Penrod 9/12/09 and Season 7

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Could this really be lucky number seven?! Orkestra Projekt has made it to our 7th season, and we couldn't feel luckier or more excited about what we have in store this year!

First off, if you're out and about at Penrod this Saturday between 9am and 5pm, stop by the booth and say hello, grab some information about the upcoming season and sign up for our email contact list. You can hear all about our theme for the season (we'll keep it a secret online until after Penrod...gives you some incentive to stop by!) and chat with members of our board and some volunteers who love OP so much that they give up time on a Saturday afternoon to spread the love about OP.

Secondly, come back to the site after Penrod and purchase your tickets online for our first performance coming up Saturday, October 17, 2009 at Earth House. It's a new venue for us, but we'd like to be there a while. It's a space that oozes charm and drama -- perfect for Orkestra Projekt.

Lastly, we'd like to make a call out for support from you, our biggest fans. We bring you the best and brightest new classical music experience in an atmosphere like no other. We push the envelope in order to develop the minds of you: the audience of tomorrow. It takes a lot of money to pay the excellent musicians, rent music, pay for the venue, and get our name out there, and in today's economy...well, let's just say it's tough for everyone, and we understand that. If you would like to help us continue to be the most unique music ensemble in town, a donation of any amount, however small or big, would be a savior. Click under 'Support' on the right support our mission.

We hope to see many of you soon!

Summer Evening in White River State Park

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Summer Evening in White River State Park

...I think I lost 10 pounds that night. I felt tons of energy on the stage. I certainly didn't need any artificial enhancement. Some of the musicians definitely felt the energy, too, or, at least they felt the stage shaking while I was conducting.

I loved that young people were so eager to come up to the stage. We have a little saying in our Artistic Committee Meetings; fear no music. These young people were not afraid to come up and try their hand at the theremin.

And, I hope they had fun with those huge beach balls. I have to admit one little secret. No human being was involved with inflating those balls. The good folks at Bike Line in Broad
Ripple and Pauls Tire Service on N Delaware in Indianapolis helped with their tools.

I'm looking for pictures to post here. I'm also eager for feedback from the audience. I've received some from some connected fans, through Facebook and through e-mail. If you're reading this and would love to provide some feedback, please send an e-mail to info@orkestraprojekt.com and we'll be certain to read your feedback and mayebe even strike up a correspondence!

Well, I can't say enough what an honor it was to have the Mayor stay through the whole concert and for you in the audience to be so involved and engaged in the concert. I hope it was as good an experience for you as it was for me.

Now, on to finalizing plans for our upcoming season!

Orkestra Projekt Prepares Its First O...

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Orkestra Projekt Prepares Its First Outdoor Concert

This is a realization of a seven-year old dream, a free outdoor concert! Hey, this way we get to share what we do with more people than we could ever put into a concert hall. And, we're featuring pieces from the wide range of rock history, from Elvis and The Beatles to Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Styx (at the risk of offending a certain favorite composition professor) and Nirvana and Cold Play (I'll wager you gould already guess the song that our string instrument-oriented group will play).

"Hello, hello, hello, how low?"

And, what we do is hope our music-making inspires people in the audience to participate in some way. For some of you, do you remember Nirvana's anger-filled teen anthem? Recall the lyrics and be ready to sing along.

"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?"

Really, you're invited to come, sing along, share your love of these tunes with your kids. We have had concerts where people move, stand, and dance to the music, be it rock-focused or classical.

Music by Composers Alive Today for Audiences Alive Today

And, Orkestra Projekt, true to its focus on music by living composers, is bringing a fantastastic piece of music composed by a young Iowan which incorporates wild solos for electric guitar and marimba. The composition is crazy and cool and contrasts with a lot of what the show will feature.

Connect with us

Connect with us somehow. Send an e-mail with your name, adddress, e-mail to info@orkestraprojekt.com We'll make sure to keep you in the loop. You can also coonnect with Orkestra Projekt on Facebook by joining the group "Orkestra Projekt Rocks" and getting your friends to connect, too.

Peace.

Take a Different Train

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Take a Different Train and come to Agitate, by Orkestra Projekt at the Fringe Headquarters 719 E St. Clair St, Indianapolis. Living American composer Steve Reich's Different Trains will take us on a mid-20th century tour of rail, voice, and siren in America and Europe, pre- and post- WWII. Also, living Chinese composer Tan Dun's spacious piece, Lament:Autumn Winds, will expand the repertoire of our ensemmble's sound-producing technique. And, living young American composer Scott Comanzo's piece Bigot will challenge our thoughts on reaction.

Your reduced ticket price also includes drink and snacks. Come prepared to hang out, be challenged and enjoy some Led Zeppelin's Black Dog and Dancing Days, too.

And, say hello while you're there!

Orkestra Projekt and Skoop!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

When you think of Orkestra Projekt you think:

Innovative, Intimate, Experimental, Cutting Edge!

Now you can add Interactive!

Orkestra Projekt has gone mobile! Using our new mobile system will give us what we need to add even more jazz to our performances. Wow! Do we have plans! Our new technology will also provide you with all the up-to-date info on concerts, locations, times, tickets, and repertoire. You will also receive valuable mobile coupons to use before or after the concerts.

To join Orkestra Projekt’s mobile campaign simply use your cell phone to text the word “ORK” to 75667. Or, you can go online to www.getskoop.com and subscribe to the Orkestra Projekt mobile alert campaign. You will instantly become a VIP Member!

You will only receive messages about Orkestra Projekt, you will NEVER get spam, and you can opt out at anytime by texting the word “Stop” to 75667. Standard text message rates apply.

VIP members will have access to all the important information leading up to the next concert, Agitate, to be held on June 19-20 at the Indy Fringe building. Experience the unique interactive opportunity for VIP members at the Agitate concerts, so be sure to opt in today!!!

Sign up for Skoop and receive a coupon for Scholar’s Inn.

Did you need another reason to sign up for the “Skoop” on Orkestra Projekt? How about a coupon sent directly to your cell phone? Text ork to 75667 and in addition to receiving important updates about Agitate and Orkestra Projekt, when you opt in you will receive a coupon for “Buy one get one 50% off” at Scholars Inn the night of the show!

Agitate!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Join us for the final concert of Orkestra Projekt’s sixth season. We continue to Rock – v. to move back and forth, to cause to move to and fro violently, to impair or destroy the composure of.

Agitate will accomplish much of that, sometimes violently, but always safely, venturing into the unknown and returning to the familiar. We challenge ourselves and our audiences to fear no music.

This concert will feature three “firsts” for us. The feature is Different Trains by Steve Reich, a contemporary American composer. It is a piece written for three string quartets and voices on prepared tape with the addition of a live string quartet to complete the performance. He describes this as a musical documentary. It is presented in three seamless movements: America – Before the war, Europe – During the war, and After the war. With train whistles, vocal phrases, and instruments mimicking those vocal phrases as closely as possible, Steve Reich explores the themes of separation and Holocaust providing an immersive experience.

Another first for us is a piece by Tan Dun, the contemporary Chinese composer famous for composing the music for the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. His piece Lament: Autumn Wind is scored for six instruments of any type and a voice of any range. We will feature an interactive experiment to involve the audience in the selection of the instrumentation during the performance.

And, we feature another world premiere, Bigot, a piece for quintet by New York native Scott Comanzo. Scored for string quintet, it describes a conflict between reactionary and radical.

Of course, we make this adventure into new music feel safer with some arrangements of Led Zeppelin tunes Dancin’ Days and Black Dog.

All Orkestra Projekt concerts feature this experience of new music, casual atmosphere, free light hors d’oeuvres and drinks and some of the coolest classical music audiences in Indianapolis.

Orkestra Projekt’s casual and intimate concert environment attracts young professional adults, families, and others who want to connect with the world of contemporary classical music and be intensely entertained at the same time.

The concerts will be presented on Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m. at a new location for the organization, The Fringe Building at 719 E. St. Clair St. in Indianapolis.

New Dates for Agitate

Monday, March 30, 2009

We're continuing our new adventure in another new space, this time an even more intimate setting in the new Indy Fringe Building! As a result of our new venue, we have had to reschedule the Agitate show, and given the crowd we had at Shake, we split it into two shows:

Friday, June 19, 2009 and Saturday, June 20, 2009, both at 7:30pm.

The space is smaller, but with wood floors and ceiling, we will be returning to a sound environment more akin to our former stomping grounds, the Old Centrum. We will also be able to have the bean bags in their preferred location: on stage behind the musicians. Buy your tickets online early, as we expect both nights will be sell outs! Just a reminder that only cash and check are accepted at the door the night of the show, but we take credit cards online.

It will be new and exciting for us to be a part of the Fringe family, and we are very grateful to Pauline who runs the events at the Fringe Building for making such a wonderful opportunity available for not only Orkestra Projekt, but many other independent art events throughout the year.

José will soon post more information regarding the updated pieces the orkestra will be playing for this second and final show of the 6th season. We look forward to seeing all of you there in June!