Son of the Velvet Rat is the solo musical endeavor and masked identity of Georg Altziebler – sometimes shared with his wife, Heike Binder – who, having left their hometown of Graz, Austria finally settled along the edge of California’s Mojave Desert in Joshua Tree in 2013. Situated at the vanguard of Euro-Folk Noir, Altziebler songs build on the cabaret traditions of old world masters like Georges Brassesn, Jacques Brel and Fabrizio De Andre, now fused with the dark Old Testament prophecy and cabalistic visions conjured by New World visionaries Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan.

As a Harrison House Fellow, Kennedy composed SoundCheckEarth, a musical masterpiece inspired by Cap Rock and premiered in Joshua Tree National Park for 17 musicians, and received the 2022 Joshua’s Award.

Gabriella Smith is an accomplished upcoming composer and Delirium Musicum is a self-conducted chamber orchestra dedicated to providing impassioned and engaging musical performances that deeply connect the audience to the musicians. During their residency, Gabriella and Delirium Musicum met with local Joshua Tree experts to inform Smith’s new composition for TREELOGY about Joshua Trees that premiered February 2023 commissioned by Soraya in Los Angeles.

During his residency Giacomo composed new work that he premiered for our audience. He is currently on the music faculty of UC Santa Cruz and is a specialist in the music of Lou Harrison. He has released recordings for Populist, Cold Blue, Pinna, Spectropol, Paper Garden Records, including more than two dozen new works for justly tuned guitar.

The program included string trios and quartets by Armenian composers including Komitas, Mansurian and Miroyan and included music by Lou Harrison and Alan Hovhaness. Movses Pogossian is a world renowned musician, teacher, prize-winning violinist, and Founding Director of UCLA’s Armenian Music Program. The ensemble was recently returned from a successful tour of Armenia and brought that ambiance with them.

Students received classroom and practical instruction focused on drylands permaculture but also on the design process & methodology of permaculture, living soils, agroforestry, watershed restoration, climate science, desert landscapes, rainwater harvesting, greywater systems, kitchen gardens and earthworks. Warren Brush, lead instructor, is a global resilience design consultant, educator, lecturer, and storyteller. He has worked for over 30 years in agroecological education and regenerative system design for communities, organizations, households, farms, and conservation properties worldwide. He is co-founder of Quail Springs Permaculture, Wilderness Youth Project, True Nature Design Consulting and is an advising founder for the Permaculture Research Institute of Kenya. Additional instructors for the course included experts, Aili Schmeltz, Big Black, Brenton Kelly, Carmen Blackwood, Damian Lester, Maya Toccata, Nicholas Holmes, Robin Kobaly, and Tim DeLorey.