The Series
New Music @ DMOA is an alternative music series curated by composer Harry Scorzo. New Music concerts will be podcast the First Thursday of every month beginning in Summer 2008.
Harry on the series: “Only a few other communities can say that they have an ongoing series devoted to music by composers that are living today that present in concerts. I am proud and grateful for the opportunity to curate our New Music Series here at DMOA.”
Director Kate Davies on the series: “The New Music series was born on the brink of DMOA’s 50th Anniversary and is a celebration of its early roots practice of providing a space for artists to share their works and to have a place to perform. In this case, a place for cutting edge composers and musicians to play their works and gather for discussion and camaraderie.”
Artists who have performed at DMOA: Vinnie Golia, Harry’s group Vio-Fonik with Christopher Garcia, Gutherie & Streb, The Brad Dutz Quartet, Nathan Hubbard, Unbande have performed in this series.
About Harry Scorzo
Violinist. Composer. Arranger
Harry Scorzo has had ties to Downey since childhood. As a child young Harry’s family moved to nearby Bell from Chicago in 1959 and they immediately fell in love with Downey. At Christmas according to Harry they would pack the car with family, gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate and drive to Downey to see the wonderful lights and Christmas displays.
Young Harry went on to play in the Downey Civic Light Opera Orchestra (“way before the theatre was built”), in the Downey Symphony under Lou Palange and in a small instrumental group for the Marionette Theatre. “Downey,” Harry says “always had a very healthy and active arts life.”
Today Harry plays violin professionally. On his days off, one of his favorite places to visit is Furman Park which led him into DMOA. Harry’s love of art returned him to the Museum many, many times over the years. During one of his recent visits he met our Director and New Music @ DMOA was born.
Listen!
The Rives Park song
Harry loves tree houses. He has always dreamed of having one. So he goes to Rives Park (Furman) to walk among the big trees and imagine. Harry still waits for his tree house, but is planning a trip to Oregon to stay in one.
LISTEN: Click the play button below to hear the song Harry wrote called Rives Park.
Past 2008 Programs:
7-03-08: BRAD DUTZ QUARTET
The Quartet explores a mixture of classical, jazz and improvised music.
The instruments bass clarinet, cello and oboe mix with marimba and other percussion instruments to create a unique blend of old and new sounds.
6-05-08: DAVID PRITCHARD'S ACOUSTIC GUITAR QUARTET
The David Pritchard Acoustic Guitar Quartet, featuring guitarists David
Pritchard, Ken Rosser, Kevin Tiernan, and John Storie, along with special
guest singer Meaghan Boeing
Guitarist/composer David Pritchard’s unique music for acoustic guitar ensemble can be heard on his latest CD “Velocity”, described by
Minor7th.com’s Bernard Richter as “truly some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard.” Prior to the release of “Velocity”,Pritchard’s Zebra
Acoustic recording “Unassigned Territory” was described in Billboard
magazine like this: “There is a spaciousness and forward momentum to Pritchard’s designs that make his simple but detailed compositions sound cinematic.”
His music was first introduced to the public on his CD “Air Patterns” which was described by CD Review magazine as “one of those
precious albums that cuts though the dross with its precision, craft, and
design, like an intricate Oriental rug.” His music has frequently been heard on the public radio program “Echoes.” His music has also been recorded by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. 5-01-08: TODD MILLSTEIN'S CHAMBER JAZZ TRIO
Todd Millstein was joined by John Daversa on trumplet and flugelhorn and Damon Zick on tenor sax & Clarinets. The band's instrumentation lent a chamber music quality: subtle, light and spacious. The trio performed arrangements of their original jazz, folk, pop and classical compositions. The group takes inspiration from Jimmy Guiffre's bassless, drummerless trio from the 50's.
4-03-08: MEXIKA
Musician, instrument maker and scholar Martin Espino joined by master percussionist Christopher Garcia to perform traditional and new music with ancient cosmic sounds from their ancestral Mexico. Martin is an authority on music and culture Pre-Hispanic America. Beautiful, haunting music.
3-06-8 VINNY GOLIA
Composer/multi-woodwind player Vinny Golia & Friends in a small intimate concert.
Golia is a composer who fuses the rich heritage of Jazz, contemporary classical and world music into his own unique compositions. Mr. Golia has won numerous awards as a composer, including grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, The Lila Wallace Commissioning Program, The
California Arts Council, Meet the Composer, Clausen Foundation of the Arts, Funds for U.S. Artists and the American Composers Forum.
2-07-08: VIO-FONIK
Harry Scorzo's Vio-Fonik will appear live at DMOA @ Furman Park .
Vio-Fonik: Harry Scorzo and Adriana Zoppo – violins Alan Mautner – cello Christopher Garcia – tabla and percussion