Loading Video . . . Emily Rose Hazel's work responds to the devastation after Hurricane Sandy, the theme of "Light and Darkness," and to the passages of Isaiah 50:2-3; 59:9-11 and Luke 1:78-79 as she builds a poetry collection responding to every theme from the year as a 2013 Spark+Echo Artist in Residence. Isaiah 59:9-11 Isaiah 50:2-3 Luke 1:78-79 In the Wake of the Storm By Emily Ruth Hazel Credits: Read by Emily Rose Hazel Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Resident 2013 2013 Poetry/Spoken Word Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link “In the Wake of the Storm” is a response to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, particularly its impact on the New York metro region. While I was very grateful to have come through the storm unscathed, a number of my friends were directly affected by it. Some felt the effects for days; others are still dealing with the aftermath months later. After seeing widespread power outages and damage from fallen trees, flooding, and fires, those images stayed with me. Talking with people who had experienced these losses, I was struck by how quickly our modern world can be turned upside-down and how powerless we feel when this happens. Crisis, as we know, brings out the best and the worst in human nature—the light and the dark. It presents an opportunity for people to adapt with remarkable resilience and generously help each other, or to dip into despair and take advantage of one another’s vulnerability. I wanted to write a poem that would hold kernels of many stories from people in different areas who are recovering from disaster, and to leave room for questions that arise out of pain and anger, as a way of giving voice to their ongoing struggle. Where The Boardwalk Used To Be, Taken By Emily Rose Hazel, Edited By Charis J Carmichael Braun Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Emily Ruth Hazel is a poet, writer, and cross-pollinator who is passionate about diversifying the audience for poetry and giving voice to people who have been marginalized. Selected as the Honorary Poet for the 25th Annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading in Providence, Rhode Island, she presented a commissioned tribute to the Poet Laureate of Harlem in February of 2020. She is a two-time recipient of national Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prizes and was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for a residency at The Hambidge Center in 2014. Her chapbook, Body & Soul (Finishing Line Press, 2005) , was a New Women’s Voices finalist. Emily’s work has appeared in numerous anthologies, magazines, literary journals, and digital projects, including Kinfolks: A Journal of Black Expression and Magnolia: A Journal of Women’s Socially Engaged Literature. Her poetry has also been featured on music albums, in a hair salon art installation, and in a science museum exhibition. Emily has written more than twenty commissioned works for organizations, arts productions, social justice projects, and private clients. Currently, she is developing several poetry book manuscripts and writing lyrics for an original musical inspired by the life of the extraordinary singer and Civil Rights icon Marian Anderson. A graduate of Oberlin College’s Creative Writing Program and a former New Yorker, she is now based in the Los Angeles area. EmilyRuthHazel.com Instagram: @EmilyRuthHazel Facebook.com/EmilyRuthHazel Website Emily Ruth Hazel About the Artist Artist in Residence 2013, Emily Ruth Hazel Word of Mouth Circling the Waist of Wisdom Give Me a Name Homecoming Runaway Give Us This Day Undressing Prayer Emily Ruth Hazel Other Works By Explore the other works composed throughout the year in Emily's poetry collection, created as a 2013 Artist in Residence . Explore her works created throughout the year: “In the Wake of the Storm” LIGHT AND DARKNESS (JANUARY 21, 2013) “Circling the Waist of Wisdom” FOOLS (APRIL 26, 2013) “Homecoming” DANCING (JUNE 27, 2013) “Runaway” LIES (AUGUST 8, 2013) “Give Us This Day” HARVEST (NOVEMBER 14, 2013) “Undressing Prayer” MEMORY (JANUARY 6, 2013) Artists in Residence Spark+Echo Artists in Residence spend a year developing and creating a major work in response to Scripture. Click on their names to view their projects. Current Artists in Residence Spark+Echo Arts seeks to develop and support communities of artists who engage with and create in response to the Bible. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 and some internal changes, we decided to pause the Artist in Residency for a year so that we could regroup our resources. Our hope is to continue offering this opportunity in 2021. Previous Artists in Residence 2020 Sapient Soul, Marlanda Dekine (Poetry + Spoken Word) 2019 Lancelot Schaubert (Short Story) 2018 Elias Popa (Installation Art) 2017 Aaron Beaumont (Music), Lily Maase (Music) 2016 Ebitenyefa Baralaye (Visual Art), Chris Knight (Film), Lauren Ferebee (Theatre), Stephanie Miracle (Dance) 2015 Benje Daneman (Music), Jason DaSilva (Film), Melissa Beck (Visual Art), Don Nguyen (Theatre), Christine Suarez (Dance), The Spark & Echo Band (Music) 2013 Nicora Gangi (Visual Art), Emily Ruth Hazel (Poetry) Related Information View More Art Make More Art Shattered windows that we are, strangers look through us at the aftermath. We are the dislocated, out of socket. View Full Written Work In the Wake of the Storm by Emily Rose Hazel Shattered windows that we are, strangers look through us at the aftermath. We are the dislocated, out of socket. Bullied by the wind, knocked down, roots exposed. We are the stories that go on breathing after the headlines have exhausted themselves, the survivors at the end of each obituary. We are the families evicted by the ocean: the deep has dragged its bloated belly over the seawall, over the roads, and made itself at home in our living rooms. Our kitchen floors are covered with its afterthoughts. Our basements have been emptied of meaning. Mountains of sand to be moved. Of what use is faith to us, if it’s not muscled and doesn’t carry its own shovel? What good is prayer unless it can clear away all the debris and show us what we’re standing on? We are like broken boats abandoned in the streets. We are the houses we’ve been anxious to return to, desperate to reclaim ourselves. >p>The landscape as we knew it has dissolved. A slab of what was once the boardwalk— so many summers—washed up in a driveway. Still bolted to the wood, a bench on which we might have eaten ice cream. Rows of fire-ravaged houses: twisted metal bedframes, front steps leading nowhere. A green door, left ajar, listing on its hinges. Behind it, the tangled remains—no walls, just a swamp of blackened bricks. >Everything is muddy and tastes of salt and ashes. We wash dishes, clothes, our shivering bodies with gratitude for clean but frigid water, trying to contain the bitterness, stop the infection from spreading. Our batteries are dying, our bright white circles of certainty fading to hazy, amber halos. In electricity we trust, but now we’re going back to what has guided generations. Every match strikes a word of courage against the dark: a tongue of flame flares up and licks the wick. In this blind tunnel of days, we huddle together, relearn old ways to connect, trying to forget how powerless we are. And for a while, darkness slithers away, hides in the corners of our minds. A caravan of strangers parked along the shoulder of the road, we wait for hours to fill our empty tanks. At the church, we stand in yet another line to be handed rationed supplies: a bucket and a flimsy sponge mop, two rolls of toilet paper, a Ziploc sandwich bag of laundry powder. We reach into a box of matchbooks, but there are no more candles to be found. The days, mere stubs of wax, burn out quickly now. Night comes early to claim us. Not even a stoplight punctuates the run-on sentence of the dark as far as we can see. After half-living so long without, will it seem a strange miracle when the wires hum with energy again? Will we dizzy ourselves in celebration, or simply weep with relief? The promise of restoration stale on winter’s breath, we are weary of waiting for the sun to remember us. We live on the far end of enough. Justice does not reach us here. We open our doors and step into bottomless shadows. We have lost our eyes. We feel our way along the walls as if the answers were written in braille. As if our fingers could read. Among the strong, we are like the dead. Our hunger is an angry growl. Our mourning is a hollow, feathered cry. We stretch out our hands for deliverance and it floats away, just beyond our reach. We cling to each other to keep the ones we love from being swept away by waves of despair. God, if you hear us, why are you silent? Is it because you are listening? Or is your own throat filled with sand? Push the waters back to where they belong. If it’s true you can dry up the sea with a word, have you misplaced what you meant to say? If you are with us, how can we know, when you have pulled down the curtain and snuffed out all the lights in the sky so that we cannot even see your silhouette? Are you too tired to rescue us? Are your arms too short to save? We are still waiting for daybreak, for your mercy to shine on the rest of us sitting in the dark, sleeping in the shadow of death— for you to show us, one foot at a time, how to navigate these ruins and somehow forge a crooked path to peace. What do we have left? Splinters of memories, jars of peanut butter to sustain us, the generosity of friends. The work to be done stretches before us like an ocean. For now, we share what little light we have. We swaddle babies in blankets. We climb the stairs in high-rise buildings to bring meals to aging parents. We cup one hand around this flicker of hope, our wavering belief that even now, help is on its way from somewhere. Close Loading Video . . . Shattered windows that we are, strangers look through us at the aftermath. We are the dislocated, out of socket. Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Poet David Brendan Hopes reflects on the short book of Philemon, particularly on the passage of Philemon 1:1-3. Philemon 1:1-3 Meditations on Philemon By David Hopes Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2015 Poetry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link What a strange assignment Philemon was! I don't recall hearing a scripture from it in church, even through many years of the Episcopal cycle. But when I read it, it touched me, for I heard Paul advocating for a person who had apparently failed expectation, even Paul's own, and who, yet, was deserving of another chance, as Christ gives us chances far beyond our deserving, or any hope of fulfillment. It is an odd book, and one wonders what debate went on at Nicea in order that it might be included. But it's very strangeness and unfamiliarity made it seem fresh to me, more like a conversation with a wise friend that a sacred Epistle. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection David Brendan Hopes is a poet, actor, and playwright living in Asheville, NC, where he teaches Literature, creative writing, and Humanities at UNCA. Website David Hopes About the Artist David Hopes Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art I do not think you can go that way without someone sending you. I do not think you can come back unless the way has been prepared View Full Written Work Meditations on Philemon by David Brendan Hopes I do not think you can go that way without someone sending you. I do not think you can come back unless the way has been prepared and the places set to meet you along the road. I do not think that coming and going will be the same after you have experienced the exhortation out and the summons home. You who crept in by cover of night will be greeted by cymbals at dawn and by dancers with bells at the ankles or you will not come at all. The impulse for the miracle to be secret among the believers shall be changed to crowing on a red roof in the red of dawn, and this shall be well. We whom slavery has accustomed to edging in by the narrow way shall gather with our trumpets at the broad gate. Who is prepared to say how these things are? We fall by an action and find redemption in a word, and in the white storm the first gold blossom huddles in the flower box. He is on the road who was once useless to you. Things change. The moon comes in silence before, the Sun in rejoicing after. Close Loading Video . . . I do not think you can go that way without someone sending you. I do not think you can come back unless the way has been prepared Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . "I Make Tents" by Jonathon Roberts is poetic prose with a rhythmic soundscape exploring Apostle Paul's life as a tentmaker and his writings on wisdom and foolishness. 2 Corinthians 2:17 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 1 Corinthians 9:6 1 Corinthians 15:8 Romans 8:20-23 Acts 18:3 Isaiah 29:14 I Make Tents By Jonathon Roberts Credits: Text by St. Paul, Jonathon Roberts, Christy Bagasao Composition and Voice by Jonathon Roberts Additional Voices/Samples: Brendan Marshall-Rashid, Timothy Troy, Terry Rew-Gottfried, Governor Jim Doyle, Senator John Kerry, Lawrence University Wind Ensemble (recorded by Larry Darling) Artist Location: Wisconsin Curated by: Jonathon 2005 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Saying Paul was a unique and dynamic person is an understatement. During his ministry he worked as a self-supporting tentmaker, so no one would accuse him of “peddling God’s Word for profit.” He communicated with people he served in many different ways depending on what they needed to hear, sometimes even using humor, sarcasm or a biting wit to get his point across. In this collage, sound samples from professors and politicians intertwine with lighter sounds and Paul’s playful and even biting words. This piece is also part of the larger multi-media theatrical production Project Paul . Like other parts of the production, this piece deals with some of Paul’s favorite themes: wisdom vs. foolishness, weakness and humility, and the painful “groaning” of this world. Paul the Tentmaker: 2 Corinthians 2:17, Acts 18:3, 1 Corinthians 9:1-18 The World is Groaning: Romans 8:20-23, 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 Wisdom and Foolishness: Isaiah 29:14, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, 1 Corinthians 15:8 Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection J onathon Roberts is a composer and sound designer for games, film, theatre, and ensembles. His style grew out of classical and jazz training, and evolved through quality life adventures: touring the country in an RV with a one person theater piece on the Apostle Paul, living in Brooklyn with an improv music ensemble, performing in a downtown NYC absurdist comedy band, and a long stint writing music for the renowned slot machine company, High 5 Games. He has released four albums including the latest, Cities a song cycle personifying biblical cities. He created the popular podcast/web series ComposerDad Vs. Bible , in which ComposerDad accepts intense compositional challenges from a mysterious Bible while out with his kids. He frequently collaborates on music and theater projects with his wife, actor Emily Clare Zempel. They live in Beacon, NY, with their two boys and a tangled box of electrical cords. www.jonathonroberts.com Website Jonathon Roberts About the Artist Loving Arms The Sower Response There Is Room These are My Sons Consider Me a Partner Weakness The Day Is Almost Here Surrogate Babbler Remember Me Prayer How Beautiful I Am a Fool The Constant Ecclesiastes Cows Blessing Fools for Christ More Than Rubies Only a Few Years Will Pass Dear Friend Jonathon Roberts Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . It’s been very challenging working on creating individualized contemplations to send over the last couple of months. One of the major reasons is that many of the challenges people have shared with me so far are also challenges that I find myself facing in some way. Find the complete progression of the work linked below. Proverbs 8:17-21 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 3 By Lauren Ferebee Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2016 2016 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link September 19, 2016 In Proverbs 8, Wisdom says: Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. (vv. 1-5) It’s been very challenging working on creating individualized contemplations to send over the last couple of months. One of the major reasons is that many of the challenges people have shared with me so far are also challenges that I find myself facing in some way. A sampling: – How do I trust myself? – How do I cope with the dust settling? – How do I share my gifts confidently and from a place of stability, compassion, genuineness? – How do I find more patience in my daily life? – How do I balance a creative life and a normal life? In creating objects for these concerns, I am forced to look at each question in a new way, thinking what do I know about this? and also, how do I move beyond my fear that I don’t, and potentially will never know the answers to these questions? Because fear is just a trick, right? Fear keeps us holding on to false answers that don’t serve us. If I have learned one thing through artistic practice this year, it is that contemplation is not, in fact, about answers. As Rilke reminds us in the ever-relevant Letters to a Young Poet , our job is never to hold fast to answers, but to seek instead for questions that we can love. I’ll tell you, it’s been twelve years since I first picked up Letters , and loving questions is still a stretch for me. As part of the discipline of my project this year, I have seriously re-committed to a daily ritual of journaling and reading books on creative practice, and lately I’ve been working my way through Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit . One of the things she speaks about is her own sense of rigidity – that questions ought to be answered, that the world is good or bad, right or wrong – and I deeply identify with that. In engaging with these unanswerable questions, I have been forced to confront my own rigidity. It is uncomfortable for me to realize that sometimes I think I am living an answer (This is right for me.) when I have really been living a question (Is this right for me?) . It is even more difficult for me to settle into the tension of living a question, or many questions, because that tension keeps the door open to other answers – to the possibility that the answer might change. Living this way requires tremendous energy, and yet it also keeps the possibility of change alive within me. One of my favorite podcasts is Krista Tippett’s, On Being. They recently replayed one of my favorite episodes with The Alchemist author, Paulo Coelho . Talking about his 34 years with his wife, he speaks of their marriage going through “many moments of destruction…but not destruction in a bad way. For example, just like you build a house, and then you say this house does not fit me anymore. So let’s reorganize, but let’s continue to live here. We don’t need to move…let’s reconstruct this house.” To me, this represents a very deep wisdom: being able to move through moments when I realize that what I have held onto in my life no longer serves me. And those are the moments when only questions can serve as the bridge between my current life and what’s next. A brave and terrifying moment, when either I move forward or stay put. “To the discerning all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found knowledge. ‘Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” …which leads me to the thought that I have been pushing around these last few months as I work at my project: What if wisdom is just a series of ever-deepening circles of questions? I’ll leave you with a few of the short pieces I have been composing for the book of hours I am creating. I also want to say thank you to those who have bravely shared their concerns with me and encourage anyone else who would like to receive a contemplative object to reach out to me at laurenbeth.ferebee(a)gmail.com. January/Sunday/6am Sunday Breakfast The first day of new creation The ordinary world 6am Invocation Americans depart but never arrive. We always believe there is something waiting just over our shoulders. If I arrived, what would I do next? Leave. Leave. Leave. I can’t leave. I’m barely awake. Wake up. March/Monday/9pm you’re an easy target and you know it, you’ve been told, so easy. So many versions of “are you sure” singing in your blood that describing reality makes you sick you can’t even say if your feet are on the ground. So when someone asks you if you are OK, you can’t say with any certainty if you are falling down or taking off. July/Weds/Noon I don’t know how to carry you across this river of despair. I love bridges but I am not one. Could it be in these hot days of crossing over, These ambiguous July afternoons We might simply lose despair, like we lose ourselves, the boundaries of our skins, To this gathering heat? Will sadness evaporate? Will hate? October/Sat/9am In the waning days of American prosperity, this is what we witness: The bones rising. You who think you know what violence is: Has anyone ever built an overpass on your body? Let the silence of your death wash down a river? I know more than a few people haunted by the ghosts of thousands. The land has counted every day, every death. You cannot keep secrets from the trees. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Lauren Ferebee is a Texan native and a multidisciplinary artist whose primary mediums are playwriting and installation/video art. Most recently, her play The Reckless Season was selected for Stage West’s Southwest Playwriting Competition Festival of New Works, and her alternative screwball comedy Sexual Geography was a finalist for the Reva Shiner Comedy Award at the Bloomington Playwrights’ Project. In 2014, she was a juried fellow at Saltonstall Arts Colony, a semifinalist for the Shakespeare’s Sister fellowship and the first theatre-artist-in-residence at HUB-BUB in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where in addition to writing, she did community-based theatre work. Her most recent work includes Sexual Geography (developed at HUB-BUB), The Reckless Season (The Spartanburg Little Theatre/HUB-BUB), Somewhere Safer (FringeNYC 2013, Inkwell finalist), and Blood Quantum (At Hand Theatre & WET Productions). Three of her short plays, jericho, jericho , Bob Baker’s End of the World and The Pirate King are published online at indietheaternow.com , where Somewhere Safer is also published as part of the 2013 Fringe Collection. She is a member of playwriting collective Lather, Rinse, Repeat, and studied playwriting, screenwriting and television writing at Primary Stages/ESPA. Lauren also has regional and NYC credits as an actress on stage and in film, and from 2007-2010 was co-artistic director of a site-specific classical theatre company, Rebellious Subjects Theatre. She especially enjoys acting in and teaching Shakespeare and working on new plays. She holds a BFA in drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Website Lauren Ferebee About the Artist Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 1 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 2 while in a foreign land Wonders of the Deep Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Lauren Ferebee Other Works By Follow the previous development of Lauren's 2016 Artist in Residence project by reading her first , second , and final post. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

don-nyugen-air4th_first-supper-seating-layouts.jpg Loading Video . . . Hi, my name is Don Nguyen and this is my second post for the Artist in Residence project. Find the complete progression of the work linked below. Luke 22:14-48 Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 2 By Don Nguyen Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2015 Theatre Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link July 6, 2015 Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Don Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam, grew up in Nebraska, and now currently resides in New York City. As a playwright, Don has written several full-length plays including: SOUND, a sign language play which was a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and was previously developed at The Playwrights Realm. Don’s first full-length play RED FLAMBOYANT was developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and was both a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival as well as the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. THE MAN FROM SAIGON has been developed at Naked Angels and was a NYSAF Founders Award recipient. THE COMMENCEMENT OF WILLIAM TAN was developed at New York Stage and Film and was a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Don was also recently one of 48 playwrights commissioned for The Flea Theater’s 5 1/2 hour epic production of The Mysteries, directed by Ed Iskander, which was a stage adaptation of the Bible. Don is a proud member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, a member of the inaugural Emerging Writers Group at the Public Theater in New York and served five years as artistic director for The Shelterbelt Theatre. Don is also a frequent volunteer for the 52nd Street Project. Website: thenuge.com Website Don Nguyen About the Artist Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 1 Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 3 Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen My Million Spectacular Moments Don Nguyen Other Works By To follow the developmental process of Don's play read his first , third and final posts as a 2015 Artist in Residence. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . 2012 Spark and Echo Arts Curators Eric and Jeffrey Leiser created this fascinating short film created in response to John 4:13-14. The theme of "Water" is evident here, and the film captures its metaphorical and historical significance in this passage. John 4:13-14 Living Waters By Eric and Jeffrey Leiser Credits: Director/Animator: Eric Leiser Music/Sound by Jeffrey Leiser Special Thanks: Jennifer Colville Leiser, Spark+Echo Arts, Freesound Project Curated by: Adam Tyson 2012 Film Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Albino Fawn Productions was established in 2001 by filmmakers Eric and Jeffrey Leiser to produce films with spiritual, surreal, experimental and/or animated content. In 2005 AFP teamed up with Vanguard Cinema to release Eclectic Shorts and Faustbook, as well as Imagination [2008] and Glitch in the Grid [2012]. AFP-produced films have won top awards at film festivals internationally and have toured theaters across the United States. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Eric Leiser is an award-winning filmmaker, animator, puppeteer, writer, holographer and multi-media artist working in the New York and London area. A graduate from CalArt’s Experimental Animation program, he creates animated and live action feature films and shorts as well as works integrating animation, puppetry, holography, live performance and installation. He has made 24 short films, eight of which appear in the Vanguard release Eclectic Shorts by Eric Leiser, and three features: Faustbook, released by Vanguard Cinema, Imagination, and Glitch in the Grid, both released theatrically in the U.S. before hitting DVD/VOD through Vanguard. Imagination was featured in Animation Magazine and Glitch in the Grid was featured on Apple iTunes Trailers and IMDb Feature Trailers. It also won two awards at the Park City Film Festival and Catskill Film & Video Festival respectively. Eric’s fine art and holographic paintings have exhibited at galleries in the United States, Europe and Asia. Jeffrey Leiser is a composer, screenwriter and sound editor. He started in 2001 with his brother Eric’s short film Autumn, moving on to compose original music and sound edit 23 short films and 3 feature films. In 2011, he won a Gold Medal for best use of music in a feature film [Glitch in the Grid] at the Park City Film Festival. Jeffrey has released 11 albums through iTunes and CDBaby. As a colorist assistant for Technicolor, Jeffrey worked on hit TV Shows like USA’s White Collar and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, as well as feature films like The Town, Black Swan, and a host of other films and TV Spots. In 2007, Jeffrey graduated from Video Symphony, a Pro Tools accredited institute for post-production. He is the co-founder, with his brother Eric, of Albino Fawn Productions, an independent film company focused on exhibiting experimental, non-narrative, and/or spiritual works. He also wrote the screenplay Finding Infinity, a biopic about Georg Cantor, and Twilight Park, about a boy who gets the chance to live out his grandpa’s past memories. Website Eric and Jeffrey Leiser About the Artist Eric and Jeffrey Leiser Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Se Farrar 1 Peter A Loading Video . . . Set and lighting designer S. Benjamin Farrar explored 1 Peter and the theme of "stranger" in this beautifully crafted design. 1 Peter The First Epistle of Peter in 1/2" Scale By S. Benjamin Farrar Credits: Location: Pennsylvania Curated by: Michael Markham 2014 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link These photographs of models, figures, and dioramas are based on The First Epistle of Peter. My focus is on the intended audience of this text – Christians, Jews, and Gentiles in Asia Minor who were in the midst of some kind of persecution and have been forced to stray into unknown or foreign lands and have been struggling with forces that might lead them spiritually astray. They are all strangers in this exotic land. The dreamscape dioramas in which these photos are set represent this foreign land of exile and there are several passages scattered throughout 1 Peter that have inspired specific compositions. In some photographs I have superimposed the relevant text from a “self-pronouncing” copy of the Kings James Bible as an atmospheric element. In other photographs I have allowed the composition to speak for itself in regards to its relevance to the text. The graphic qualities of the keys to pronunciation add a sense of foreignness in my mind – a sense that assistance is needed to translate exotic place-names into the language of those who travel into and through these lands. The author of the text (whose identity is in dispute) places great emphasis on maintaining the power structures and hierarchies of the exiles’ former way of life in their current strange surroudings. Whether it is the authority of God, Rome, or the husband, the author assures the audience that strict adherence to these structures will be rewarded, even if the reward is not seen in this life. My compositions attempt to show the strains and pressures that work to dismantle the frail scaffolds of culture and authority as the exile stretches farther from home and memories and priorities are lost or transformed by need, time, and distance. My choice of media is based on both my background in scenic design (in which models are a common form of communication for stage design) and an essay by the writer Michael Chabon in The New York Review of Books that has had a great effect on my work. In Chabon’s review of Wes Anderson’s film Moonrise Kingdom , he goes well beyond the normal limitations of the film review genre and creates a philosophical framework for art that I find deeply truthful. Below is an excerpt: “The world is so big, so complicated, so replete with marvels and surprises that it takes years for most people to begin to notice that it is, also, irretrievably broken. We call this period of research “childhood.” There follows a program of renewed inquiry, often involuntary, into the nature and effects of mortality, entropy, heartbreak, violence, failure, cowardice, duplicity, cruelty, and grief; the researcher learns their histories, and their bitter lessons, by heart. Along the way, he or she discovers that the world has been broken for as long as anyone can remember, and struggles to reconcile this fact with the ache of cosmic nostalgia that arises, from time to time, in the researcher’s heart: an intimation of vanished glory, of lost wholeness, a memory of the world unbroken. We call the moment at which this ache first arises “adolescence.” The feeling haunts people all their lives. Everyone, sooner or later, gets a thorough schooling in brokenness. The question becomes: What to do with the pieces? Some people hunker down atop the local pile of ruins and make do, Bedouin tending their goats in the shade of shattered giants. Others set about breaking what remains of the world into bits ever smaller and more jagged, kicking through the rubble like kids running through piles of leaves. And some people, passing among the scattered pieces of that great overturned jigsaw puzzle, start to pick up a piece here, a piece there, with a vague yet irresistible notion that perhaps something might be done about putting the thing back together again. Two difficulties with this latter scheme at once present themselves. First of all, we have only ever glimpsed, as if through half-closed lids, the picture on the lid of the jigsaw puzzle box. Second, no matter how diligent we have been about picking up pieces along the way, we will never have anywhere near enough of them to finish the job. The most we can hope to accomplish with our handful of salvaged bits—the bittersweet harvest of observation and experience—is to build a little world of our own. A scale model of that mysterious original, unbroken, half-remembered. Of course the worlds we build out of our store of fragments can be only approximations, partial and inaccurate. As representations of the vanished whole that haunts us, they must be accounted failures. And yet in that very failure, in their gaps and inaccuracies, they may yet be faithful maps, accurate scale models, of this beautiful and broken world. We call these scale models “works of art.” -Michael Chabon, “The Film Worlds of Wes Anderson,” New York Review of Books. March 7, 2013. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/mar/07/film-worlds-wes-anderson/ The “brokenness of the world” parallels the historical and philosophical perspective of The Bible as a whole and speaks specifically to 1 Peter. But this view does not directly support the advice of 1 Peter, rather it initiates (or continues) a dialoged with the author about how to best deal with the rending and deterioration of the scaffolding of culture and authority. Perhaps creation – art – is another way to salvage what is broken or breaking. Certainly, scale models have been used previously in Jewish heritage – what was the Ark of the Covenant if not new a jewel-box scale-model of the unbroken world – so that those in exile could carry with them a piece of that world through the truth of the law? Did the exiles addressed in 1 Peter need a similar scale model to keep a hold on the fragments that bound them to their former lives? In this way, the media I utilize to create my compositions is perhaps Chabon’s answer to the crisis of fragmentation and loss that the author of 1 Peter is attempting to ameliorate. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection S. Benjamin Farrar is a designer for live performance and an explorer and photographer of smaller worlds. Benjamin is the resident designer for Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca (a professional dance company based in Madrid, Spain); an assistant professor and resident designer for The Department of Theatre and Dance at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and a freelance designer of scenery, lighting, and projection for live performance. He has worked as a designer and assistant designer in many venues in New York City, including The Public Theater, The Joyce Theatre, The Lortel Theatre, The Cherry Lane theatre, and The New Victory Theatre. He has designed throughout North America in venues such as The Majestic Theatre in Boston, White Bird in Portland, The McCarter in Princeton, The Royal Conservatory in Toronto, Wolf Trap in Virginia, and The Zellerbach Playhouse in Berkeley. He has also designed for venues in Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, England, Scotland, and Switzerland. Benjamin has worked as a guest designer at NYU Gallatin School in New York and Grinnell College in Iowa. He is a graduate of The University of Iowa and Vanderbilt University. He would like to thank his partners in crime, Jody Marie and Theodora Soledad. Website S. Benjamin Farrar About the Artist S. Benjamin Farrar Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Nicora Gangi Psalm 16 Loading Video . . . We are pleased to feature this image of Psalm 16, a dynamic collage by renowned visual artist Nicora Gangi. Psalms 16 Psalm 16 By Nicora Gangi Credits: Artist Location: New York City Curated by: Janna Aliese (Dyk) 2011 Paper Collage Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link This psalm has Jesus Christ in it. It begins with such expressions of devotion as may be applied to Christ yet concludes with a confidence of a resurrection. One, which is to prevent corruption that only, applies to Christ. David speaks of the prospect, which the Redeemer had of His resurrection and the glory that should follow. Both Peter and Paul quoted this psalm in Acts 2: 24, 13: 36 . This psalm is one that we may surely use to encourage one another and edify ourselves and then learn: that it is our wisdom and duty to set the Lord Jesus always before us, and to see Him continually at our right hand wherever we are, to gaze upon Him as our chief good and highest end, our owner, ruler and judge, our gracious benefactor, our sure guide. We have little to hope for from this life but we shall rest in hope of a better life. We can put off the body in that hope. Christ's resurrection is a sure promise of ours if we are His. Our pleasures here are transient and momentary, but those at God's right hand are pleasures for evermore, pleasures in the immediate vision and fulfillment of an eternal God. Here is the "color notation" used to develop Psalm 16 . Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Nicora Gangi was educated at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA (BFA 1974 and MFA 1976). She was a Professor of Art at Syracuse University for 29 years. Gangi has been awarded many Grand Prize and First Place awards and grants. She has been and continues to be published in numerous artist’s books on pastel paintings. She has lectured regionally and nationally as a visiting artist at universities and artist’s guilds. She is represented by: Edgewood Gallery (Syracuse, NY), and Gangi Studio (Winter Garden, FL ). Website Nicora Gangi About the Artist The Mountain of the House of The Lord I See Him but Not Now So Shall Your Descendants Be This One The Body without the Spirit | 1 The Body without the Spirit | 2 The Body without the Spirit | 3 The Sealed Ones Peace with God The Everlasting Protective Love of God Our Father When the Lord Gives Us The Land I See Him but Not Now The Mountain of the House of The Lord Paneled and Ruins Series The Harvest Spirit of God-The Spirit Hovering Memories Lies Fool Dance Your Truth from the Great Congregation Psalm 18 Sound of Their Wings Kiss the Son EAST, WEST, NORTH & SOUTH AT HIS TABLE Nicora Gangi Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . The dance work "Stranger Name" was created by Elizabeth Dishman and presented during Spark+Echo Arts Live 2014 in NYC. The piece is a response to the theme of “strangers” and the passages of Matthew 16:17-19, John 1:42, and John 21:15-19. Matthew 16:17-19 John 1:42 John 21:15-19 Stranger Name By Elizabeth Dishman Credits: Choreographer: Elizabeth Dishman Dancers: Kristen Bell, Elizabeth Dishman Musicians: Sarah Gregory, voice; Evan Gregory, piano Location: Brooklyn, NY Curated by: 2014 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Contemplating the theme of Strangers, I started thinking about how we can be strangers to ourselves. I've always been intrigued by instances in the Bible when God re-names someone, so for this work I focused on Jesus giving Peter a new name, and predicting both glorious and horrible things for Peter's life. "Stranger Name" ponders what it could be like to receive a new name, to wrestle with a new identity, one that only God understands and aids us in developing. Initially this was a solo work, the dancer engaging with the props on her own initiative. But something felt missing; I wanted to be more explicit about the relational struggle inherent in taking on, accepting, or being asked to accept a new identity. I was hesitant to introduce a God or Jesus figure, but decided to see what it would be like to have another person there, at first just witnessing, then assisting, then strongly shaping the action. The outcome, for me, reflects a very true scenario in which God is present in many different ways, some more welcome than others. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Elizabeth Dishman is the Artistic Director of Dishman + Co. Choreography, a Brooklyn-based experimental dance company founded in 2001. Originally from Colorado, she studied Voice Performance at Emory University, and Choreography at The Ohio State University. In pursuit of ineffable junctures between the abstract and theatrical, the universal and deeply personal, Elizabeth and her collaborators devote themselves to scrupulous exploration and ardent play, probing the elusiveness of live performance in search of lasting things. Over 15 years and 40+ original works, Dishman + Co.’s choreography has been described by critics as “complex skeins and cerebral dreams”, “bodies in rigorous concentration”, and “playful and provocative…raw humanity seeps in”. www.DishmanAndCo.org Website Elizabeth Dishman About the Artist Tide dance in the dances Terra Firma Visitation Elizabeth Dishman Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . This is my second entry for Spark and Echo Arts. I will outline how things are going for my proposal project, When We Walk. Find the complete progression of the work linked below. Romans 12:2 Artist in Residence 2015: Jason DaSilva Part 2 By Jason DaSilva Credits: Curated by: Spark & Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2015 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link This is my second entry for Spark and Echo Arts. I will outline how things are going for my proposal project, When We Walk . It has been a fulfilling several months since my last entry where I explained the project, When We Walk . One of the more defining points that I decided upon is to feature other countries from around the world in the video piece. Within this entry are a couple video clips that I edited for inclusion in the final piece. The first one is of myself driving through the streets of Tbilisi in Georgia. I was grateful to be able to travel with the American Film Showcase to show When I Walk in Georgia. I quickly found out that sidewalks and stoplights are things that are not guaranteed – I presumed that these would be available because of living in North America, in New York City. When We Walk Video Journal #1 - Georgia The second video is of my travels in Turkey where I showed my previous film, When I Walk , and promoted AXS Map (http://www.axsmap.com/). In all my world travels thus far, I’ve been graced to have so many people helping me as I navigate and try to spread the word about the importance of accessibility. There have been several challenges along the way, and that will continue to be the case. The first one is pretty obvious. These cities are not all set out to be disability-friendly. When We Walk Video Journal #2 - Turkey I recently attended the UN Enabled (http://www.un.org/disabilities/) conference where I was able to present AXS Map along with the World Disability Union. The whole conference was an eye-opener for me because I got to see how the world’s disabled community got together to share their voices and work together to raise awareness of their similar issues for our community. I was able interview several people from the disability community on the specifics that they are concerned with. There were several topics that came to the forefront: education, accessibility, and intersection with other minority communities (for example: gender and race, law, and even ageism). While moving forward with the film, it is easy to follow the different threads. One of the biggest challenges will be to remain focused. During this time, I’ve been writing lots of grant proposals and will continue to do the same along with being consistent with writing for Spark+Echo Arts and the When We Walk blog ( https://www.tumblr.com/search/whenwewalk ; http://www.sparc.bc.ca/ ). Writing grants and proposals are the biggest ways to stay focused. I am thankful to Spark+Echo Arts for keeping me grounded and I look forward to continuing the project and presenting it to the world. Another big focus of the piece will be to document MAPATHONS, where we will spread around the world how to use AXS map to find wheelchair accessibility data quickly and efficiently with lots of people in any vicinity. As my vision and hands get worse, I am most thankful for everyone rallying together to support me and AXS Map. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Jason DaSilva has been a prolific filmmaker for the past 10 years. He has directed four short films (OLIVIA’S PUZZLE, A SONG FOR DANIEL, TWINS OF MANKALA, and FIRST STEPS) and two feature-length documentary films (LEST WE FORGET and WHEN I WALK). Many of his films have won awards; OLIVIA’S PUZZLE premiered at the 2003 Sundance Festival and qualified for an Academy Award. Three of his films have had national broadcasts on PBS, HBO, and CBC. He also produced Shocking and Awful, a film installation on the anti-Iraq war movement, exhibited at the 2006 Whitney Biennial. Each one of these works advanced Jason’s objective to give voice to those on the periphery of society. In 2006 Jason took a short break from filmmaking to earn his MFA in Applied Media Arts from Emily Carr University. He recently produced and directed an Op-Doc (opinion documentary) for the New York Times called ‘The Long Wait,’ published in January 2013. DaSilva’s latest film, WHEN I WALK, was an Official Selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and won Best Canadian Feature at HotDocs 2013. Following the film’s theatrical release this fall, it will air on POV on PBS in 2014. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Interested in learning more about Jason’s creative process? Visit his website at: http://wheniwalk.com/ Website Jason DaSilva About the Artist Artist in Residence 2015: Jason DaSilva Part 3 Artist in Residence 2015: Jason DaSilva Part 1 Artist in Residence 2015: Jason DaSilva Jason DaSilva Other Works By To follow the development of his project as a 2015 Artist in Residence, read his first and third posts. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Spark+Echo Arts founder Jonathon Roberts creates a musical groove to illuminate Philemon 1:17-21. Philemon 1:17-21 Consider Me a Partner By Jonathon Roberts Credits: Composition, Music and Editing by Jonathon Roberts. 2015 Vox: Emily Clare Zempel, Walter Kermit Zempel Roberts Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2015 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link While developing this work, I was mostly struck by the first phrase, "if you consider me a partner." I've been writing music and editing sound for years, first alone and then with my wife, Emily. Now we have a new partner in our life, our one-year-old Walter. Emily and I now run voiceover recording sessions at home while trading off who holds Walter and who is performing. It's a long road, but I'm learning how to be a better creative partner, both with Walter and with Emily. As I edited this piece, I tried to create a musical groove and soundscape that naturally weaves in the outbursts and exclamations that occurred when we recorded Emily performing the text. A drum hit here, a synth line there, a word or phrase got replaced with their interjections. If I "consider them partners" in my life, I need to welcome them, as Paul insists, in every way. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection J onathon Roberts is a composer and sound designer for games, film, theatre, and ensembles. His style grew out of classical and jazz training, and evolved through quality life adventures: touring the country in an RV with a one person theater piece on the Apostle Paul, living in Brooklyn with an improv music ensemble, performing in a downtown NYC absurdist comedy band, and a long stint writing music for the renowned slot machine company, High 5 Games. He has released four albums including the latest, Cities a song cycle personifying biblical cities. He created the popular podcast/web series ComposerDad Vs. Bible , in which ComposerDad accepts intense compositional challenges from a mysterious Bible while out with his kids. He frequently collaborates on music and theater projects with his wife, actor Emily Clare Zempel. They live in Beacon, NY, with their two boys and a tangled box of electrical cords. www.jonathonroberts.com Website Jonathon Roberts About the Artist Loving Arms I Make Tents The Sower Response There Is Room These are My Sons Weakness The Day Is Almost Here Surrogate Babbler Remember Me Prayer How Beautiful I Am a Fool The Constant Ecclesiastes Cows Blessing Fools for Christ More Than Rubies Only a Few Years Will Pass Dear Friend Jonathon Roberts Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

aaron-beaumont-air-post-3-feat.jpg Loading Video . . . In my first post, I laid out plans (you might even call them my “best laid plans” at the time) to select and refine lyrical content during the second phase of my project. So, naturally, this required me to devote the last few months exclusively to sketching out musical ideas and avoiding lyrical ones at all costs. In the process, however, an overall structure and concept has started to emerge, albeit possibly an overly ambitious one at this point. More refining, limiting, and general paring down will definitely be in order, BUT in the meantime, I’ll attempt to make some sense of the current disparate glut of ideas. Find the complete progression of the work linked below. Daniel 4 Artist in Residence 2017: Aaron Beaumont - Part 2 By Aaron Beaumont Credits: Curated by: Spark & Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2017 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link June 19, 2017 In my first post, I laid out plans (you might even call them my “best laid plans” at the time) to select and refine lyrical content during the second phase of my project. So, naturally, this required me to devote the last few months exclusively to sketching out musical ideas and avoiding lyrical ones at all costs. In the process, however, an overall structure and concept has started to emerge, albeit possibly an overly ambitious one at this point. More refining, limiting, and general paring down will definitely be in order, BUT in the meantime, I’ll attempt to make some sense of the current disparate glut of ideas. I keep coming back to the idea of the oblivion – or even serenity – of Nebuchadnezzar’s “punishment” for hubris. It doesn’t actually sound all that bad to spend seven years unselfconsciously communing with animals. Is it better to know, or is self consciousness a burden? Is an omniscient God therefore infinitely miserable? You could even see how Nebuchadnezzar’s chastening brings him relief: from having to know, from being a god among humans. The unknowability of mental states other than our own (and maybe even including our own) is endlessly fascinating, as is the variability of one’s own mental state and identity. Accordingly, I’ve been sketching out a sonic psychological journey somewhat inspired by Nebuchadnezzar, as he moves from a sort of “innocence” – the naivete of solipsism – into experience: an awareness of not only the ‘self’ but also of the ‘other,’ of the infringement and imposition of something greater, of something different from his own absolute sovereignty and will. The way I’m hoping all this will play out is in a series of short movements or a musical collage representing a state of flux, like psychological weather or a sort of mental channel surfing. The changes could be jarring or synchronous. I’m hoping to include some choral and instrumental interludes, and may also cut between brief excerpts from several of my own “orphan” unrecorded songs to represent the manic channel-changing transitions between movements. I like this idea of “sampling” myself – my older unrecorded work – as a representation of memory or identity itself, the illusion that we’re ever a fixed point or something other than dynamic. These previous works therefore function like memories or artifacts of a different self in a different psychological state. I’ve included four rough instrumental sketches, and a few pieces of sheet music. Here’s my current sort of Rorschach interpretation of them: Sample 1: oblivion, indeterminacy, movement, disorientation, flux, introspection Sample 2: oblivion, haze, holy nature, pastoral, serene, picturesque, transitioning Sample 3: dreamy, free, easy, floating, here (also the clear sonic outlier here – work in progress!) Sample 4: reconciliation, emergence, revelation, daylight, resolution, experience, settling, stasis All music written, performed, and produced by Aaron Beaumont. 2017. VIEW: SHEET MUSIC FOR VOCAL INTERLUDE SKETCH 1 VIEW: SHEET MUSIC FOR ORCHESTRAL SKETCH 1 The challenges moving forward will be selecting lyrics that support the musical ideas, refining the music, and weaving the discrete movements into a seamless work. I’m also hoping to work with a few instrumentalists and vocalists – at this point I *plan* to incorporate violin, harp, bass, and horns. And, as exemplified by Nebuchadnezzar’s impromptu foray into the animal kingdom, if one thing is reliable, it is the best laid plans of mice and men! Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Aaron Beaumont has toured the U.S. and Europe as a pianist and songwriter and been invited to share his work in wide-ranging venues from the Sziget Festival in Budapest to KCRW Santa Monica to the Tribeca Film Festival to off-Broadway Theatre 80 in the East Village to the main stage of the West Hollywood Carnaval. L.A. Weekly wrote that Aaron's music brings "a new life to the ancient music-hall/pop piano-man tradition, with clear-headed songs of genuinely witty lyrical oomph and, most of all, a historically informed musical depth – all delivered with style, grace, wit and elan, of course." Aaron wrote one song, arranged two others, and served as a piano performance coach for the feature Permission (Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Jason Sudeikis, 2017 Tribeca Film Festival), which premieres worldwide February 2018. He also contributed two songs to the forthcoming series Dan is Dead (Drake Bell, Maker Studios) and two songs to the indie feature film Alex & Jaime (2017 Roxbury International Film Festival). Aaron contributed an original co-write (“17”) and several arrangements to Gil McKinney’s 2017 debut album, How Was I to Know, which reached #1 on the iTunes jazz chart and #8 on the Billboard jazz chart. He also co-wrote “Good Love” for Briana Buckmaster’s 2018 debut album (#1 iTunes blues, #3 Billboard blues). Other recent TV and film placements include original songs written for Cedar Cove (Andie McDowell) and Where Hope Grows (Billy Zabka, Danica McKellar; Dallas Film Festival, Roadside Attractions). Aaron has composed original scores for films and theatrical productions, including All the Lovely Wayside Things; Tall, Dark, and Handsome; Heart; Until We Have Faces; Shrew; The Fire Room; the Breakfast Show with Adam O; Companion; and Beyond Imagination, winning best score and sound design at the Hollywood Fringe Festival for his work on Fugitive Kind’s production of The Fire Room by Ovation Award-winning playwright Meghan Brown. In 2016, Aaron wrote a commissioned work for the Spark & Echo Arts project, and in 2017 Aaron created a larger scale work as an Artist in Residence. Aaron also works as an in-house arranger, producer, composer, and mix engineer for the Gregory Brothers / Schmoyoho, whose original music has earned them a gold and platinum record and nearly one billion views on YouTube, along with myriad collaborations on other platforms. Recent Gregory Brothers collabs include the Justice League film (ft. Gary Clark Jr.), Weird Al Yankovic, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bassnectar, Alex Wassabi, LaurDIY, Markiplier, Slow Mo Guys, Todrick Hall, J. Fla, The Resident (Fox Network), and the International Olympic Channel. Songs Aaron has worked on with the Gregory Brothers have received over 175 million plays on YouTube. In 2015, Aaron participated in the Ultraviolet Music and Arts Festival in Los Angeles as a featured artist and presenter, and performed with his band The Mots Nouveaux for the 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Rockwood Music Festival in Frankfurt, Germany. Aaron wrote the music and lyrics to the original musical, Behind Closed Doors, which sold out every performance at the historic Hayworth Theater, received multiple Broadway World L.A. Award nominations, and played for thousands of festival goers on the main stage of the West Hollywood Carnaval. Behind Closed Doors was selected to participate in the New York International Fringe Festival as a national show, enjoying a mostly oversold run at off-Broadway Theatre 80 in the East Village. Aaron was selected as a finalist as a composer and lyricist for the Fred Ebb Foundation / Roundabout Theatre Company Fred Ebb Award for musical theater songwriters, and received the Hal Gaba Scholarship for Excellence in Lyrics from UCLA/Concord Records. Aaron is currently developing new musicals with playwrights Meghan Brown, Andrew Crabtree, Peter Berube, and Cassandra Christensen, and a one-woman show with soprano Lorelei Zarifian. Lorelei and Aaron’s first musical triptych, Midtown Antoinette, was featured on NPR-affiliate WFIT in March 2016 and debuted as part of the Florida Tech / Foosaner Museum French Film Festival. Aaron also occasionally helps produce the outrageous bingo raves phenomenon, Rebel Bingo, in New York and Los Angeles, as featured in the L.A. Times, Guardian, and BBC , and recently played a run of five capacity shows in the downtown L.A.’s Globe Theatre as part of 2016 Night on Broadway. Aaron has collaborated as pianist, musical director, and/or co-writer with a panoply of music buddies, including Jason Manns, Gil McKinney, Sara Niemietz, Tim Omundsen, Dave Yaden, Nicholas Zork, Aaron Roche, Nick Bearden, Emma Fitzpatrick, Amanda Wallace, Shane Alexander, Ben Jaffe, Brett Young, Courtney Bassett, Eden Malyn, Luis Selgas, Aly French, Sam Heldt, Karma Jenkins, Emily Iaquinta, Lynette Williams, Meshach Jackson, Roy Mitchell-Cardenas, Kamasi Washington, Chad Doreck, J.T. Spangler, and Katrina Parker. He claimed several distinctions as a young classical pianist, including two-time Wisconsin Academy Musician of the Year, Andrews University Concerto Competition Finalist, and the British Royal Conservatory of Music Award of Highest Distinction for Piano Performance at the Newbold Creative Arts Festival. He currently serves as co-chair of the Carnegie Hill Concert Series in New York, featuring leading interpreters of classical and New Music from around the globe. In 2015, Aaron founded SongLab, an online songwriting community for emerging songwriters. The inaugural SongLab Series welcomed GRAMMY-winner Dave Yaden as special guest. In addition to working with other artists, Aaron performs as one-third of the pop trio, The Mots Nouveaux, alongside vocalists Emma Fitzpatrick and Amanda Wallace. The band celebrated their latest album release with a residency at Hotel Café, a six-month residency at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, and residencies at Rockwood Music Hall and Sidewalk Café in New York. They were invited to join the lineup for the Broke L.A. Music Festival in downtown Los Angeles, where Lyynks music hailed their set as the “greatest revelation” of the festival, one that “really thrilled the crowd” of thousands at the Lounge Stage (GroundSounds.com). The Mots Nouveaux recorded a new EP in Spring 2017 with co-producer Peter Barbee / Among Savages, with forthcoming tracks slated for 2018 release. Aaron released his debut solo project, Nothing's Forever (Not Even Goodbye), featuring the first ten songs he wrote, on Milan Records (Warner-Ryko) in 2008. In his spare time, Aaron enjoys playing the piano, traveling, eating, writing songs, making coffee, drinking coffee, collecting records, going for brisk walks, being near coffee, and composing extensive autobiographical sketches in the third person. Website Aaron Beaumont About the Artist Artist in Residence 2017: Aaron Beaumont - Part 3 Artist in Residence 2017: Aaron Beaumont - Part 1 Lightness of the Pines Artist in Residence 2017: Aaron Beaumont Narwhal and Ocelot (Dietary Restrictions) Aaron Beaumont Other Works By Follow the development of Aaron's project by continuing to read his prior first , third and final posts written as 2017 Artist in Residence project. 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