The core members are Diana Norma Szokolyai and Dennis Shafer. The duo seeks to collaborate with other artists and create bridges between music, poetry, dance, and the visual arts.
CORE MEMBER BIOS
Diana Norma Szokolyai is a Hungarian and American poet, dancer and visual artist. Her poetry and visual art have appeared in Polarity, Up the Staircase, The Dudley Review, Human Rights News, and other publications. Poet Sairica Rose has called her book of poems and photographs, Roses in the Snow (Imaginary Cottage Press, http://www.lulu.com/content/2531439), “an exquisite collection of postcards from journeys through the inner and outer universes.” She was presented with a Human Rights Art Award for her photography and has exhibited her paintings and installation work at Harvard’s Gutman Library. Her poetry, performance video and photography have been archived on the online installation “belltowerandthebeach.net.” Composers that have either commissioned poetry for their works or composed music for her poetry include Claudio Gabriele (Italy), Juliet Case (US), David Krebs (US), Jason Haye (UK), and Peter James (UK). She co-directs the Cambridge Writer's Workshop and performs her poetry regularly in collaboration with musicians and other artists in a variety of venues including Tenri Cultural Institute (New York City), Longy School of Music (Cambridge, MA), The Boston Conservatory, The Outpost186 Art Gallery (Cambridge, MA), Mobius Center for Experimental Art (Boston), and La Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris). She co-founded Sounds in Bloom, the poetry-music-movement-art collaborative with saxophonist/composer Dennis Shafer (www.myspace.com/dnorma), and the group gives workshops in addition to performances. In dance, she draws inspiration for her movements from the various traditions including Eastern European, Middle Eastern, Flamenco, Indian and Modern traditions and is a guest member of Mavi Dance. She has a Master’s in French Studies from the University of Connecticut and is Ed.M candidate in Arts in Education at Harvard University (2009).
Education:
HARVARD UNIVERSITY (Cambridge, MA)
Ed.M Arts in Education candidate (2009)
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT (Storrs, CT)
2-yr exchange with SORBONNE PARIS III and PARIS IV (Paris, France)
M.A. French Studies (2007)
Thesis: "Re-examining Subjectivity and Deconstructing the Gypsy/Gadjo Paradigm: Education and Creation of the 'Gypsy' Poet"
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT (Storrs, CT)
B.A. magna cum laude French, minor in Human Rights (2004)
activities: UNESCO student Ambassador for Human Rights, President-Intercultural Federation, Vice President- International Relations Association
Dennis Shafer (saxophonist, composer)
This year, Dennis was presented with a Legacy Award from the Creativity Foundation. A native of Lawrence, Kansas, he has returned to Boston after three
years in Paris, France where he studied with saxophonist
Jean-Michel Goury. In Paris, Dennis worked with several great
composers and saxophonists, including Francois Rosse, Etienne Rolin,
Yosh'ko Seffer, Francois Coutinaud, and Rico Gubler. He also
premiered works by Robert Lemay, Jacques Hetu, Yosh'ko Seffer, and
toured with various ensembles across France, as well as Austria and
Hungary. Dennis Shafer is the founder and co-founder of several
groups, including Le Tapis Volant, Sounds in Bloom, the Skyline
Quintet, the Back Bay Saxophone Quartet and the Opus Jazz Duo.
Returning to Boston where he has premiered works by Robert Morris,
Micheal Paull, and Larry Bell.
Education:
THE LONGY SCHOOL OF MUSIC (Cambridge,MA) (2009)
Artist Diploma Candidate with Kenneth Radnofsky
CONSERVATOIRE NATIONALE DE BOULOGNE BILLANCOURT (Boulogne, France)
3 years of study with saxophonist Jean-Michel Goury (2004-2007)
THE BOSTON CONSERVATORY (Cambridge, MA)
Bachelor of Music cum laude 2004)
COLLABORATIONS:
The Gleason's Twins (trumpet, voice, poetry-)- Boston & New York http://www.myspace.com/gleasonstwin
Jay Fellito (bass) - Boston
Dawson Hill (pianist and singer)- Maine
Chris Montecalvo (drums), -Rhode Island
Vox 4 Quartet (New York )
Juliet Case (composer) - Cambridge, MA
The Vortex Other Dimension Ensemble- Cambridge, MA -http://brunelmethod.com/
Peter James (sound artist, bass player)- UK- http://www.myspace.com/2still
Keith Sanders (Viola)- Cambridge, MA- http://www.myspace.com/ksviolinz
Victor Pachas (flamenco guitar) -Boston, MA
Jason Haye (sound/media artist,) -UK- http://www.myspace.com/project5am
Duo Zéphyr : Jean Michel Goury (saxophones) and Sophie Goury (flutes)- Paris,France
Antonia Klimenko (poet, actress, pianist, jazz singer, visual artist) Paris, France
Spoken word lyrics inspired by the Brakhage film, "Mothlight," at the request of Project: 5a.m., who composed music (hear it on the playlist under "Space Mothlight":
Influences
MOTHER NATURE
cosmic bodies- their expansions and explosions,
birds- their feathers and songs,
mountains- their waterfalls and fog,
flowers- their tender buds and blushing petals,
rain- its after-glow and sweet scent
LITERARY:
Carolyn Forché, Virginia Woolf, Zora Neale Hurston, Marcel Proust, Jack Kerouac, Kathleen Spivack, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Lowell, T.S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath, Roethke, Marguerite Duras, Gustave Flaubert, Marguerite Porête, Herman Melville, William Shakespeare, Antonia Klimenko, Agnes Martin, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, e.e. cummings, Mark Twain, Pierrette Fleutiaux, Racine, Albert Camus, Mérimée, Maupassant, André Gide, Voltaire, Rimbaud, V. Hugo, Fernando Pessoa, Charles Baudelaire, Guillaume Apollinaire, Philippe Jaccottet, ....and more that have changed perceptions through language....
MUSICAL:
Luciano Berio, Madredeus, Mari Boine, Christian Lauba, Erik Satie, Pink Floyd, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Luciano Berio, Karády Katalin, Edith Piaf, Sigur Rós, Maxime Le Forestier, Villa Lobos, Denisov, Leonard Cohen, Simon & Garfunkle, Srdjan Grujijec, Erica Buettner, The Gotan Project, Ihe Velvet Underground, Dead Can Dance, Hugh Masakela, Ani DiFranco, Gillian Welch, Jacques Brel, Billie Holliday, Loreena McMcKennitt, ...and more good music including cefalophones and other imaginary instruments!
VISUAL:
Chagall, Kadinsky, Picasso, Agnes Martin, Klimt, Anselm Kiefer, Dali, Magritte, all involved in the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements (what a beautiful thing to give priority to light and color!), Paul Chan, Marina Abramovic, Man Ray, Larry Poons, Frida Kahlo, Max Ernst, Francis Bacon, Matisse, Adolph Gottlieb, Rothko
Sounds Like
What some people have said:
Poet & Writer Ed Luhrs has called the poetry "wild" and "an adventure into ecstatic realms."
" Your 'Ripped Lullaby' reminded me of Steve Reich"- Anna Robinson (musician, The Boston Conservatory)
Some of my visual art work is found below and is also accessible through my photo albums:
A REVIEW OF MY BOOK OF POEMS, ROSES IN THE SNOW:
Stanislavski said: “Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art.” Roses in The Snow is an absolute testament to that. Each poem and photograph within it resonates authenticity, grace, and depth without pretension or device. The author’s words and images depict strength through vulnerability, silence through voice, light through shadow and pay homage to the strange dance of sadness with beauty.
Roses in the Snow is an exquisite collection of postcards from journeys through the inner and outer universes. I challenge anyone to read “The city is falling in my heart again” and not believe that at some point in some place, it was written for them.
The carefully placed black and white photos make you feel as though you really are sitting at the next table from one of the instants the author has carefully captured and holds still-breathing. “Dove in a Fountain in Cordoba” left me joyously perplexed for a day about what defines captivity and freedom.
Watch out for this book. You can put it down, but it will get up and silently follow you.
-Sairica Rose, poet & author of Subtitles for a Silent Movie (Reactor Press)
The Red Wheel Barrow English bookstore
22, Rue St Paul
75004 Paris, France
+33 1 48 04 75 08
The Village Voice Bookshop
6, Rue Princesse
75006 Paris, France
+33 1 46 33 25 34
About SOUNDS IN BLOOM:
Sounds in Bloom is an internationally performing poetry-music-movement-art collaborative that creates interactive performances in theaters, concert halls, art galleries, and community centers. The group uses the poetry of Norma Szokolyai and the musical compositions of Dennis Shafer to bring words alive by performing them with movement and music, often in a space where there is interaction with works of visual art.
This form of movable theater has an interactive quality that allows for continuous spontaneity and fresh creation.
Sounds in Bloom is now based in the Boston, MA area. Some selected performances include including La Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, The Boston Conservatory's "The Garden" Poetry series, Harvard's Dudley House Art Exhibit, Pickman Recital Hall at The Longy School of Music in Cambridge, and the Outpost art gallery. SIB also enjoys more intimate gatherings and has performed in in the US as well as in Viennese, Parisian and Hungarian "salons" hosted by Armin and Judit Kosely, Paris Soirées' Patricia Laplante and philanthropist Jozsef Béres respectively. When they are in their second hometown of Paris, France, they can be spotted at spokenword paris nights led by their dear top-hatted friend David Barnes (http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/).
In addition to performing in concert internationally, Sounds in Bloom also prepares workshops for children and adults in performance poetry and composition and has experience working in a wide variety of settings including middle school and conservatory classes. For more information and references, please inquire.
Myspace Editor
$(THE TIP JAR )$
SIB NEWS:
Sounds in Bloom is in the process of obtaining non-profit status, and your contributions will soon be tax-deductible.
We would greatly appreciate any pocket change for our TIP JAR to help us give more time to our art and outreach programs. All donations will be made through the safe and secure intermediary PayPal, so your personal information is kept safe.
Donor's names can be published or remain anonymous upon request. If you'd like to make a special request, just send me a message or include a note with your donation. If you'd like to become a FRIEND of Sounds in Bloom by sending a DONATION of 25 EUROS or more, we will send you a DVD of our performance in Paris, which includes bonus Egyptian Bellydancing and Serbian Folk music!
GET OUR DVD
The Gypsy Chronicles. Click to see larger version This is my favorite page in The Gypsy Chronicles. I share it with you today. It reads: O ye gifted ones, follow the path of your true calling. For however various your talents may be ye can have but one calling capable of leading ye te eminence and renown. Follow resolutely the one straight path before you; it is that of your good angel. Let neither obstacles nor temptations induce ye te leave it. Bound along if you can, or on hands and knees follow it. Turn into other paths for a momentary advantage or gratification and ye have sold your inheritence, your immortality: Ye will never be heard of after death. George Borrow ~ Lavengro The Gypsy Scholar He is warning in this beautiful language the dangers of 'selling out' I love it. I share this page. Alison
Hey, thank you very much for the invite here. Some moving work here, "The Naked Moon" being most impressive for me, constructed with a deft touch. Kind regards and best wishes, Nick.
22, Rue St Paul
