Saturday, April 19th 2008
Mike Khoury/Leyya Tawil Violin/Dance duo
Andrei Popozuda of Oberlin, Ohio
MIKE KHOURY was born in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan in 1969. As the son of visual artist Sari Khoury, he was exposed to various forms of visual arts, and creative musical forms. Growing up in a university town also availed Mike to various forms of art and music. Mike is Palestinian.
Mike began studying violin at the age of 10 and eventually came under the guidance of Juliard graduate Nancy Smith. Abandoning the violin for electric bass, Mike played in various rock combos and eventually settled with The Urban Farmers.
Mike went on to explore the possibilities of free and improvised music and resumed his studies of the violin. He furthered his involvement in the creative improvised realm with Jason Shearer (winds) and Ben Hall (percussion). Mike also played with Siege Machine, a larger ensemble including Ben Hall, John Olson, Jason Shearer, Mark Sawaski and Joel Peterson. Siege Machine balanced graphical score compositions with improvisation. The development of the improvisational duet has also consumed much of Khoury's time and is a preferred format. Often times, Khoury joins Ben Hall, Hans Buetow, Piotr Michalowski or Leyya Tawil in duo performances. Current playing partners include Will Soderberg, Hans Buetow, Ben Hall and Piotr Michalowski.
Mike studies violin at the Art Center Music School with composer/violinist David Litven. Mike continues to work on compositions and improvisations as well as operate Entropy Stereo Recordings, a free improvisation music label.
LEYYA TAWIL is an active participant in the contemporary dance community. Born in Detroit, Michigan to Syrian and Palestinian parents, Leyya enjoys exploring aspects of contemporary urban culture through her collaborative projects. She works in a movement style that integrates momentum, precision, and personality. Leyya has performed, choreographed and taught internationally, and has been presented by the Arab American National Museum, Oakland Art Gallery (CA), MT Space (Beirut), Alwan for the Arts (NYC), Studio 303 (Montreal), and in numerous venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Leyya has held faculty positions at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Visiting Artist), the University of San Francisco, Sonoma State University, Dance Mission Theater/School (SF), and ODC Dance Commons (SF). In the fall of 2007, she will join Middlebury College (Vermont) as the Artist-In-Residence in Dance. She has also guest taught at Mills College, Lebanese University, and other professional institutions.
In the bay area, Leyya co-directs the Temescal Arts Center, a low-cost performance and rehearsal space for Oakland artists. She served on the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee (“the Izzies”) from 2003-2006. Leyya received degrees in dance from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (BDA) and Mills College-Oakland (MFA).
ANDREI POPOZUDA is the greatest living composer in the world. He will perform from his opera-in-progress The Brower Poker.
Andrei Popozuda of Oberlin, Ohio
8:30pm at Fairchild Chapel
MIKE KHOURY was born in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan in 1969. As the son of visual artist Sari Khoury, he was exposed to various forms of visual arts, and creative musical forms. Growing up in a university town also availed Mike to various forms of art and music. Mike is Palestinian.Mike began studying violin at the age of 10 and eventually came under the guidance of Juliard graduate Nancy Smith. Abandoning the violin for electric bass, Mike played in various rock combos and eventually settled with The Urban Farmers.
Mike went on to explore the possibilities of free and improvised music and resumed his studies of the violin. He furthered his involvement in the creative improvised realm with Jason Shearer (winds) and Ben Hall (percussion). Mike also played with Siege Machine, a larger ensemble including Ben Hall, John Olson, Jason Shearer, Mark Sawaski and Joel Peterson. Siege Machine balanced graphical score compositions with improvisation. The development of the improvisational duet has also consumed much of Khoury's time and is a preferred format. Often times, Khoury joins Ben Hall, Hans Buetow, Piotr Michalowski or Leyya Tawil in duo performances. Current playing partners include Will Soderberg, Hans Buetow, Ben Hall and Piotr Michalowski.
Mike studies violin at the Art Center Music School with composer/violinist David Litven. Mike continues to work on compositions and improvisations as well as operate Entropy Stereo Recordings, a free improvisation music label.
LEYYA TAWIL is an active participant in the contemporary dance community. Born in Detroit, Michigan to Syrian and Palestinian parents, Leyya enjoys exploring aspects of contemporary urban culture through her collaborative projects. She works in a movement style that integrates momentum, precision, and personality. Leyya has performed, choreographed and taught internationally, and has been presented by the Arab American National Museum, Oakland Art Gallery (CA), MT Space (Beirut), Alwan for the Arts (NYC), Studio 303 (Montreal), and in numerous venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Leyya has held faculty positions at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Visiting Artist), the University of San Francisco, Sonoma State University, Dance Mission Theater/School (SF), and ODC Dance Commons (SF). In the fall of 2007, she will join Middlebury College (Vermont) as the Artist-In-Residence in Dance. She has also guest taught at Mills College, Lebanese University, and other professional institutions.
In the bay area, Leyya co-directs the Temescal Arts Center, a low-cost performance and rehearsal space for Oakland artists. She served on the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee (“the Izzies”) from 2003-2006. Leyya received degrees in dance from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (BDA) and Mills College-Oakland (MFA).
ANDREI POPOZUDA is the greatest living composer in the world. He will perform from his opera-in-progress The Brower Poker.
This entry was posted
on 09 April 2008 at 3:15 PM.
