2017/18 Season

August 2017

SAM ASHLEY, MYSTIC/STORYTELLER/COMPOSER/PERFORMER
EACH EVENING AT DUSK, SAM SHOT VIDEO OF DESERT LANDSCAPES AS VISUAL MATERIAL FOR AN UPCOMING COMPOSITION AND HE PERFORMED HIS OWN WORK, “I’D RATHER BE LUCK THAN GOOD,” A STORY OF MANIFEST DESTINY, CANNIBALISM AND LUCK, IN EVA’S KIVA.

Authentic mysticism as a creative process is Sam Ashley’s signature statement as an artist. His pieces are mostly about luck, hallucination and coincidence. He has devoted his life to the development of an experimental, non-religious mysticism. His uninterrupted study of trance began at an early age and he has become a role model, inspiration and teacher to musicians and artists seeking to bring trance into their work.


October 2017

BIG BLACK, SINGER/SONGWRITER, DRUMMER
PERFORMED “ANOTHER KIND OF BLUES,” ORIGINAL SONGS ABOUT “LOVE AND NO LOVE,” REVEALING A MORE INTIMATE SIDE OF HIS VIRTUOSITY.

Big Black is most widely known as a master of world percussion and the first to integrate the African drum into modern calypso and jazz music. He has performed with icons, Lord Flea, Billy Cook, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Dizzy Gillespie and many others. This concert highlighted his gift as a songwriter.


December 2017

OUD, GUITAR & BASS TRIO
MUSICIANS GABRIEL LAVIN (OUD), MIGUEL CARILLO (SPANISH GUITAR) AND JANIE COWAN (UPRIGHT BASS) PERFORMED A VIRTUOSIC MELDING OF TRADITIONAL MIDDLE EASTERN AND FLAMENCO MUSIC.

Gabriel Lavin began his Middle Eastern music studies while on a Fulbright Scholarship in Oman. He has since performed and studied in Morocco, Egypt Sudan and Kuwait working with Oud masters. Miguel Carillo is a first generation Mexican-American born into a musical family. After playing drums and violin, he found his love in the Spanish guitar. Classically trained, he currently studies Flamenco with Adam Del Monte at USC. Alaska born Janie Cowan is a versatile upright bass player with a BM in performance from the Oberlin Conservatory. She performs worldwide in explorative improvisation groups, supporting artists and studying folk music of many countries.


January 2018

KETIL HAUGSAND, HARPSICHORD
RENOWNED HARPSICHORDIST KETIL HAUGSAND GAVE TWO PERFORMANCES OF J.S BACH’S, “GOLDBERG VARIATIONS.”. THIS WAS THE FIRST OCCASION A HARPSICHORD WAS HEARD WITHIN THE SUPERB ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENT OF HARRISON HOUSE.​

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. ​


JANUARY 2018

BARRY PHILLIPS, COMPOSER/CELLIST
BARRY ComposeD WORKS FOR CLAVicord IN HONOR of LOU HARRISON and prepared for his upcoming tour with the Ravi Shankar quartet.

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.


February 2018

JESSICA BEELS, SCULPTOR

A RESIDENCY THAT ALLOWED JESSICA TO EXPLORE THE DESERT LANDSCAPE, ITS LIGHT, SHAPES, SHADOWS AND PATTERNS. SHE ALSO TAUGHT A WORKSHOP IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL WIREWORKING ALONG WITH THE PROPERTIES AND USES OF KOZO PAPER. JESSICA’S ARTIST TALK REFLECTED ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HER WORK AND THE NATURAL WORLD.

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.


MARCH 2018
DAN JOSEPH, HAMMER DULCIMER
DAN PERFORMED ORIGINAL WORKS FOR THE SOLO ELECTOSTATIC HAMMER DULCIMER. CREATING A SOUNDSCAPE WITH ROOTS IN EARLY MINIMALISM, AMBIENT MUSIC AND ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY. USING A MIX OF TRADITIONAL AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, BOTH COMPOSED AND IMPROVISED, HE GIVES THIS ANCIENT INSTRUMENT A CONTEMPORARY IDENTITY.

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.


APRIL 2018

Tim DeLorey, PHD/NEUROSCIENTIST

LECTURED ABOUT “THE ART AND SCIENCE OF BIOHACKING,” which PRESENTED A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON the ecology of the body and HEALTH.

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.


MAY 2018
GYAN RILEY, COMPOSER/GUITARIST
PERFORMED SELECTIONS FROM HIS NEW CD, SPRIG, A SOLO ACOUSTIC GUITAR RECORD ABOUT GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION WHICH WAS RECORDED DURING HIS OCTOBER, 2017 ARTIST RESIDENCY AT HARRISON HOUSE.

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.


MAY 2018

KEITH NORTH, VISUAL ARTIST

HARRISON HOUSE COLLABORATED WITH THE GLASS OUTHOUSE IN WONDER VALLEY TO MOUNT A SHOW OF ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE,KEITH NORTH’S WORK INCLUDING ASSEMBLAGE SCULPTURE PAINTING AND LINOLEUM COLLAGE.

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.


JUNE 2018
JENNY QAQUNDAH (JENNY Q), AUTHOR AND MYSHKIN WARBLER, MUSICIAN
BOOK AND CD SIGNING AND ART EXHIBITION, FOLLOWED BY TRUST * TOGETHER, A LIVE SHOW UNITING HELD TOGETHER (THE BOOK) AND TRUST AND THE HIGH WIRE (THE CD) INTO ONE INSPIRED, COMPELLING SHOW ON THE HARRISION HOUSE OUTDOOR STAGE.

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.


JUNE 2018

MOKOOMBA, A MUSICAL GROUP FROM ZIMBABWE

PERFORMED TRADITIONAL ACAPELLA AND ACOUSTIC MUSIC AND DANCING AT A CONCERT FEATURING SELECTIONS FROM THEIR LATEST RELEASE, LUYANDO.

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.


JUNE 2018
JANIE COWEN, ACOUSTIC BASS

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.