Also performing will be The Real-Time Company (for the Ad-Hoc Association) Of… Philip Guiton (guitar), Marian Murray (violin), Claudia Schwab (violin) and Kevin Terry (guitar).

This should be very special. Hope to see y’all there!

The event will feature vocalist Juniper Hill and shape note singers, plus the The Real-Time Company (for the Ad-Hoc Association) of… Philip Guiton (guitar), Marian Murray (violin), Claudia Schwab (violin) and Kevin Terry (guitar).

To be informed of future events, please join the Stet Lab – announce, or subscribe to the web feed (news only or all blog posts). [More info…]

Stet Lab featuring composer-improviser John Godfrey

Monday, 12 April 2010

9:00 pm (doors: 8:45 pm)

Upstairs @ The Roundy [map…]
Castle Street
Cork, Ireland

€10 (€5)

Stet Lab returns on Monday, 12 April 2010 to the Roundy, Castle Street, Cork and features John Godfrey a veteran of Experimental and New Music in Ireland.

A virtuoso performer on both piano/keyboards and on electric guitar, John Godfrey’s performances encompass composed, improvised and part-composed/part-improvised work.

Regularly seen in Cork and throughout Ireland performing with various ensembles, as a performer Godfrey has also toured extensively through, America, Europe and Australia with Ireland’s premier New Music group, The Crash Ensemble. He is director of The Quiet Music Ensemble, curator of the Quiet Music Festival (Cork), and cofounder and former director of Icebreaker (UK), one of the most successful New Music ensembles.

In addition to these ensembles, Godfrey’s compositions have been performed by ensembles such as the world renowned Bang on a Can All Stars (USA) and Bradyworks (Canada).

Opening the event will be The Real-Time Company (for the Ad-Hoc Association) Of… Enda Buckley (guitar), Tony O’Connor (bass guitar), Owen Sutton (drums) and Athoulis Tsiopani (keyboards). Fusing and fragmenting idioms and traditions, the quartet will leap from country to hardcore in a single bound.

The event will begin at 9:00 pm (doors open at 8:45 pm) and entry is €10 (€5).

The following month’s Stet Lab will take place on Monday, 10 May 2010, featuring the vocalist, improviser and ethnomusicologist Juniper Hill, plus violinists Marian Murray and Claudia Schwab, and guitarists Kevin Terry and Philip Guiton.

the performers

John Godfrey is a composer and performer and lectures in the Music School of the University College Cork. He has a long history of involvement with new music, as composer, performer, teacher and entrepreneur.

Godfrey’s compositions and arrangements have been performed worldwide and many appear on CD. He has written for many prestigious ensembles, including The Bang On A Can All-Stars (USA), Bradyworks (Canada), The Crash Ensemble (Ireland) and Icebreaker (UK). He has written music for The CruX Dance Company, based in Cork. He recently completed a commission for The Crash Ensemble.

Previously highly influenced by the Hague School, Godfrey’s compositional work is currently focussed on experimental and improvisation-based music, often with live and interactive electronics. It is particularly influenced by experimental music based on acoustical phenomena, such as that by La Monte Young and Alvin Lucier.

In 2006, he was awarded an Equipment Bursary by the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon for purchase of equipment for research into live improvising/interactive computer systems. Another Arts Council award in 2007 allowed Godfrey to establish a new professional performing ensemble and to run a major festival of Experimental Music in Cork (summer, 2008). The Festival included the first Deep Listening Retreat with Pauline Oliveros in Ireland, and featured new works, and appearances by, Alvin Lucier, Mark Appelbaum, David Toop and others.

Godfrey performs pre-composed, improvised and semi-improvised work, both on piano/keyboards and on electric guitar.

In 1989 he cofounded, and was subsequently the Musical Director of, the new music group Icebreaker, which became one of the most successful ensembles in its field. The group appeared extensively in Europe and America, and made several CDs for Decca Argo (UK), New Tone (Italy), Donemus (Holland) and Canteloupe (USA). He left Icebreaker in 1997, and in the same year was invited to join Ireland’s premiere new music group, the Crash Ensemble. The latter has also toured extensively, with major appearances in Europe, the US, and Australia, and has made a number of recordings and radio broadcasts

Godfrey has set up many new initiatives in the field of new music in Cork, including two festivals of contemporary music in 1997 and 1998, and has been an outspoken promoter of new music in the city. He works with many local artists and performs with Cork’s improvisation collective The Quiet Club.

Kevin Terry, Evan Dorrian and Marian Murray (photo: © 2010 Julia Healy)

A warm thanks to Evan Dorrian for playing and his generosity on stage, and to all who performed, Stet Lab (ir)regulars (Paul Dowling, Susan Geaney, Juniper Hill, Marian Murray, Han-earl Park, Owen Sutton, Veronica Tadman and Kevin Terry) and newcomers (Philip Guiton and Claudia Schwab). Kudos again to Kevin for refereeing on the night, Veronica for MCing, and to photographer Julia Healy [see the photographs (new window)…].

As always, special thanks to all who came to support this event!

As with all the recordings since December 2008, this month’s recordings are covered under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. [More info…]