Lowertown Listening Session
Zeitgeist/Composer Workshop 2019
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Aug. 8, 2019
6 p.m. music 5:30 p.m. doors open Studio Z: 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200, St. Paul |
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Join Zeitgeist for a glimpse into the 2019 composer workshop, featuring music by composer participants Asuka Kakitani, Christopher Brakel, and Nick Gaudette (composer) and Maggie Bergeron (dance). The Zeitgeist-Composer Workshop, made possible by the Jerome Foundation, is a five-day workshop designed to give emerging composers the opportunity to develop creative ideas and stretch their artistic boundaries in an environment that celebrates exploration and experimentation.
Lowertown Listening Sessions invite curious listeners to enjoy adventurous sounds and insightful conversation with the music-makers of our time. Held at Studio Z, Zeitgeist’s performance space in Lowertown St. Paul, this monthly happy hour series brings guest artists from all genres of new music (jazz, classical, world music, folk, and more) for performances and informal discussion in an after-work setting with food and beverages from Lowertown eateries. 
“A musical impressionist and supreme colorist” (Hot House Magazine) aptly characterizes the Japanese-born composer Asuka Kakitani. Her deep love for nature and animals inspires Kakitani to transform her imagination into epic musical stories that DownBeat Magazine described as brimming with “sumptuous positivity and organic flow.”
She is the founder of the 18-piece ensemble the Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra, and their first recording Bloom has been featured on the international radio program PRI’s The World, acknowledged as one of the best debut albums of the year by DownBeat Magazine Critics’ Poll and NPR Music Jazz Critics’ Poll, and All About Jazz called it “absolutely superb.” After she relocated to Minnesota from Brooklyn, NY in 2016, she co-founded the Twin Cities Jazz Composers’ Workshop, which aims to foster creative and forward-looking composition for the modern jazz orchestra in the Twin Cities area. Kakitani also co-founded and conducts Inatnas Orchestra with her husband, composer/trombonist JC Sanford, that features both of their music and some of the best jazz musicians in the twin cities area. Kakitani has been the recipient of grants and awards including the BMI Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, the Manny Albam Commission, the Jerome Fund for New Music from the American Composers Forum, Brooklyn Arts Council, two Composer Assistance Grants from the American Music Center, and recently was awarded a 2019 McKnight Composer Fellowship. 
Christopher Brakel (b. 1977) is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, an educator/arts advocate, a music copyist/engraver, and a technology consultant.
He holds advanced degrees in composition from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester (Ph.D.) and the University of Iowa(M.A.), and a B.A. in Music from the University of Minnesota, where he studied percussion and composition. Additionally, he is a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. Dr. Brakel has held teaching positions at Chapman University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Iowa. Recordings and publications of his works can be found on: Centaur Records, PARMA Recordings, Firnspiegel Music (ASCAP), and qPress. 
Born and raised in the twin cities, Nick Gaudette is a local bass player, educator, and creator of musical arts whenever possible. He is a trained classical player, a seasoned jazz player, and a contemporary composer and player for the upright bass. Upon finishing his studies in Cleveland OH, Nick came back to the Twin Cities and helped found the hybrid chamber-fiddle group, the Orange Mighty Trio. He is also a co-creator of the Cherry Spoon Collective which is a multi-generational group of composer/ musicians who read and perform each other’s work. Nick is also a frequent collaborator with the Maggie Bergeron Dance Company. Together, Nick and Maggie curate their own live music and dance festival called Hear, Here! which pairs and premiers new works by composer/musician & choreographer/dancer combos. Nick is also a full time instructor at Edina High School where he directs the advanced orchestras for grades 10-12. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching from Mankato State University. He is a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative recipient, a Cedar Commission Artist, an EdFund grant recipient, outdoors person, motorcyclist, and dad.
Maggie Bergeron is an organizer, choreographer, dancer, teacher, and writer. She is a Lecturer in the U of MN Dance Program, dances on occasion with the collective Wailing Babies, makes collaborative work for all sorts of performance occasions, and produces and curates a music/movement festival called Hear Here! along with her composer husband Nicholas Gaudette. Maggie is committed to engaging the process of collaboration in her work, and is more interested in a holistic imagining of a performance experience. Her work has been seen locally at the Southern Theater, Red Eye Theater, Walker Art Center and Bryant Lake Bowl. Maggie graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Minnesota. She is a Licensed K-12 Dance Instructor and holds a Masters of Arts in Teaching.
Tickets can be securely purchased by credit card or through your PayPal account in advance, or by cash, check, or credit card at the door. Tickets purchased online will be held at the door.
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