Heaven Gallery

Chicago (Monday March 1st, 2010) Through their Gift of Pianos Program: the PianoForte Foundation and the Piano Technicians Guild have donated a Knabe Grand Piano to Heaven Gallery. Also thanks to a generous contribution from Mark and Angie Evans.

Sunday March 21st, 2010 3pm. Come see the inaugural concert featuring identical twin brothers Stephen and Michael Hill on Piano and Viola performing works by Debussy, Hindemith, Britten, and Bliss. (See complete list below.)

Heaven Gallery has been hosting classical and Jazz concerts for the past 5 years with it’s “Protest” improvised jazz series every Saturday and it’s Sunday Brunch classical series once a month. These have featured such groups and soloists like Anaphora, Jim Baker, Fifth House Ensemble, Tiny Mahler Orchestra and The Jennifer Maxwell and Svetlana Belsky Duo. Also, Heaven recently ran a pilot program for one year that gave piano lessons to deserving children. Unfortunately, both the pianos at Heaven are in unstable conditions and not worth fixing. Now, with the donation from PianoForte and PTG, Heaven can continue to promote quality musical performances. This donation will surely transform the gallery’s musical programs in it tenth year of operation.

The Gift of Pianos program is a joint effort of the Chicago chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild and PianoForte Foundation to refurbish donated pianos and place them in schools, churches, and community institutions that are in need of a good instrument. Hundreds of people per year contact the PTG seeking donations, while registered piano technicians review their requests and identify pianos with enough potential to be reconditioned into well-playing instruments. Once pianos are located, they are placed in suitable reconditioning venues where chapter personnel volunteer their work for the purpose of training, camaraderie, and fulfillment of the charitable cause. A Donation Committee, made up of music school administrators or teachers as well as other Chicago-area music aficionados, and the Piano Donation Program Director, seek out worthwhile individuals or organizations to receive the pianos. Special care is given to the selection process to ensure neutrality and worthiness of each and every recipient. Technicians from across the areas where pianos have found their eventual homes will be solicited for upkeep and recognition of their efforts will be promoted.

Heaven Gallery is a non-profit gallery and multi-disciplinary arts space in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood that encourages, mentors, and presents new and emerging artists, musicians, and filmmakers to audiences throughout Chicago land and beyond. In order to encourage submissions from the widest diversity of artists, regardless of their financial situation, Heaven Gallery widely promotes our open proposal process, and does not charge submission or exhibition fees. All of our programs are open to the public. Heaven strives to make artwork
accessible to all community members: our visual art exhibitions are free of charge, and all events are open to audiences on a pay-what-you-can basis. Heaven celebrates it’s 10 year anniversary in July 2010. Heaven Gallery is partially supported by a Grant From the Illinois Arts Council and a Community Arts Assistance Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

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6:00pm

West Coast Theory
Directed by Maxime Giffard and Felix Tissier
Feature Documentary
France, 2009, 66 min.
A FILMER LA MUSIQUE Selection
Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Too Short, Mike Elizondo, and dozens more hip-hop luminaries open up to an unlikely crew of French documentarians in this addictive outsider’s look at the face of West Coast rap in the new millennium. Centered on Segal, sound engineer for artists like Dr. Dre and Eminem, the film asks how the proliferation of desktop music-creation software will affect the future of hip-hop.
Also showing: Vega Teknique – “Sound to Sound” (music video) and Animate Objects feat. SoulStice – “El Dorado” (music video)

8:00pm

Of Montreal: Family Nouveau
Directed by Spenser Simrill Jr.
Feature Documentary
USA/Canada, 2010, 45 min.
World premiere!
English professor Spenser Simrill isn’t your typical academic: he got to hang out with hipster messiahs Of Montreal on their 2009 European tour, capturing both their bizarre stage antics and their equally bizarre backstage confessionals and pushup competitions. Seriously.
With: “The Cat Piano” (short fiction) Director: Eddie White and Ari Gibson. Narrated by Nick Cave. "Burn the Whole Place Down" (short film) Director: Jordan Wood

$10

http://www.cimmfest.org/

4:00pm

Shorts Program: Paris and a Middle Eastern Twist: Three US Premieres
Following up on her 2009 Special Jury Prize winner But We Have the Music, Parisian director Shanti Masud presents Ne Me Touche Pas! (2010, 30 min.), a little piece of cinematic and musical bliss in grainy super-8 film. Masud will attend the screening.
President Sarkozy called them racaille—scum—but the underground and mostly immigrant rappers in Emmanuelle Lippe and Bertil Dubach’s film

Rapaille (France, 2009, 29 min.) took the insult and made it their own.

Rapping in Tehran (Iran, 2009, 37 min.) is secret and semi-legal, and many of the performers featured in Hassan Khademi’s short film have been arrested for speaking their minds in rhyme.

6:00pm

Intangible Asset No. 82
Directed by Emma Franz
Feature Documentary
Australia, 2009, 90 min.
Chicago premiere!
Former jazz singer Emma Franz’s debut film follows Australian jazz drummer Simon Barker’s quest to meet an elusive South Korean percussionist, and then finds that this is but the first step on a larger journey of discovery and kickass jam sessions. Part road movie, part spiritual journey, part nail-biting race-against-time, Intangible Asset is a tangible, memorable film experience. “Intriguing…genuinely affecting.” – Joe Leyton, Variety
Also playing: Instant Composers Pool Orchestra – “Steigerpijp” (music video, dir. Barbara Hin and Martin Van der Veen)

8:00pm

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
Directed by Damien Chazelle
Fictional Feature
USA, 2009, 82 min.
Chicago premiere!
Chicagoans finally get a chance to see “the finest indie movie of the past year” (Filmmaker Magazine), a jazzy, improvisational film about love and music. Guy’s a trumpet player who makes the wrong romantic choices when Madeline’s the one he should be with. The film combines gritty 16mm black-and-white near-documentary style with the spirit of a 1930’s musical extravaganza in a constantly surprising mix.
Also playing: Jeff Tain Watts Quartet – “Return of the Jitney Man” (music video, dir. Michael Wilson, Miho Morita, Fumio Tashiro)

$10

http://www.cimmfest.org/

PROTEST HEAVEN jazz and improvised music series

DEVIN HOFF

Devin Hoff - solo bass

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HESS/JACKSON/BUTCHER

Steven Hess - drums
Keefe Jackson - reeds
Nick Butcher - electronics

10pm, donation suggested

Heaven Gallery
1550 N Milwaukee
Blue line to Damen

Filter Magazine Screening

Live Painting with Live Music

Dave Rempis - saxophones
Wilbert De Joode - bass (Netherlands)
Mike Reed - drums

with

Tali Farchi - live painting (Netherlands)
Royce Deans - live painting (Michigan)

Mo(ve)ment USA and the Cultural Affairs office of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands - Chicago are pleased to announce this exciting performance. Two reknowned Dutch artists, live action painter, Tali Farchi and improvisational bassist, Wilbert de Joode will be coming to collaborate with US painter Royce Deans and musicians Dave Rempis and Mike Reed.

Live painting with live music is improvisation at its highest level. Artwork is created in front of the audience to spontaneously composed music that is driven as much by the brushstrokes of the painters as the paint is inspired by the notes and the rhythms of the musicians.

These performances are made possible by generous support from the Dutch Embassy, Strathmore Paper, and the International Live Painting with Live Music Society.

10pm, $12 suggested donation

PROTEST HEAVEN jazz and improvised music series

ERICSON/BAKER/BISHOP

Sture Ericson - reeds
Jim Baker - piano, synthesizer
Jeb Bishop - trombone

10pm, donation suggested

Heaven Gallery
1550 N Milwaukee, 2nd fl
Blue line to Damen

3 Dancers and 3 Musicians

Ayako Kato with Jason Roebke, bass
Asimina Chremos with Jeff Parker, guitar
Julia Mayer with Marc Riordan, drums

The Invisible City is a joint show by architect/furniture designer Eve Fineman and artist Damon Locks, both showing individual bodies of new work. Though different in medium and expression, the work that they do ideologically crosses over in many ways.

As a designer and design educator, Eve Fineman approaches her work with a social consciousness. Her current project, a sustainable furniture system called Interstice, incorporates an innovative use of materials and processes. All of the pieces in her designs can be interchanged, reconfigured or melted down and reused, presenting a closed-loop system of manufacture.

Artist Damon Locks is a Printmaker that works with digital printing, silkscreen and relief printing. His pieces stem from a desire to explore and comment on ideas of culture and community. The work has aspects of literal political intent but it also displays a looseness and abstraction that enlivens the issues at hand.

The Invisible City speaks to unrealized potential, the underground, the marginalized, and the spaces in-between. This show presents two different approaches toward bringing the otherwise unseen and unimagined into focus. The Invisible City is about dualities: noisy and quiet, questions and answers, seen and unseen. As these opposing elements are placed in each others’ proximity, the combined works offer a new way of looking at what already exists.

There will be a musical performance by Spectronix (Dan Bitney) and A Grape Dope (John Herndon)

Stephen Curd- GARIC STEPHENS
Graduated from Lindenwood University with a BFA in fashion Design, Stephen studied men’s wear with an emphasis in European design. Stephen is Originally from Saint Louis but he has been living in Chicago for the past 2 years putting on his own shows. Over the past 2 years he has been doing personal styling which has helped him network and spread his designs as well as his brand to every corner of Chicago . Stephen’s main focus is in mens clothing, designing eclectic pieces that will get better with age and time. Ambidextrous is what he calls it with designs for the mod 20 something who wants a little pop of color with a great fit.

The fashion show will take place at Heaven Gallery 1550 Milwaulkee Ave on March 13th 2010. The show will kick off at 8pm sharp doors open at 7pm. Come enjoy a few cocktails before the show begins.

PROTEST HEAVEN jazz and improvised music series

From the University of Michigan
The Creative Arts Orchestra
Directed by Mark Kirschenmann

Special guests:
Jason Stein - bass clarinet
Jason Roebke - bass

Personnel:
Katie Battistoni - guitar
Amy Cave - violin
Phil Coonce - violin
Rob Crozier - bass
Nate Davidoff - violin
Josh Holcomb - viola
Molly Jones - saxophone
Jake Kenowitz - brass
Mark Kirschenmann - trumpet
Will Marriott - saxophone
Kelly Moran - piano
Trevor New - viola
Gabriel Saltman - saxophone, bass clarinet
Eric Schindler - saxophone
Joachim Stepniewski - violin

10pm, donation suggested

Heaven Gallery
1550 N Milwaukee, 2nd fl
Blue line to Damen

TBA

Come see the inaugural concert of our new piano featuring identical twin brothers Stephen and Michael Hill on Piano and Viola performing works by Debussy, Hindemith, Britten, and Bliss. (See complete list below.)

Michael D. Hill, viola
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Michael began studying the viola at the age of seventeen with John Largess and continued his education with Masao Kawasaki and Dr. Catharine Carroll, earning a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Cincinnati’s College- Conservatory of Music. While in Cincinnati, he was active in several orchestras as well as various chamber music performances. He is currently studying to earn the Master of Music degree at the University of Louisville’s School of Music with Chien-Ju Liao and is a member of the Graduate String Quartet as well Ms. Liao's teaching assistant. Michael has performed as an orchestral and chamber musician at the Aspen Music Festival and School and has appeared principal violist with the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy. He collaborates on chamber music performances in the area as well as in Chicago and Cincinnati, Ohio. Michael hopes to advance his career as a performer and continue to share music with others through education and through efforts making classical music more accessible to the public. He is a faculty member of the Community Music Program at the Univeristy of Louisville.

Stephen T. Hill, piano
Stephen began his musical studies in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio at the age of twelve with Tuyen Tonnu at the Cleveland Music School Settlement. Within this institution, he was active in collaborative and solo performances. During this time, he also worked with Laurent Boukobza. Stephen continued his studies with Dmitry Rachmanov and Ludmila Lazar at Chicago's College of Performing Arts, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. While training in solo repertoire for the piano, Stephen also collaborated with instrumentalists and worked closely with vocal colleagues on the art song and song cycle. Currently, Stephen remains active in promoting music and music education in the Chicago area where he teaches privately and actively performs solo and chamber music in the hope of making music a staple of society and increasing its accessibility to the public.

Progam

L'isle joyeuse Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918)

Sonata for Viola and Piano Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963)
I Fantasie
II Thema mit Variationen
III Finale (mit Variationen)
Elegy Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)

Intermission
Sonata for Viola and Pianoforte Arthur Bliss (1891 - 1975)
I Moderato
II Andante
III Furiant: Molto allegro
IV Coda: Andante maestoso

PROTEST HEAVEN jazz and improvised music series
5th Anniversary Celebration Weekend

KEEFE JACKSON'S PROJECT PROJECT

Josh Berman - cornet
Jacob Wick - trumpet
Nick Broste - trombone
James Falzone - clarinet
Guillermo Gregorio - alto saxophone, clarinet
Jason Stein - bass clarinet
Keefe Jackson - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Dan Bennett - baritone saxophone
Matt Schneider - guitar
Anton Hatwich - bass
Frank Rosaly - drums

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JASON AJEMIAN'S WHO CARES HOW LONG YOU SINK

Jason Ajemian - bass, vocals
featuring members from across the Chicago Music Community

10pm, $15 suggested donation

Heaven Gallery
1550 N Milwaukee, 2nd fl
Blue Line to Damen

PROTEST HEAVEN jazz and improvised music series
5th Anniversary Celebration Weekend

DAVID BOYKIN

David Boykin - solo reeds

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SHERPA

Jaimie Branch - trumpet
Fred Lonberg-Holm - cello
Toby Summerfield - bass

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THE GREEN PASTURE HAPPINESS with special guest FRANK ROSALY

Brian Labycz - modular synth
Daniel Fandino - modular synth
Aaron Zarzutzki - electronics
Frank Rosaly - drums

$15 suggested donation

Heaven Gallery
1550 N Milwaukee, 2nd fl
Blue line to Damen

Selected songs by Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré, arranged for voice and chamber ensemble
Dover Beach by Samuel Barber
Two songs Op. 91 by Johannes Brahms
Bachianas brasileiras #5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos
"Gia nella notte densa" from Otello by Giuseppe Verdi

Duo- Piano and Percussion.

Black Forest folk at Heaven Gallery brings you:

Bruce Lamont
www.myspace.com/brucelamont

Nathan Bell
(Baltimore)

"In recent years this elder statesmen of Baltimore music (one-time bass player for Lungfish) has come to prominence for his transcendent instrumental expeditions on banjo, as well as his Human Bell project with Arbouretum’s Dave Heumann. Bell explains the appeal of solely instrumental compositions simply: it’s all about “room.” He laments that vocals can often make a song feel confining to the listener, and the extra space for interpretation and musical exploration is appealing to him. Leaving the imagination wide-open for one to wander wherever the musical spirit takes you is key to his approach. Baltimore label West Main Development captured Bell’s solo music in most glorious form with its release of a intricate live performance at the 2640 Space in 2008; the result is perhaps the most expansive and epic EP I’ve ever laid ears upon."
-Aural Slate/Baltimore based blog

myspace.com/osmodiusbell

myspace.com/humanbell

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M. Takara 3
(Brazil)

A delightful mix of brazilian rythms,jazz, experimental electronica, hip hop, and rock
M.Takara 3 has been on the international contemporary music scene for many years and many worldwide tours!
In 2008 the record "Ocupado como Gado Com Nada Pra Fazer" was considered one of the best albums released on that year by the Rolling Stone and +Soma Magazine.
In 2009 M.Takara was nominated for the Sergio Mota Award, which recognizes new technological medias and which avant-garde artists who present new ideas to brazilian musicians and artists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCWJofbzZoo

Suggested donation
(more info on the way!)