What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1218966
8 WHAT'S UP! MARCH 8-14, 2020 FEATURE Magic Of The Mountain JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette T he chamber music concert series that began in a Fayetteville living room nearly four years ago has had a monumental year, and so has its founder, Katy Henriksen. That living room was Henriksen's own and the series, Trillium Salon Series, now has a home on Mount Sequoyah, a shiny new nonprofit distinction and an artist residency program starting this month. "Having a gathering space for people to commune over and through art is the idea, and it's clear that resonates with a lot of people," Henriksen says, pointing to the consistent growth of the series' annual events, as well as the series in general. As the concerts, collaborations and interest in the project have continued to expand, the mission has remained the same from that very first intimate concert, Henriksen reveals. "It doesn't matter [what music you grew up on], you can come experience these kinds of sounds and they're not elite sounds; they're not sounds that are only made for this academic or artsy set." Trillium's first artist in residence will hopefully reflect that ideal, as well. Thomas Echols is a guitarist, composer, teacher and multimedia artist whose work incorporates classical, modernist and pop music, as well as algorithmic software to explore sound manipulation and generation. "He is really representative of what Trillium wants to do in that he's all about crossing genres and being hybrid and working in different realms," Henriksen says of what made Echols the perfect participant for Trillium's first residency. "We both have a common vision of creating space for the arts." "Seeing these new-ish developments around my home town — with [the] Unexpected [Festival], especially — and becoming aware of Katy, and just seeing the positive things that are happening, I really want to be a part of that conversation. It's really meaningful to me," Echols adds. He was back in his home town of Fort Smith in October to participate in the fourth annual contemporary art festival, The Unexpected. Three weeks before his return to Arkansas, Echols is at home in Austin, Texas, where he enumerates the deluge of projects currently occupying his attention: In addition to his teaching, he is in the middle of curating a new listening room series in Austin; preparing for a program with an experimental DIY music organization; working on a sound art installation for a local restaurant; refining multiple devices he has created that analyze or manipulate sound during his guitar playing; and he is working on his next album. "It's a lot of stuff," he admits with a sigh and a chuckle. "So this [residency] gives me an excuse to isolate into my work in a place that is so meaningful to me." Echols will be in Fayetteville for nearly a week, and he will use some of that time to create field recordings to use in a composition that he will write during his stay. He'll present that piece, in collaboration with a handful of local musicians, at a performance on March 20. He will also lead a workshop on algorithmic composition to share his interest in merging the scientific with the artistic. Trillium expands while putting down roots In addition to his work on guitar, Thomas Echols activates algorithmic software through his work, as well as visual artwork. These stills are from a multimedia projection series created by Echols. (Courtesy Photo/ Thomas Echols) FAQ Trillium Salon Series With Thomas Echols WHEN — 7 p.m. March 20 WHERE — Mount Sequoyah Center at 150 N. Skyline Drive in Fayetteville COST — $10 suggested donation INFO — trilliumsalonseries.com, trilliumsalonseries@gmail. com FYI — Echols will also lead a workshop on algorithmic compo- sition. Follow @TrilliumSalonSeries on Instagram, @TrilliumSounds on Twitter, or Katy Henriksen's public Facebook page to stay up to date. Henriksen