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Composer Spotlight

A co-presentation by Jack Straw Productions and Washington Composers Forum

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BILL SMITH

Space in the Heart
A jazz opera

Wed, May 14, 7:30pm

Jack Straw Productions
4261 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle
FREE

Bill Smith will present a lecture about his newest work, Space in the Heart, a contemporary jazz opera with a libretto written by former Earshot Jazz editor Peter Monaghan, at the May Composer Spotlight. Space in the Heart is a recording project in the 2008 Artist Support Program and is produced with generous support from the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. Performers in Space in the Heart are singers Maria Mannisto, Jordan Petersen, and Kathy Sankey, and instrumentalists Smith, Greg Campbell, and Brian Cobb.

Bill Smith (a.k.a. William O. Smith), clarinetist and composer, studied at Juilliard, Mills College, the Paris Conservatory and the University of California. He is the recipient of many awards and honors including the Prix de Paris, the Prix de Rome, Guggenheim fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Smith’s first recordings were made in the 1940s with Dave Brubeck’s experimental Octet and ever since Smith has been creating exciting, daring music that elegantly crosses the “boundaries” between jazz and concert music.

About Composer Spotlight

The Composer Spoltight series is presented by Jack Straw Productions and Washington Composers Forum (WCF). This series of talks and performances of new music highlights an innovative composer or performer every second Wednesday of each month at Jack Straw Productions. If you are a composer and would like to present at a Composer Spotlight event, please conatct arts manager Van Diep.

About Washington Composers Forum

The Washington Composers Forum is a non-profit arts organization that nurtures the creation, performance, and dissemination of new music by composers living in Washington State. Since its founding in 1984, WCF has produced concerts, readings, and lectures in the U.S. and Canada, representing many composers in the region. Visit their website for more information.

Composer Spotlight History

Below is a complete listing, by year, of all past presenters in the series.

2008

2007

Sarah Bassingthwaighte

Ryan Hare

Brad Sherman

Wally Shoup