Ketil Haugsand, professor emeritus of harpsichord at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, is considered one of the most important harpsichordists and Early Music interpreters of today. His highly acclaimed recordings of J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” have been singled out as outstanding, landmark performances. Haugsand has played at prestigious venues on multiple continents as a soloist and with major ensembles. Born in Norway, he studied with the renowned Gustav Leonhardt at the Amsterdam Conservatory and was awarded the Prix d’Excellence in 1975.
After receiving a Masters of Music degree in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he became the compositional assistant to Ravi Shankar, collaborating with him on compositions for Mstislav Rostropovich, Joshua Bell and Philip Glass and the “Concert for George”, at the Royal Albert Hall, where Barry also performed on cello with the Indian orchestra and the rock/pop band. In 2013 he received a Grammy as producer/engineer of Ravi Shankar’s CD “The Living Room Sessions Part 1.” As a cellist, Barry has toured worldwide with The Anoushka Shankar Project, the Coulter/Phillips Ensemble and many others. In addition, for over 30 years he has arranged and produced recordings of Northern European folk music on the Gourd Music label.
Multimedia DC-based artist Jessica Beels is renowned for sculptures and installations that highlight landscape objects in abstraction. Influenced by the geometry of nature, her organic armature forms embrace the microscopic to the macroscopic. For the first time in her decades-long career, Jessica had the opportunity to explore the Mojave desert.
Dan Joseph is a composer, performer, writer and curator based in New York City. He studied at CalArts and Mills College with Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran, Mel Powell and Terry Riley. For the past fifteen years, the hammer dulcimer has been the primary vehicle for his music. In 2017, the venerable New York based label XI Records released a 2 CD retrospective of his music.
For the past 25 years Dr. Tim DeLorey has been fascinated by a phenomenon known as epigenetics. Epi (above) -genetics is a relatively recent insight into how our environment, both internal and external, influences our gene function, the “Natural Intelligence” that directs the workings of the human “being”. Dr. DeLorey has conducted scientific research at UAB, UCLA, Stanford and the Molecular Research Institute. He has published extensively in the fields of epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, autism and neurodevelopment.
Gyan plans to plant a tree for each physical album sold. His goal is to raise awareness about deforestation of the earth and support the americanforrests.org drive to plant three million trees worldwide in 2018. Sprig is dedicated to his late mother, Ann. Gyan Riley is a virtuoso guitarist and composer who seamlessly weaves American music traditions with vibrant musical forms from around the world. His international career includes performances with Zakir Hussain, the San Francisco Symphony, the World Guitar Ensemble, his father, composer/pianist/vocalist Terry Riley and solo appearances at Carnegie Hall, Barbican Theatre and Moogfest.
North is a self-taught outsider artist from the San Francisco Bay Area with Native American roots. A keen observer, his penchant for satire and social commentary infuse his work that he refers to as “neo-symbolist”. During a previous residency in 2010, Keith created the iconic, 10 foot tall Sun Worshipper statue that welcomes visitors at the gate. North’s output spans two decades. This was the first public showing of his art outside of Harrison House.
Jenny Q’s first book, Held Together, and Myshkin Warbler’s ninth record, Trust and the High Wire, describe the same remarkable, true story in different media and voices. In 2013, Myshkin Warbler, an eclectic artist and musician moved to Joshua Tree to be with her new love, Jenny Q, the local beloved herbalist. Soon after, Jenny became seriously ill and fell into septic shock and a coma. For six months, while jenny was in ICU, enduring dozens of operations and ultimately becoming an amputee, Myshkin wrote songs for Jenny and helped channel the community’s potent energies toward her healing. Four years later, Jenny has re-learned to walk and dance on prosthetic legs and has completed Held Together, a raw and revealing book about her near death experience. Collaging her own insightful writing with letter and messages from caring family and friends, Held Together tells a village’s account of a personal tragedy and affirms the healing power of community and love. Myshkin wrote the songs on Trust and the High Wire form her own vantage on the same journey—from the couple’s first meeting, through the treacherous high–wire days and back to dry land, forever changed.
The name Mokoomba stems from the deep respect that the Tongan people have for the Zambezi River and for the vibrant life that it brings to their culture. In the Tongan language, Luyando means “mother’s love”. Their songs explore the vanishing traditions of the minority Tongan and Luvale societies. In addition, they combine traditional and modern instruments with a variety of international musical styles. Mokoomba has toured in more than 40 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania, sharing their own style of music as well as the traditions of their people. These men hold great pride in their tribes. They are the first group to represent their people nationally and internationally. In May, 2018, Mokoomba was inducted into the Afropop Worldwide Hall of Fame at a ceremony honoring the 30th anniversary of the Peabody Award winning media organization Afropop Worldwide. They were introduced to our community by the Joshua Tree Music Festival.
DELVED INTO THE HARRISON HOUSE MEDIA ARCHIVE WITH EVA SOLTES CREATING A ROUGH CUT OF RARE FOOTAGE SOLTES SHOT IN 2007 OF THE LATE, GREAT COMPOSER AND CONTRABASS SOLOIST, STEFANO SCODANIBBIO AND A DEMO TAPE FOR COWAN’S NEWLY FORMED ENSMEBLE THAT SOLTES TAPED DURING A PERFORMANCE IN DECEMBER, 2017.
Janie Cowan graduated from The Oberlin Conservatory of Music. From an early age she was influenced by the innovative playing of Scodanibbio, who was a well-known force in the Bass World. Soltes selected Cowan to work with to help cull the gems from her archival footage because of Cowan’s strong technical foundation and wide ranging musical experience performing with improvisational and folk ensembles worldwide.