What's Up!

March 8, 2020

What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!

Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1218966

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 8 of 47

"It's an educational thing, it's a collaborative thing, it's a way to connect with the community, and also give him the opportunity to really have time to create, as well," Henriksen says of the program's objective. "Arkansas has this strong emotive effect. It's really got an is-ness to it," Echols muses. "For me, my 17-year-old younger self is all there, and that was in a time when you don't have social media or tons of recordings of things. So there's a lot of other stuff going into it for me. It's a very emotionally intense place for me." Those field recordings will be from places that hold special meaning for Echols. The sound of shutting the door of the house he grew up in, for example, may be one of his recordings. And with the software Echols is still fine-tuning before he arrives, he can stretch out that sound, identify its pitch or harmonic content, and generate material for musicians to perform, he says as one example of the software's capabilities. "It's not the most intuitive connection," he confesses of his journey learning to incorporate the tech with the music. Echols' workshop will help those who are interested learn simple ways to interact with this kind of programming, he shares. "I work at a place called dadageek here in Austin, which is kind of a community center and informal school where people learn to use technology in their art in interesting ways," he explains. "And I've found that kind of experience to be something really neat to kind of develop a bit of a community that wasn't there otherwise around people learning different ways of engaging with their art." Echols and Henriksen are both excited for the flexibility of this new program and Trillium's new nonprofit standing will aid her hopes for continued expansion. The distinction will allow Henriksen to establish actual fundraising goals and apply for grants that can make more collaboration and residencies possible, on top of the regular Trillium concert programming, she reveals. And it's a vision that has been a long time in the making. "Honestly, since even before Trillium was a thought in my head," Henriksen says of when she first pictured starting an artist residency program. "When I moved back to Fayetteville from New York, I was like, 'OK, Fayetteville's the perfect environment for someone to come and have a retreat and the space to really hone in on their creative ideas.' That was May, 2008, and now we're getting to have that first one." The significance of finding a home on Mount Sequoyah is not lost on Henriksen, either. The Mount Sequoyah Center at the top of the mountain was founded in 1922 by the Methodist Episcopal Church as a retreat center and training facility. The glowing cross that watches over downtown Fayetteville and the wooded tranquility of the mountain have offered places to gather or to reflect for locals and visitors alike for generations. When the property was transferred to the newly formed, secular nonprofit Mount Sequoyah Center Inc. in 2016, Creative Spaces NWA also found its base of operations there. The "living art space" is a part of Mount Sequoyah Center that provides studio, exhibition and performance spaces to artists, and is also establishing its own residency program this summer. It was through Creative Spaces NWA that Henriksen landed her office space that now serves as her creative hub, as well as accommodations for Trillium's events of varying size. "They're opening Mount Sequoyah up to the artistic community," Henriksen says gratefully. "You see all the different types of people who are creative in the community [connecting here], and then when we have a Trillium, we're inviting the general population to come up and experience it. It's something really magical going on with the fact that we're activating these spaces this way. "There's just a lot of energy surrounding this space as a place that could really help propel the arts forward." MARCH 8-14, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 9 FYI Upcoming Trillium Schedule April 4 — Amos Cochran record release with Christian Serrano- Torres (cello) and Miranda Baker Burns (viola), 7 p.m., Sequoyah Hall, Mount Sequoyah. $10 suggested donation. April 11 — Poets Mohja Kahf and Banah Ghadbian with members of the University of Arkansas World Music Ensem- ble, 8 p.m., Fenix Gallery in Fayetteville. $10 suggested donation. TBD — Pop-up Trillium Salon with members of Artosphere Festival Orchestra in May. Free. June 20 — Second annual Summer Solstice Block Party, East Seventh Street from Washington to Willow (Spring Shop Studios to the Amplified Tiny House) in Fayetteville. Free. The Trillium Salon Series was founded nearly four years ago and has since grown to encompass consistent programming that connects local musicians with artists from across the globe. In 2019, the program achieved nonprofit status and gained a permanent home on Mount Sequoyah, which will serve as the base for many of its concerts and a new artist residency. (Courtesy Photo/Abigale Rongey) Guitarist and composer Thomas Echols is the Trillium Salon Series' first ever artist-in-residence. Echols arrives in Fayetteville on March 16 and will spend the week creating field recordings to contribute to the piece he will compose during his stay, all culminating in a collaborative performance with local musicians Devanee Williams (harp), Patti Steel (clarinet) and Garrett Jones (upright bass). (Courtesy Photo/Alex Kacha)

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of What's Up! - March 8, 2020