The BIMA Board is pleased to announce our financial support for three community projects scheduled for the spring quarter of 2004. Recipients include: Lydia McCauley, Moorea Malatt, and Tracy Spring.
Moorea Malatt will be presenting a benefit concert for Womencare Shelter at their annual fundraising event, which takes place on Sunday, May 23 at the Squalicum Boat House. BIMA's contribution: $125.
Tracy Spring, along with Linda Allen, Marie Eaton, Dana Lyons, and Tom Hunter, are creating a special program of traditional and contemporary folk music to address social issues and activitate the public as advocates for a wide range of human rights, environmental, educational, and philanthropic issues. "Songs for Social Reform" is a panel concert and discussion by some of Northwest's most esteemed activist musicians to create social and personal change through the power of music. The event takes place 7:30PM, Wednesday April 7th, in the Fairhaven Auditorium. BIMA's contribution: $125.
Lydia McCauley and Ensemble will be releasing their fifth album, "ForeignLander" at the Lairmont Manor on May 7th. Their concert by candlelight will include songs from the Appalachian region of the US and offer the audience insight into the history and culture of the English, Irish and Scottish immigrants that settled in the Appalachian region. Brimstone Music will be taking their music on tour through Kentucky later this year. BIMA's contribution: $50.
The BIMA Board is pleased to announce our financial support for two community projects scheduled for the first quarter of 2004. Recipients include Jim Lowry & Nathan Matson's "Circle of Sound" Workshops and Burke
Mulvaney's 8th Annual Wintertime Gathering Celebration Community Concert. Each of these two grant recipients will be awarded $150.
Jim Lowry & Nathan Matson will launch their "Circle of Sound" project on February 3rd and 17th at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1708 I Street, in Bellingham. The Circle of Sound Workshop is an expressive arts experience that uses ethnic and world music elements to expand self-awareness, increase musical understanding, and promote appreciation of cultural diversity in the community.
More than just a performance, the Circle of Sound Workshop is an interactive musical and educational presentation. The Circle is a symbol for unity, community, and eternal cycle of life through birth, death, and rebirth. The shape of the drum and round sound hole of the acoustic guitar represent the metaphor of the circle. The Sound that is evoked through the musicians and their instruments is the vehicle that transports all who are open to it -- to a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness and individuality within the community. Lowry and Matson will use this February presentation to introduce their series as an education project with the Allied Arts - Artists in the Community Program.
Jim Lowry and Nathan Matson met as band members of David Weiss' Letter Street Band and have a solid musical and personal commitment to explore traditional and ethnic world rhythms and incorporate them into improvisations and songwriting. Lowry, a guitarist singer/songwriter and fretless bassist with over 25 years extensive performance and recording experience has a Bachelor of Music Therapy degree and is a Board Certified Music Therapist. Matson, a drummer and percussionist with over 20 years experience of keeping rhythm with many local bands in the community, holds a BA and MSW in social work and K-12 School Social Worker certification and has performed numerous projects with children, youth, and families in a variety of settings.
The 8th Annual Wintertime Gathering Celebration took place on January 10th at the Pickford Theatre Dream Space, 1318 Bay Street (Site of the current Allied Arts 24th Annual Holiday Festival of the Arts).
Not just a concert, the Wintertime Gathering Celebration raised awareness and funds for the annual NW Herbal Faire--a 3-day annual event in August that highlights the benefits of natural herbal medicines, healing arts, and artistic expression.