Chronicle Ukraine

CRITICAL EMERGENCY UPDATE: PLEASE READ Due to unforeseen circumstances, the composer had to back out of the project. The good news is we have quickly and adaptably come up with a highly creative and logical solution. David Rozenblatt, well-established Ukrainian-Jewish composer and Grammy-winning musician who incidentally has been Barry Manilow’s percussionist for the past 20 years, will be taking excerpts of his ballet Chronicle, which juxtaposes Jewish themes and slave songs (immortalized at the Smithsonian) and premiered at the Joyce Theater in New York City by Complexions Contemporary Ballet, as the backing track to a brand-new solo trumpet piece to be premiered at the Art/Lab show on June 1st. It will still be documented, there will still be a recording, and I will send all donors that recording and, with permission from choreographer Dwight Rhoden from Alvin Ailey, an exclusive high-definition download of the live performance at the Joyce. We are adjusting the budget once again to $6,000. By the end of this project, Aaron and David will have invested well over 100 hours making this project come alive, and David's heroism at the last minute to step in and offer to write a new commission is what is catalyzing this creative pivot. David, the recording engineer, and I will all split the fees according to the following newly proposed fee structure: David: 50% Audio engineer: 10% Aaron: 40% There are two options on the table here: 1. You can stay on board the project and invest in its new direction. 2. I will happily refund your money upon your request. Please be in regular communication with me. I will honor either decision and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. With blessing, Aaron Biographies: Aaron Kahn Aaron Kahn is an experimental concert artist, creative entrepreneur and writer living in Portland, OR and hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area. His work, his artistic language, and his vision are all at points of intersection, including spiritual communities, classical music communities, Jewish communities and more. He has served as the planner and organizer for different musical and cultural events, including a 100-person festival in Santa Cruz and a fully-funded, CalArts-sponsored recording project of new music in the desert. He studied music and cognitive psychology at McGill University, finished his Bachelor's in Performance from CalArts, and completed his master's at the University of Oregon. Recently the winner of the City of Portland's Regional Arts and Culture Council Arts3C grant in collaboration with PNW composer Justin Ralls, he began his journey as a solo trumpet player upon winning a Graduate Teaching Fellowship at the University of Oregon, a salaried teaching position in which he studied under master pedagogue Brian McWhorter. He has performed with a number of Grammy-winning musicians in various settings across the US. His creative inspiration revolves around a global vision for peace. To this end, he's working on a number of initiatives with music and sociopolitical issues, such as live music and the legislative process, music to reduce gun violence in conversation with local and state government constituents, and other pressing issues that reflect the zeitgeist. Such a zeitgeist, for him, is the preservation of the sanctity of the natural world and its biodiversity, an enlightened climate for social change, and a spiritual undertaking for radical shifts in individual and collective consciousness. Aaron has performed in several great concert halls around the world, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, the Munich Philharmonie, and more. He is also an educator, having his own private trumpet studio and recently having been hired to play solo trumpet and present educational content about the music industry for Stanford University's Online High School students and staff. He is currently building an umbrella B corporation that will house all of his creative work. David Rozenblatt David Rozenblatt is a platinum-selling, Grammy-winning percussionist, drummer and composer. He collaborates with some of the finest talents in pop, jazz and classical music and appears to sold-out jazz clubs and stadiums around the world. David received two Grammy nominations and one win with Absolute Ensemble’s “Absolution” for Best Small Ensemble, Barry Manilow’s platinum “In The Swing of Christmas” featuring David with the Matt Herskowitz Trio for Best Traditional Pop and Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s internationally televised (NBC) “Tony Bennett Celebrates 90”, winning a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop and featuring David with Leslie Odom Jr. He has also worked with Paul Simon, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Kesha, John Legend, Andrea Bocelli, Usher, Baby Face, Reba McEntire, Jennifer Hudson, Joe Zawinul, Dimitri Hvorostovsky, Pierre Boulez, Vladimir Spivakov, Elliot Carter, Will Ferrell and Bill Murray. David can be seen performing at the Grammy Awards, numerous Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fames, The Emmy Awards, The American Music Awards, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Show With David Letterman, VH1, and the BBC. David has composed five original ballets. Three Point Turn, written for legendary prima ballerina Diana Vishneva, Desmond Richardson and the Kirov Ballet (Mariinsky) won him a Golden Mask Award for “Best Ballet” and the “Critic's Prize.” Othello, written for Charlotte Ballet, premiered to an ecstatic audience, stellar reviews and a revival. Dirty Wire, Imprint Maya and Chronicle were all written for Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Imprint Maya debuted in Los Angeles at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and was featured in the LA Times. Dispute In Conclusion Unplugged was composed for Seattle Symphony’s Chamber Series. Bachtrack wrote, “Of the 21st-century composers, David Rozenblatt stole the show…[His score] left the audience breathless before they shouted a collective ‘Wow!’” His symphonic work, Flux, commissioned by Baltic Sea Philharmonic premiered at Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace and the Dubai Opera House. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, David moved to the United States at the age of four. The following year, he started playing drums professionally and years later received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School.