FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 21st, 2011
CONTACT:
Claudia Anfuso
1520 Milvia St. Berkeley, CA 94709
Tel. 415.568.1393
SAMAVESHA announces performance by critically acclaimed Women’s Vocal Ensemble KITKA and renowned Hang Virtuoso LAURA INSERRA
at the 9th annual Cave Concert.
Samavesha is proud to present KITKA, an internationally renowned women’s vocal ensemble, and Hang virtuoso LAURA INSERRA at the 9th annual Cave Concert, on June 25th, 2011 at 9:30 pm.
The performances will take place inside the Hawk Hill Tunnel, a truly unique and immersive location nestled in the beautiful Marin Headlands in Sausalito, California, held with the permission of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).
Tickets range from $30 to $108, and are available at www.CaveConcert.org/Tickets.html
Space is limited and the public is encouraged to buy tickets early. Advance tickets only.
Visit the official website at www.CaveConcert.org
This event marks the 9th annual Cave Concert, offering the public yet another magical sonic experience inside the Hawk Hill Tunnel. It is located on a bluff overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, providing breathtaking views of San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean. The tunnel itself was designed during World War II as an arms locker, but it has never been used for war purposes. It was later converted into a wildlife observation site where annual bird counts are held.
For the concert, one end of the tunnel is sealed off, transforming it into an incredibly resonant cave.
With lighting designed by John Coveney and expert artistic direction by Laura Inserra, this cave concert promises to be a truly enchanting experience. Passionate site-specific performances showcasing the haunting voices of KITKA and the ethereal sound of the Hang played by Inserra will create a powerful listening experience for audience members.
KITKA is a women’s vocal ensemble unlike any other. These sophisticated singers blend a contemporary sensibility with specialized vocal techniques from Eastern Europe that have been distilled over centuries. Using only the pure unaccompanied voice, they create a constantly shifting landscape of sound, pulsing with angular rhythms, where dramatic dynamics leap from delicate stillness to shattering resonance, and seamless unisons explode into lush incomprehensible chords.
KITKA's material ranges from ancient village duets to complex choral works, from early music to contemporary theater. The sound of their voices is exotic, elegant and eerie. The melodies are hauntingly beautiful. They sing in a multitude of unfamiliar languages, including Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Georgian, Hungarian, Ladino, Latvian, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Yiddish, and occasionally Latin, medieval Gallician, and ancient Greek. It is exactly this unfamiliarity that is so riveting, as KITKA’s sensitive precision lifts their work out of the merely musical into a universe beyond words, an experience that is primal, elemental.
LAURA INSERRA is a vibrant and talented composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer and artistic director. She is a classically trained musician with a strong improvisational background. A native of Sicily, her work is well known throughout Italy, and she has participated in the composition of numerous movie scores as well as the artistic direction of many innovative live productions.
INSERRA has performed internationally in prestigious festivals and theaters in Italy and the US, including: The Colosseum (Rome), Auditorium Parco della Musica (Rome), Teatro Olimpico (Rome), San Francisco City Hall, The Chapel of the Chimes (Oakland), CounterPULSE (SF), NOHSpace (SF), Italian Cultural Institute of SF and others. In 2007, Inserra founded Samavesha, an international non-profit multidisciplinary performing arts organization based in Berkeley.
More than just a concert, an evening with KITKA and LAURA INSERRA is about experiencing vibrant music in an enhanced environment, and feeling each singer’s warm rapport with the audience. These accomplished artists offer more than just exquisite execution—these women clearly share a passion for what they do. KITKA’s joyful voices blend in exquisite dissonance and harmony, evoking the senses. INSERRA’s vibrant structured improvisations on the HANG, the new instrument of this millennium, will also transport listeners to new auditory realms. The Cave Concert is a truly unique setting where earth meets water and air, and these combined elements create power, beauty and resonance.
“KITKA’s songs are hauntingly beautiful, simple, yet otherworldly. The rich sound these women produce resonates as if energized by the universe itself, as if it were calling all live beings and still matter into togetherness and unity.”
— Ching Chang, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“Laura Inserra’s Hang playing is captivating. She effortlessly floats her melody lines on top of intricate rhythmic expressions, dancing gracefully. It truly sounds like more than one person playing the Hang. Listening carefully, you hear brilliant control and cascading multiple parts all played flawlessly together. Laura creates magical soundscape experiences with the Hang. A must hear!“
— Lumin White - Recording Engineer for the Santa Rosa Symphony.
About Samavesha:
Samavesha is a non-profit performing arts organization with the mission of bringing powerful multidisciplinary performances to the community. With many years of experience in various artforms and organizing live performances around the world, Samavesha creates a platform for local and international artists to participate and engage in collaborative events that raise awareness about artistic expression as well as environmental responsibility. For more info, please visit www.Samavesha.org
High resolution pictures:
http://www.caveconcert.org/press_pictures/CaveConcert.jpg
http://www.caveconcert.org/press_pictures/CaveConcert2.jpg
http://www.caveconcert.org/press_pictures/Kitka-Origin-0257.jpg
http://www.caveconcert.org/press_pictures/Kitka201103-1B.jpg
http://www.caveconcert.org/press_pictures/Kitka201103-6.jpg
http://www.caveconcert.org/press_pictures/LauraInserra.jpg
http://www.caveconcert.org/press_pictures/laurainserra15b.jpg
http://www.caveconcert.org/press_pictures/radial_laura.jpg
http://www.caveconcert.org/press_pictures/Laura.jpg
Please visit KITKA’s website at www.Kitka.org and LAURA INSERRA’s website at www.LauraInserra.com for much more information, including audio, videos and contact info.
