ABOUT THE PROGRAM
David Byrne hosts and curates an evening of music and performance in celebration of his book How Music Works, his incisive and enthusiastic look at the musical art form. Byrne explores how music shapes the human experience, examining how we create it, distribute it and consume it, and adds a new chapter on the subject of Digital Curation. “To celebrate this new edition, I will act as impresario at a music-related variety show - human curation in action. I’ll introduce you to some amazing performers that inspire me! This event will include all sorts of performance: music, of course, but also theater, dance, science and humor... and more.” First published in 2012, How Music Works has inspired a number of staged events hosted by Byrne. The Town Hall showcase for the 2017 edition will be the first since the book’s original publication to feature live performances.
Photo: CATALINA KULCZAR
Thursday June 1, 2017 THE TOWN HALL PRESENTs
THIS IS HOW MUSIC WORKS PRESENTED BY
David Byrne FEATURING
Batalá New York
Battlefest Flex Dancers
North Coast Improv Group
Brooklyn Technical High School’s Lady Dragons Step TEAM FloydLittle’s Double Dutch Paul Lazar’s Cage Shuffle
Peace Industry Music Group Alex Hawthorne, Sound Engineer LILA NEUGEBAUER, Director LEEANN ROSSI, Producer Steph Smith, Assistant Stage Manager KEN TRAVIS, Sound Design MEGHAN WILLIAMS, Stage Manager Gabe Wood, Monitor Engineer
THE TOWN HALL 123 W 43rd st nyc
LARRY ZUCKER, Executive Director M.A. PAPPER, Artistic Director CINDY BYRAM, Publicity BILL DEHLING, Technical Director CHUCK DISHIAN, Production Coordinator Presented in association with Strand Books How Music Works is published by The Crown Publishing Group | Penguin Random House
Batalá New York
Batalá is an all woman afro percussion group based in the Bronx. The music of Batalá originates in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. The first representation of Batalá in New York City was born in 2012. batalanewyork.love | Photo c/o Batalá New York
Battlefest Flex Dancers
Battlefests are events in which flex dancers compete and the audience votes. Flex dancing is choreographed drama: guns battle, bones break, and hearts are ripped from chests. Battlefests feature a wide variety of dance styles from dancers of all races, ages and genders. They use dance to illustrate their everyday lives and their inner aspirations. Dancers jump into beautiful and imaginative dream logic and feats of daring: monsters roam train cars, young lovers meet, souls fly from bodies. battlefestleague.com | Photo c/o John Harrison
North Coast Improv Group
North Coast’s performances are based around a single suggestion from an audience member, from which the show’s improvised scenes escalate into full-blown hip-hop songs. North Coast frequently blurs the line between comedy show and concert, drawing audiences from the comedy, hiphop, and theater communities for an experience that has been hailed as “mind-blowing” and “next level” by critics and audiences alike. northcoastnyc.com | Photo c/o skaorimprov
Brooklyn Technical High School’s Lady Dragons Step Team
The Lady Dragons Step Team epitomizes class, style and ferocity. This so-sweet group of Lady Dragons consists of warm and loving young ladies from various backgrounds, cultures and neighborhoods, but they all come together to keep the beat in the heart of Brooklyn Technical High School. Don’t confuse them with dancers or cheerleaders! They’ll show you EXACTLY who they are; ‘We Are the Steppers of Brooklyn Tech!’. bths.edu | Photo c/o New York Social Diary
FloydLittle’s Double Dutch
FloydLittle’s Double Dutch Inc. has developed world-class and award-winning jumpers and garnered thousands of followers. With over twenty years in the sport of double dutch these dedicated founders, Laila Little and Shaquannah Floyd, have started a movement. Their mission is to use double dutch as a tool to empower youth through education, healthy living and personal development. fldoubledutch.com |
Photo c/o Jessica Naudziunas and Gareth Smith
Paul Lazar’s Cage Shuffle
In Cage Shuffle, Paul Lazar speaks a series of one-minute stories by John Cage from his 1963 score Indeterminacy while simultaneously performing choreography by Annie-B Parson. The stories are spoken in a random order, with no predetermined relationship to the dancing. Chance serves up its inevitable blend of strange and uncanny connections between text and movement. bigdancetheater.org | Photo c/o Ian Douglas
Peace Industry Music Group
Peace Industry Music Group is headed by John Boyd, accomplished singer, composer, and music director. Peace Industry Music Group is a unique ensemble of singers and musicians from different nationalities. The music performed by Peace Industry Music Group is a diverse blend of gospel, classical, opera, standards, jazz, spirituals and pop. The ensemble performs mainly in the Minton Tile Arcade, next to Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. peaceindustrymusicgroup.com | Photo c/o Peace Industry Music Group
About HOW MUSIC WORKS
How Music Works is David Byrne’s incisive and enthusiastic look at the musical art form, from its very inceptions to the influences that shape it, whether acoustical, economic, social or technological. Utilizing his incomparable career and inspired collaborations with Talking Heads, Brian Eno, and many others, Byrne taps deeply into his lifetime of knowledge to explore the panoptic elements of music, how it shapes the human experience, and reveals the impetus behind how we create, consume, distribute, and enjoy the songs, symphonies, and rhythms that provide the backbeat of life. Byrne’s magnum opus uncovers ever-new and thrilling realizations about the redemptive liberation that music brings us all. How Music Works is published by The Crown Publishing Group | Penguin Random House Photo: CATALINA KULCZAR
THE TOWN HALL PRESENTS
DR JOHN & HENRY BUTLER THURSDAY JUNE 15 • 8PM
Two icons of New Orleans piano and song, Dr. John and Henry Butler, perform together in a concert celebrating music from the Big Easy. Part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival
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MAJOR GIFTS, CORPORATE, FOUNDATION & GOVERNMENT SUPPORT This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with The City Council. We would like to thank the following foundations, corporations, and government institutions for their support: Achelis and Bodman Foundation
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Garber Atlas Fries & Associates
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council
Anne and Gordon Getty Foundation New York City Council Member, Daniel Garodnick John Gore/Key Brand Entertainment
Wenner Foundation West New York Restoration Project Zegar Family Foundation Susan Zohn John Ben Snow Memorial Trust Theatre Refreshments Ticketmaster Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
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PwC
Zegar Family Foundation
Harkness Foundation for Dance
Reed Foundation
Susan Zohn
The Hearst Foundations, Inc.
Pamela and Richard Rubinstein
Town Hall has played an integral part in the electrifying cultural fabric of New York City for more than 90 years. A group of Suffragists’ fight for the 19th Amendment led them to build a meeting space to educate people on the important issues of the day. During its construction, the 19th Amendment was passed, and on January 12, 1921 The Town Hall opened its doors and took on a double meaning: as a symbol of the victory sought by its founders, and as a spark for a new, more optimistic climate. In 1921, German composer Richard Strauss performed a series of concerts that cemented the Hall’s reputation as an ideal venue for musical performances. Since, Town Hall has been home to countless musical milestones: The US debuts of Strauss, and Isaac Stern; Marian Anderson’s first New York recital; in 1945, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker introduced bebop to the world; Bob Dylan’s first major concert in ‘63; and much much more. Learn more. Visit thetownhall.org/tours
THE TOWN HALL FOUNDATION The Town Hall’s mission is to provide affordable world-class entertainment by new and established artists to a diverse audience; to inspire the youth of our community to appreciate and participate in the arts at The Town Hall and in schools through our Educational Outreach Program; and to preserve and enhance The Town Hall as a historic landmark venue for the enjoyment and cultural enrichment of generations to come.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES President Tom M. Wirtshafter
Treasurer Andrew T. Miltenberg
Vice President Alfred H. Horowitz
Secretary Phyllis Putter Barasch
Vice President Bruce S. Leffler Trustees Phyllis Putter Barasch Robert E. Evanson Anne Frank-Shapiro Alfred H. Horowitz Henry Johansson Ted Lambert Bruce S. Leffler Marvin Leffler Walter Melvin Andrew T. Miltenberg Honorable Milton Mollen Rita Robbins Nevin Steinberg Tom Wirtshafter Susan Zohn LIFE TRUSTEES Leona Chanin Eugene J.T. Flanagan Claire G. Miller Robert F. Wright
THE TOWN HALL STAFF
President Emeritus Marvin Leffler Advisory Council Kathleen Rosenberg, Chair Nancy Berman Shauna Denkensohn Sandy Horowitz Fern Hurst Elizabeth Iannizzi Claire Miller Zita Rosenthal Rhoda Rothkopf Arts in Education Advisory Council Dr. Charlotte K. Frank, Chair Michael Fram Dr. Sharon Dunn Gary Hecht Ernest Logan Dr. Lisa Mars Dr. Eloise Messineo Dr. Pola Rosen Leona Shapiro Manuel Urena George Young
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Director of Administration, Subscriptions & Membership Helen Morris Director of Development Jacqueline Maddox Arts Education Program Director Emma Klauber Publicist Cindy Byram Publicist, Broadway by the YearÂŽ Sam Morris
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WARNING
The photographing or sound recording of any performance or the possession of any device for such photographing or sound recording inside the theatre without the written permission of the management is prohibited by law. Violators may be punished by ejection and violations may render the offender liable for monetary damages.
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The exit indicated by a red light and sign nearest to the seat you occupy is the shortest route to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency please do not run, WALK TO THAT EXIT. Thoughtless persons annoy patrons and endanger the safety of others by lighting matches or smoking in prohibited areas during the performances and intermissions. This violates a city ordinance and is punishable by law. -FIRE COMMISSIONER
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