DownStream
Friday, March 19th 7:00 p.m.
Academy of Music
Northampton, MA

DownStream is an extraordinary visual and auditory experience that was first inspired by photographer Sam Pettengill’s enigmatic study of the Connecticut River. Co-collaborators Ann Sorvino (Stoneleigh-Burnham Performing Arts Chair), Greg Snedeker (Stoneleigh-Burnham Instrumental Music Director) and Sam Pettengill bring their piece to the Academy of Music on Friday, March 19th. The mysterious shapes, the varied rhythm of the currents and the flow of the river are all literally and abstractly present in Pettengill’s work.

The importance and history of the Connecticut rivershed serves as a point of departure for the original score by Stoneleigh-Burnham's Director of Instrumental Music Greg Snedeker. Through the recording of improvisations and digital manipulation Snedeker (cello, piano and sound design) and Gary Rzab (percussion) attempt to capture the power, eddies, stillness, current interruptions and obstacles found in and along the rivers of the Connecticut Valley. Contemporary classical, jazz and Native American music all influence this polyrhythmic soundscape.

The movement, composed by Ann Sorvino and her dancers is inspired by and employs the use of these musical and visual images. The fluid movement was formed through the use of river themes, such as waterfalls, tributaries, backflow and redirection. Dance phrases are developed by many choreographic devices, such as theme and variation, rondo, manipulation of time, space, level, quality and retrograde. Together, the work makes for an extraordinary visual and auditory experience. The 45-minute work will be presented without intermission.

Dance collaborators: Johnna Birri, Billbob Brown, Elizabeth Budd, Christie Clovis, Amy Diaz del Rio, and Meg Van Dyck.

Tickets are $15. Available at The Academy of Music Theater box office and through tix.com.