BELLOWS FALLS — Vocal phenomenon Loire Cotler, Grammy-Award-winning master drummer Glen Velez, and acclaimed cellist Eugene Friesen will perform a pair of concerts this weekend.
At 7:30 p.m., on Friday, Aug. 24, Velez and Cotler, along with Friesen, will share their innovative approaches to rhythm using stepping, gesture, and rhythm vocals exploring pulse flow and time awareness.
Then, on Aug. 25, participants in the “Your Rhythm, Your Life” workshop will share their musical and rhythmic discoveries in a free and open concert.
Both concerts take place at Immanuel Episcopal Church, The Stone Church on the Hill, 20 Church St. in Bellows Falls.
Cotler has garnered an international reputation as one of the most captivating performers of our time, according to a news release. Using exotic rhythms as her muse, she executes with the human voice phrases that do not seem possible in their rhythmic speed and clarity.
“Her emotionally-charged melodic inventions and evocative percussion-driven interpretations of jazz standards and original compositions are informed by raw melismatic improvisations, jazz-scat and pop stylings, along with lightning-fast South Indian drum language,” the news release says.
A four-time Grammy Award winner, Glen Velez is the founding father of the modern Frame Drum movement and is regarded as a legendary figure among musicians and audiences worldwide. He has popularized this ancient drum for the modern world.
His virtuosic combinations of hand movements and finger techniques, along with his original compositional style - which incorporates stepping, drum language and Central Asian Overtone singing (split-tone singing) - has opened new possibilities for musicians around the globe.
His most recent work, presented as the Glen Velez TA KA DI MI Project, features Cotler and other guest artists. Velez is also a core member of Trio Globo, featuring Friesen and Howard Levy.
Friesen is active internationally as a cellist, composer, and teacher. A graduate of the Yale School of Music, he has been featured on recordings and in concerts all over the world with the multiple Grammy Award-winning Paul Winter Consort, with Trio Globo, and in his popular CelloMan performances for children and families.
A pioneer in the teaching of improvisation to classically trained musicians, Friesen has led workshops throughout North America, Brazil, and Europe. His book, Improvisation for Classically Trained Musicians (Berklee Press/Hal Leonard), was released in June 2012.