend some time with Neil, getting to know him, seeing him working, and watching his performances.

Neil and his instruments have been featured on a number of Bowerbird events in the past and this documentary will include footage of Philadelphia performances.

This is an “in person” event. Bowerbird is requiring all those attending to show proof of COVID 19 vaccination status (vaccination card or legible photo on your smartphone, plus photo ID) and wear a mask during the entirety of the event. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Capacity will be limited – advanced registration is strongly encouraged. Please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sound-mechanic-tickets-311244228867

Live Devachanna Electric+Acoustic sound bath

Join musicians Barrie Maguire and Laura Kellogg for an immersion in ambient freeform harmony of crystal bowls, mantra and synthesizer. Synthesizer sounds are created organically along with crystal bowl and mantra singing throughout the evening. Both crystal bowls and the synthesizer creations play off one another to form harmony, soundscape, and to reflect the consciousness of sound. Seating is on the floor or in chairs. Bring a blanket or yoga mat + pillow for comfortable support for floor seating.

Space is limited. Registration is strongly recommended. Please register at https://tinyurl.com/devachanna

Bowerbird is pleased to present Liminal States, a series of late night, live streamed concerts intended to be listened to as you fall asleep. Aiming to center and calm, the musicians will seek to lead listeners to that magic space between awake and asleep. Tune in and bliss out. The Bismuth Quartet will perform from their homes in Philadelphia.

This event is part of the Liminal States Series

ABOUT THE ARTISTOne of Philadelphia’s hidden gems, Bismuth Quartet takes the string quartet into new territory as performers, composers, collaborators, and improvisers. Past and future projects include cross-disciplinary collaborations, diverse programming, and performing original compositions. Equally at home playing modern, classical, experimental, and improvised music, Bismuth has performed at notable venues such as the Mann Center, Union Transfer, and the Mütter Museum, among others. The Quartet presents a unique experience to its audiences and has partnered on productions across Philadelphia performing on the Moon Viewing Platform as part of the 2019 Site/Sound Festival, playing spectral music presented by Fire Museum Presents at the Icebox Project Space, and collaboratively composing and performing scores to silent films alongside Not So Silent Cinema. Bismuth Quartet maintains active projects across the Philadelphia music scene at-large and has been featured with Jazmine Sullivan, Arcana New Music Ensemble, Philadelphia Jazz Project, indie rock bands Whitney, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, with NYC-based performer/improviser/composer Anaïs Maviel, and video artist/choreographer Nora Gibson aka CHROMA. Bismuth encourages the creation of new work and is in the midst of a commission in collaboration with composer Adam Berenson to be recorded in the fall of 2022.

Bismuth Quartet

Carlos Santiago, Gabe Miller – violins

Veronica Jurkiewicz – viola

Carolina Diazgranados – cello

Admission to this online event is Free / Pay What You Wish. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. SPACE IS LIMITED. Please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bismuth-quartet-tickets-204679671407 A link will be sent to you the day of the event. The performance will start at 11:00pm Eastern Time and will run approximately 45 mins.

 THE CURATORS OF THIS EVENT REQUIRE THAT EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE SHOW PROOF OF VACCINATION AT THE DOOR. MASKING AND CONTACT TRACING ENFORCED. SEATING IS LIMITED FOR PURPOSES OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED (Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lv-benga-africa-tickets-218030193177).

FREE/Donations greatly appreciated! Night one of Fire Museum's 21st Anniversary celebrations.

LV Benga Africa brings the unique sound of Kenya’s popular benga style to American stages. Benga is a guitar-driven dance music that emerged in the 1960s fusing Kenyan folksongs with the Latin-American rumba. As the only resident band of its kind in the United States, LV Benga Africa provides audiences with a taste of this exciting sound. With their years of experience performing in nightclubs across Kenya, and as veterans of the Nairobi recording scene, they deliver a live show with authenticity and originality.

LV Benga Africa’s sound has been forged over several years, having roots in Nairobi. Between 2000 and 2004, its members were performing and recording with various bands around the city, and were joined by American ethnomusicologist Ian Eagleson who was doing research on benga. Vocalist/drummer Steve Omari joined Eagleson in 2006 to play in the critically acclaimed, international touring band Extra Golden. In 2007, Freddy Collela (son of benga pioneer Collela Mazee), Mulumbu Jamarachi and Joseph Ooko arrived in the US as part of Dola Kabarry’s Orchestra Super Haki Haki. After establishing a base in Allentown, PA these musicians continued where they had left off in Kenya, becoming in-demand as entertainers for Kenya’s vibrant expatriate community in the US.

Since 2008, LV Benga Africa has performed at the Bethlehem Musikfest and at Steel Stacks; they backed the late benga star Musa Juma on his 2010 American tour; recorded a full length album as part of the group DT Unique Kenzi, and have frequently performed throughout the Northeast for Kenyan community dances. They are currently completing their debut album.

With their rich vocal harmonies, intricate guitar interplay, and irresistible rhythms laid down by bass and drums, LV Benga Africa strive to fulfill their mission: to bring people of all ages and backgrounds to their feet to dance to the original sound of Kenya.

links at: https://firemuseumpresents.com/events/lv-benga-africa-2/

 THE CURATORS OF THIS EVENT REQUIRE THAT EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE SHOW PROOF OF VACCINATION AT THE DOOR. MASKING AND CONTACT TRACING ENFORCED. SEATING IS LIMITED FOR PURPOSES OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED (Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lv-benga-africa-tickets-218030193177).

FREE/Donations greatly appreciated! Night one of Fire Museum's 21st Anniversary celebrations.

PATCHWORK CELEBRATES EARTH DAY 2022

Patchwork brings Earth Day Stories to family audiences on Sunday, April 24 @2 PM at The Rotunda.  This event is pay-what-you-wish or free, and open to the public.  (Donations will be accepted.) Seating is limited so advance tickets are recommended. Please snatch them up HERE

Running time: Approx. 95 minutes.

According to Denise McCormack, president of Patchwork and MC: “We are so delighted to bring storytelling to real, live Philadelphian audiences and we couldn't have a better place to do that than The Rotunda. We look at this time as a celebration--a new beginning and appreciation for the world we live in--and have carefully selected stories to engage a multi-generational community of children, parents, grandparents, neighbors, and friends.   


In fact, we expect a beautiful day,  beautiful faces, and some outstanding storytelling to lead us into new and familiar worlds of the imagination and thought.  We really want everyone to go home with things to talk about from the stories we share."


Joining McCormack in the lineup are, in alphabetical order, Michele Belluomini, Ingrid Bohn, and Judy England-McCarthy. 

ABOUT THE TELLERS

DENISE MCCORMACK has been telling professionally for more than a decade, presenting programs throughout the tri-state area--to listeners of all ages and in a multitude of venues and is deeply committed to sharing the benefits of storytelling in a broad spectrum of applications from education and community to business, health, and well-being, as well as using a variety of media platforms to do it. McCormack also organizes events, creates audio/visual marketing and promotion, and generally works to promote storytelling by bringing it to whoever has an inclination to share in this world-wide and deeply rooted pastime.


Among her many roles in storytelling, McCormack is liaison to the NSN, past editor of NSL Story Art Magazine, president of the Patchwork Storytelling Guild, board member of the Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild and creative producer of the Family Storytelling Series, and an active member of various other local and national organizations wherein storytelling plays an integral role. 

MICHELE BELLUOMINI has been telling stories to children and adults for the last 15 years.  She has performed in schools, libraries, and museums, as well as at universities in the Philadelphia area.  Michele presented solo performances on the "Fringe" stage at the 2006 National Storytelling Conference in Pittsburgh and at the 2012 National Storytelling Conference in Cincinnati.  She has also performed in a host of Patchwork Tellebration festivals, the New Jersey Storytelling festival, and the Lehigh Valley's Story Fusion.  

INGRID BOHN entertains people in story and song and has been active in theater productions for over 30 years.  She is an Interactive Theater and Storytelling artist who shares traditional folktales, fairy tales, and literary stories from all over the world and brings to life multifaceted characters whose unique personalities aid in the cultural understanding. 

Ingrid encourages role playing and audience participation and is a proud member of the Lehigh Valley and Patchwork Storytelling Guilds. 

JUDY ENGLAND-MCCARTHY sprinkles elements of humor, wisdom, and originality in high-energy performances to bring stories to life for audiences of all ages.   Judy performs at  venues throughout the tri-state area including libraries, schools, and festivals. Now available for virtual online performances and workshops anywhere in the world.  

WHAT AGES IS THE PROGRAM FOR ?

If this program were a movie or television show, we’d say it’s a very entertaining G.,, like The Lawrence Welk Show but with stories.  There are moments of levity with silly interludes between the stories, and a little of this and a little of that—including a ditty or two that may prove nostalgia for some of us.  This program is meant to be enjoyable for as many people as possible, of all age ranges.

ABOUT PATCHWORK

Patchwork Storytelling Guild is a member-supported 501c3 non-profit organization serving the needs of the Philadelphia Metro area, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the Delaware Valley, and beyond.  Its mission is to provide a forum for storytellers and to promote the art of storytelling through community outreach related to the practice, performance, and value of storytelling.  Patchwork offers: monthly story swaps, coaching sessions, performance opportunities... and more.

COVID GUIDELINES

• Seating is limited.

• Masking is required of everyone over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status. 

• The Rotunda does not require vaccination proof or temperature checks.

Please stay home if you feel unwell or have been in contact with someone diagnosed with Covid up to 14 days before the event.

If you come down with any Covid symptoms up to 10 days after attending an event here, please alert  The Rotunda:  information@TheRotunda.org. Your name or personal info will always remain confidential.