Kidnapping Water Trailer

Back from Los Angeles, where filmmaker Vivian Umino cobbled together a trailer from footage of a Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas performance at Kubota Garden.

Thanks Viv. The source material was sketchy, but the trailer looks great.

H2O Challenge

The H2O Project drills clean water wells around the world.

Here are stats from their website:

1. Every 15 seconds, a child dies because of a lack of clean drinking water. That is 6,000 children per day, or two million per year. 

2. In most cases, clean water is right beneath their feet, but there is no well, only disease-infested pools of stagnant surface water.

Here is what you can do to help:

1. For two weeks, drink no beverages other than water.

2. Set aside all the money which you would normally have spent consuming soda, juice, milk, etc.

3. Use the money to help drill wells in areas where clean water is lacking.

Visit The H2O Project to participate.

Finalist

Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas was selected as a 2009 Richard Rodgers Award Finalist.

While the Bottled Operas didn’t win an award, I’m amazed that this honor given to musical theater works considered including the Bottled Operas – a set of 64 works to be performed by any number of musicians, outdoors in the water.

Thanks to the American Academy of Arts and Letters for the encouraging nod of approval.

CD Makes a Splash

New audio recording features opera singers and water percussionists Seattle, WA — February 17, 2009 – One day, composer Byron Au Yong was overcome in the bottled water section of the supermarket. He heard voices from Poland Spring and Fiji cry out. Au Yong, a Seattle-based musician who composes songs of dislocation, realized that water was kidnapped and taken far from home. In response, he created 64 musical miniatures for voice and percussion to be performed in, about, and around water. While composing, Au Yong was inspired by listening to water and studying the I Ching (Book of Changes). He invited eight librettists from around the world to create contemporary responses to the I Ching, one of the oldest Chinese texts. Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas travels through warnings, prayers, fantasies, and whispers in a thematic review for future generations about an element older than man. Human voices and splashing water cry out harder than the silent wisdom of hair turned white. The initiative was performed in 64 waterways throughout the Pacific Northwest in Summer 2008, as part of 4Culture’s Site-Specific Performance Network and the Bumbershoot Festival of the Arts. A Sound/Light Installation, created with media sculptor Randy Moss, was shown at the Jack Straw New Media Gallery in Fall 2008. The Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas CD is available from CD Baby at http://cdbaby.com/cd/byronauyong Track List Hello Helicopter Lawn Sprinkler Plish I Float Abundai (Seven Operas) Puckered Skin I.C.E. Dust Away Bump And Grind Kun (Five Operas) I Am Felled Taking Time After The Stoning Composer Byron Au Yong Singers Josie Davis, Emily Greenleaf, Jeremiah Oliver, David Stutz Percussionists Stuart McLeod, Dean Moore, Benjamin Morrow, James Whetzel Librettists Eugenie Chan, Bret Fetzer, Aaron Jafferis, Archana Kumar, Carola Luther, Caroline Murphy, Vivian Umino, and Edisa Weeks Audio Engineer Tom Stiles at Jack Straw Productions Designer Wing Fong # # # About Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas “… exquisite darkness… whimsical lines… captivating experience.” The Stranger Praise for Au Yong’s previous work “The music by Byron Au Yong is da bomb.” Northwest Asian Weekly “Strong, evocative, engaging music.” Fanfare Magazine “… a beguiling hybrid of cultures.” Seattle PI Byron Au Yong composes songs of dislocation for Asian, European, and handmade instruments. His works have been featured in concert halls, museums, and site-specific locations that include the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Tokyo Art Museum, and Seattle Aquarium. Au Yong is the recipient of numerous honors that include a Ford Foundation Fellowship and Meet the Composer Grant. Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas is thankful for support from Creative Capital’s Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation; 4Culture’s King County Site-Specific Performance Network; Bumbershoot Festival of the Arts; and Jack Straw Productions. Contact Info PR Contact David Miljoner (Spokesperson) Phone: +1 (516) 779-5328 Email: dmiljonerATyahoo.com Website: HearByron.com Related Links Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas CD cover Technorati Tags: music | CD | opera | water | percussion | Asian | Chinese American | composer | Au Yong | Kidnapping Water | CD Baby | musical | bottled operas | singing | Pacific Northwest | environment | water resources

Listen to samples at CD Baby AudioDownload David Stutz performs in Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas by the Sammamish River, photo credit Erica Howard ImageDownload Josie Davis and Ben Morrow perform in Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas at Seattle’s City Hall, photo credit Nelly Schaffner ImageDownload Stuart McLeod and Emily Greenleaf perform in Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas at Bumbershoot, photo credit Nelly Schaffner ImageDownload Bookmark del.icio.usAdd Digg This!Digg

CD Released

23 of 64 Bottled Operas are now available on the Kidnapping Water CD.

CDs and MP3s are available at CD Baby.