City Lights starring Charlie Chaplin screened with live performance of original score

Victoria, BC – On October 9 at UVic Centre Farquhar Auditorium, the comedic adventures of Charlie Chaplin’s 1931 silent film, City Lights, will be shown with live orchestral accompaniment by the Victoria Symphony. The presentation also features a special introduction by actor and artist Duncan Regehr and a Chaplin Look-a-like contest.

The Victoria Symphony makes it a movie night like no other when City Lights starring Charlie Chaplin is screened with the score performed live by the Victoria Symphony. With precise synchronization to the film Conductor in Residence Giuseppe Pietraroia will conduct the original score written by Chaplin himself.

The Chaplin Look-a-Like Contest will be held between 7:30pm -7:50pm leading up to the concert looking for the best Tramp character and Chaplin impersonator. Winners will be announced at the start of the performance and prizes will be awarded at the end of the film.

City Lights will also be the official launch date of the new vsSOUNDCHECK program, which connects 15 to 29 year olds to a Victoria Symphony concert for only $12. vsSOUNDCHECK allows members to purchase tickets online during the week preceding the concert, offering great value and access to extraordinary live music. Membership is free on www.victoriasymphony.ca .

The Victoria Symphony is Vancouver Island’s largest and most active arts organization performing for more than 125,000 people each year, including 10,000 schoolchildren. Showcasing the outstanding talents of its musicians and guest artists, the Victoria Symphony’s 2009-2010 season offers a diverse and exciting line-up of over 50 concerts led by its vibrant Music Director Tania Miller.

Duncan Regehr, actor and artist, was born in Alberta and raised in Victoria, BC. He distinguished himself as an Olympic boxing contender, champion figure skater, and classical Shakespearean-trained actor. In 2000, he was granted the lifetime appellation, 'Royal Canadian Artist' with honours by the Royal Canadian Academy of Art and the Queen's Governor General for his outstanding artistic achievements and in 2008 Regehr received the honourary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria.

The Victoria Symphony wishes to acknowledge the generous support of Concert Sponsor the Bay Centre.

City Lights starring Charlie Chaplin
October 9, 2009 at 8pm
UVic Centre Farquhar Auditorium
Tickets: $26 for adults, $21 for students, $12 for vsSOUNDCHECK members
250.385.6515 or 250.721.8480
www.victoriasymphony.ca.

Clinton Shorter sets tone for Sci-Fi drama District 9

Composer also scores “Cole,” which premieres at Toronto International Film Festival

Los Angeles/Toronto, ON - Film Composer Clinton Shorter scores District 9 produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neill Blomkamp. The current box-office hit centers on the fallout caused by a group of alien refugees stranded on Earth (in Johannesburg) and forced into a segregation camp (the title comes from District 6, a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town infamous for the forced removal of 60,000 residents in the 70s by the Apartheid regime). Shorter, recently named by Hollywood Reporter “Next Generation of Film Composers to Watch,” has worked with the director on several projects, “I had worked with Blomkamp over the years on his commercials and short films. When he called in late 2008 and asked me if I'd score his first feature I was all over it.” Shorter newest feature “Cole,” the coming-of-age drama directed by Carl Bessai's marks the director’s seventh film to premiere at the Toronto festival. The film screens on September 15th and the Vancouver-based composer will be at the festival in support of “Cole.” Shorter incorporated an ambient guitar-based score which seamlessly transitions with songs used in the film.

For “District 9,” Shorter collaborated closely with Blomkamp, “I spent the first several weeks experimenting with every African instrument I could think of. Neill was really pushing me to give the score an African sound; it was quite a task to maintain an African feel but give the film the darkness and edge it required. We incorporated African male vocals with some percussion from the region combined with other elements. With “District 9,” I knew from the beginning that I was going to go with more of a hybrid score of live and synthesized instruments. Without giving too much away there's a "mutation" of sorts in the film and I wanted to have that mirrored in the music” Shorter also scored the short film which was the impetus of the feature but, as the composer said, “For the short, we hired a singer and used various orchestral libraries. The sound for the feature is quite different.”

Youth by Youth Cinema Series

THE CALGARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR YOUTH BY YOUTH CINEMA SERIES

The Calgary International Film Festival's (CIFF's) 3^rd Annual Youth by Youth Cinema Competition is looking for young directors to submit their work and compete in the 2009 YYC Competition! Youth by Youth Cinema (YYC) is part of the Calgary International Film Festival and is an open competition for young filmmakers from grades 4 through 12. Over $2000.00 in cash and prizes will be awarded at the event and all finalists will be treated to a one of a kind opportunity as delegates and VIP's of the festival.

Competition Guidelines:

· Films must be between 30 seconds and 7 minutes in length.

· Both fiction and non-fiction films are accepted.

· Films must have been completed after August 2008.

· Films must be directed by youth aged 9 – 18 at the time of the film's completion.

· Any one applicant may submit up to three films (including group projects).

· All applicable copyrights (music/image/text sources) must be secured by the filmmaker(s).

· Preview screeners accepted ONLY on DVD formats.

· Preview screeners must be labeled with title, director name, contact email address, and running time.

Submission Deadline: July 31, 2009

Submissions to:

Juan Delgado - YYC Coordinator

Calgary International Film Festival

1320 – 15^th Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta T3C 0X7

P: 403.209.5908 F: 403-457-3784

E: juan@calgaryfilm.com

Notes on Composing

SHIFT

Movement and meaning between Canada and the Netherlands

A Festival of Canadian and Dutch Music, Film and Literature

NOTES ON COMPOSING

5 collaborations in film and music

Final Event of SHIFT Festival Marks Opening Night of the

2009 IMAGES FESTIVAL

April 2, 2009 at Isabel Bader Theatre

www.shift-festival.ca

For Immediate Release – Toronto, March 23, 2009: SHIFT is not over yet, but the big bulge of activity at the end of February -- swelling the city's cultural offerings like an early spring thaw -- has passed. After continuing on to Vancouver for a concert with Vancouver New Music Society, Ives Ensemble musicians (now great musical friends of many in Canada) have returned to the Netherlands; Quatuor Bozzini returned to Montreal before setting off on yet another European tour; having made their guerrilla hit, Toca Loca's musicians have again dispersed. But Continuum is hard at preparations for the final event.

On April 2 at the Isabel Bader Theatre, The Images Festival and Continuum present Notes on Composing: 5 collaborations in film and music. Premiered at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam, the event features works on diverse themes by well-known and emerging Canadian film and video artists with music by composers from Canada and the Netherlands: Clive Holden (CA) and Oscar van Dillen (NL) deal with the sea as the Pacific Ocean and the North Sea are juxtaposed on a split screen; Christina Battle (CA) and Martin Arnold (CA) treat the mutual invasion of the human and natural worlds as represented by clips from old movies intercut with highly processed images of birds and bats in flight; Vera Frenkel (CA) and Rick Sacks (CA) have created a poignant view of the loss of connection with water in Toronto's urban environment; Daïchi Saïto (CA) and Malcolm Goldstein (CA) muse on trees in Parc Mont-Royal in Montreal; and Guy Maddin (CA) and Richard Ayres (NL) present the story of an aging gangster's paranoid delusions, near death experience and revival through highly unconventional means.

NOTES ON COMPOSING – Opening Night of the 2009 IMAGES FESTIVAL

Thursday, April 2 at 8PM at Isabel Bader Theatre: 93 Charles Street West

Tickets: $15 adults / $12 students & seniors

Advance tickets available at: www.imagesfestival.com/store Info: (416) 971-8405

Composer/Filmmaker: Title

Martin Arnold/Christina Battle (Toronto/Toronto): Behind the Shadows

Richard Ayres/Guy Maddin (Renkum/Winnipeg): Glorious

Oscar van Dillen/Clive Holden (Rotterdam/Toronto): 2 Cameras @ Sea

Rick Sacks/Vera Frenkel (Toronto/Toronto): ONCE NEAR WATER: Notes from the Scaffolding Archive

Malcolm Goldstein/Daïchi Saïto (Montreal/Montreal): Trees of Syntax, Leaves of Axis

STATEMENT ON AGE RESTRICTION

Admittance to all screenings (except Youth Screenings) is restricted to those 18 years of age or older. The Images Festival believes in freedom of artistic expression and is against discrimination on the basis of age. However, under the Ontario Theatres Act, film and video festivals are required to adopt a blanket adult rating in order to hold public screenings without having to submit all works for prior classification. Film and video are the only forms of expression subject to this kind of censorship system in Ontario. The Images Festival complies with the Ontario Theatres Act under protest.

Continuum is supported through grants from The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the city of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council; the Metcalf Foundation's Strategic Initiatives programme; the SOCAN, Emerald and McLean foundations; by patrons Aurora Tewksbury Reford, Ann Southam and Christopher Des Brisay; by the accounting firm Newman & Sversky; and as well, through the generosity of many private donors. SHIFT is supported by The Canada Council for the Arts, Muziek Centrum Nederland, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, the Consulate-General of The Netherlands, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Charles Street Video and a variety of individual and corporate donors.

For more information on SHIFT please contact Festival Coordinator Josh Grossman at (416) 924-4945 or josh@continuumusic.org , or visit www.shift-festival.ca .

Annonce du nouveau Fonds des médias du Canada par le ministre Moore

Annonce du nouveau Fonds des médias du Canada par le ministre Moore - La production indépendante en milieu minoritaire y aura-t-elle sa place?

Ottawa, le 10 mars 2009 - Le ministre du Patrimoine canadien et des Langues officielles, l'honorable James Moore, a hier annoncé la création du Fonds des médias du Canada, qui résulte d'une fusion du Fonds canadien de télévision et du Fonds des nouveaux médias du Canada. Il sera en vigueur dès avril 2010 et totalisera plus de 310 millions de dollars annuellement, en combinant l'investissement du secteur privé et du gouvernement fédéral.

L'Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada (APFC) se dit satisfaite, d'une part, de voir que ce fonds demeure entier, et non scindé comme le recommandait le CRTC en juin 2008. « En fait, le mandat élargi de ce fonds encouragera la création d'un contenu canadien qui intègre plusieurs plateformes, ce qui s'harmonise avec le développement de l'industrie, à l'heure actuelle », affirme Mark Chatel, président de l'APFC. Un autre élément de cette annonce qui rassure l'APFC est l'affirmation du ministre Moore, lors de son discours, qu'il veillera à nommer des membres du conseil d'administration qui connaîtront les réalités auxquelles font face les producteurs francophones en milieu minoritaire. « Nous espérons que ce nouveau mode de gouvernance prévoira toutefois des mécanismes de concertation directement avec notre organisme, car pour être efficace et répondre à ses objectifs, le Fonds des médias du Canada devra développer des principes directeurs tenant compte de notre réalité et favorisant l'essor de notre industrie, qui a beaucoup progressé au cours des dernières années. », ajoute Mark Chatel. « L'enveloppe pour les Projets de langue française à l'extérieur du Québec (PLFEQ) a fait ses preuves, et nous nous attendons à ce que le nouveau fonds conserve cette initiative spéciale. »

Toutefois, en bémol, l'APFC note que parmi les genres d'émissions où le fonds investira, on semble vouloir ajouter des dispositions plus contraignantes pour le financement de documentaires et d'émissions de variétés ou d'arts de la scène, deux genres dans lesquels les producteurs hors-Québec sont spécialisés. « Le nouveau conseil d'administration devra réaliser que pour les producteurs hors-Québec, ces genres sont incontournables. Nos histoires et l'épanouissement de nos communautés passent beaucoup par ces émissions, qui permettent de raconter et de présenter une réalité qui nous est unique. Encore beaucoup de balises sont encore à préciser et l'impact de cette nouvelle formule ne peut encore être apprécié dans son ensemble, pour le moment.

L'APFC veillera donc de près à ce que le Fonds des médias du Canada appuie comme il se doit la production indépendante francophone en milieu minoritaire. », conclut Mark Chatel.

L'Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada se consacre au développement de l'industrie francophone du film, de la télévision et du multimédia à l'échelle canadienne. Elle représente 13 entreprises francophones de production télévisuelle, cinématographique et multimédia établies à Vancouver, White Rock (CB), Edmonton, Winnipeg, Sudbury, Ottawa et Moncton. Tout en contribuant à retenir les artisans, les artistes et les créateurs dans leurs milieux respectifs, nos producteurs ont pour mission de donner une voix à leurs communautés, de leur fournir un miroir dans lequel elles se reconnaissent et qui les représente dans le paysage télévisuel d'aujourd'hui.

Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame opens 2009 on a high note

EMP|SFM opens 2009 on a high note

High attendance at free and low cost events and steady paid admissions, make for a promising start to 2009

SEATTLE—Experience Music Project|Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (EMP|SFM) has opened the new year on a high note with a promising start to 2009. In January, EMP|SFM welcomed 3,300 guests to its public programs, including an All Access Night on New Year’s Day, three Oral History Live! events with David Bryan, Jim Sherraden and Al Kooper; an Exposed: Inside Film screening of Pi and EMP|SFM’s annual Jazz in January programming.

Excellent attendance during these January events put January 2009’s overall attendance numbers seven percent over January 2008’s attendance numbers. In total, just over 18,000 people came through the museum’s doors via paid museum admission or to enjoy EMP|SFM’s public programs. Yearly overall attendance for 2008 was up three percent over 2007.

EMP|SFM will continue to provide free and low cost programming in 2009 with programs such as Oral History Live!, Exposed: Inside Film, Pop Conference and its Sound Off! underage battle of the bands competition.

EMP|SFM is proud to host the West Coast premiere of Jim Henson’s Fantastic World. This highly anticipated exhibition, organized by The Jim Henson Legacy and the Smithsonian Institution will be on view this spring and summer in the science fiction galleries at the museum.

Exhibitions opening in 2009

empsfm.org/exhibitions

Jim Henson’s Fantastic World

May 23-August 16, 2009
Jim Henson (1936-1990)—artist, puppeteer, film director and producer—created elaborate imaginary worlds filled with unique characters, objects, environments and even languages and cultures. His work is enjoyed in dozens of languages in more than 100 countries. Jim Henson's Fantastic World offers a rare peek into the imagination and creative genius of this multitalented innovator and creator of Kermit the Frog, Big Bird and other beloved characters.

The exhibition features 100 original artworks, including drawings, cartoons and storyboards that illustrate Henson’s talent as a storyteller and visionary. Among the variety of exhibition objects are puppets, television and movie props, photographs of Henson and his collaborators at work and original video productions, including excerpts from Henson’s early career and experimental films.

Jim Henson's Fantastic World was organized by The Jim Henson Legacy and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in cooperation with the Henson family, The Jim Henson Company, The Muppets Studio, LLC, and Sesame Workshop.
This exhibition is made possible by The Biography Channel. Additional support has been provided by The Jane Henson Foundation and Cheryl Henson.

Spaced Out: The Final Frontier in Album Covers

August 15, 2009-Jan. 3, 2010

Organized by EMP|SFM, Spaced Out: The Final Frontier in Album Covers presents 117 spaced-themed record album covers released between the 1940s and 1969—the dawn of the space age. In the post-war years, humanity seemed on the verge of taking a giant leap into space. Futuristic themes filled popular culture. Space was the place, and everyone wanted to be there. Musicians thronged to the fad, and space themes invaded album covers of every genre including pop, jazz, folk and classical.

These album covers embody the fantasy and mystery of space—what we imagined it to be, what we hoped it would be.

Programs

empsfm.org/programs

Sweet Deal Sundays

Sundays in February, EMP|SFM visitors can park for free in the new Seattle Center Garage on 5^th Ave. N and Harrison St. Visitors can bring their parking stub with them to an admission desk, and EMP|SFM will deduct their $7 parking fee from a regular paid admission.

All Access Nights

In January 2007, EMP|SFM began offering free admission and live music from 5 to 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. Since its inception, the museum has welcomed more than 42,000 visitors during All Access Nights. All Access Nights are sponsored by The Boeing Company.

Family Days

EMP|SFM hosts Family Days on the third Saturday of every month. Family Day activities can include interactive art projects, live music from local bands, free instrument workshops and more. Family Days are sponsored by IKEA.

Oral History Program

EMP|SFM is proud to have an oral history archive of more than 800 interviews filled with tales from musicians, producers, authors, filmmakers and artists who have shaped American popular music and science fiction. More than a hundred of these interviews are featured in the Sound and Vision: Artists Tell Their Stories exhibition currently on display at the museum. In addition, the Oral History Live! series at EMP|SFM features intimate interviews before a live audience. Recent guests have included, Al Kooper, Krist Novoselic, Billy Cox and Clive Barker. Oral History Live! is sponsored by Wells Fargo and The Boeing Company. Upcoming Oral History Live! events include: Stockpiling Star Wars: Inside Gus and Duncan’s Comprehensive Guide to Star Was Collectibles Feb. 23 and Perspectives in Poster Design March 11.

Exposed: Inside Film

Through its Exposed: Inside Film series, EMP|SFM screens cult favorites and classic sci-fi films. Each screening is followed by a behind-the-scenes look through an interactive discussion with local filmmakers and experts in the subject matter, or with actors, directors or screenwriters associated with the film. Upcoming films include: Outlander Feb. 17 and Of All the Things April 21.

Sound Off! 2009

Sound Off! is the Pacific Northwest’s largest battle of the bands. A launching pad for musical careers, Sound Off! has enjoyed hosting many young up-and-coming bands over the years including Schoolyard Heroes, Idiot Pilot, Mon Frere, The Lonely H, Dyme Def, The Lonely Forest, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head and New Faces.

Early last year, EMP|SFM crowned New Faces as winners of Sound Off! 2008, since then, they’ve been propelled into Seattle’s music scene. Just a few months after their win, they were signed by Loveless Records, released their first album, Two Years—which was just named top local release of 2008 by Three Imaginary Girls, and played to adoring fans at Bumbershoot.

This year’s semifinalists include Dearboy, Dyno Jamz, Love Trucker, Schoolboy Gutbuster, Brier Rose, Free City Collective, Makeup Monsters, The Mission Orange, Cyrus Fell Down, Kids Get Hit by Buses, Razpy & The Vigilantes and Sol. Upcoming semifinal concerts are held Feb. 21 and 28, 2009 and the finals are held March 7, 2009.

Sound Off! 2009 is sponsored by IKEA, Shure—“The Official Microphone of EMP|SFM,” 107.7 The End, KEXP 90.3, KORG USA, Epiphone, Bumbershoot, The Stranger, NoStankYou.com, Orbit Audio, Glenn Sound Studio, London Bridge Studio, Northwest Folklife, The Vera Project and Redmond's Old Firehouse Teen Center.

Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival

EMP|SFM, in partnership with SIFF, presented the Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival Feb. 7, 2009 at the Seattle Cinerama Theater. The annual festival brings together industry professionals in filmmaking and the genres of science fiction and fantasy to encourage and support new, creative additions to science fiction and fantasy cinema arts.

After Hours

EMP|SFM is proud to partner with the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) to present After Hours, a new all-ages event at EMP|SFM designed by teens for teens. After Hours is an exciting, new all-ages event that takes place three times throughout the year. The evening features a dance party with a local DJ in Sky Church and can include access to gallery spaces, live music by local bands and film previews from student filmmakers. The next After Hours event is March 27.

Education

empsfm.org/education

Experience: The Band

Experience: The Band began in fall 2007 as a partnership between EMP|SFM and the Berklee College of Music’s City Music Network.

This year-long, innovative, full scholarship program integrates instrumental and vocal instruction in rock and jazz, ensemble performance and musicianship classes with state-of-the-art online learning materials.

Experience: The Band rehearses together every Saturday from late September to early June, with several public performances scheduled throughout the year. Band members are also eligible to be considered for scholarships to Berklee College of Music’s five-week summer performance program, as well as full tuition scholarships to Berklee College of Music. Experience: The Band’s next showcase is March 21 at 1 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. Experience: The Band is supported by JP Morgan Chase Foundation and Puget Sound Energy Foundation.

Pop Conference

The Pop Conference at EMP|SFM, now in its eighth year, joins academics, critics, performers and writers of all kinds to discuss popular music. This year’s conference topic is “Dance Music Sex Romance: Pop and the Body Politic.” The conference runs April 16-19, 2009.

Lessons & Workshops

Lessons & Workshops at EMP|SFM are weekend and evening classes for adults and teens 16 and older. This series provides in-depth, hands-on training on a specific music or science fiction-related topic. Lessons & Workshops are added throughout the year. Guitar 102 begins Feb. 18 and Stayin' Alive: Rock Band for Adults begins April 27.

Camps and Teen Artist Workshops

EMP|SFM’s Camps and Teen Artist Workshops take youth on a journey of artistic exploration and self-discovery during their spring and summer breaks. Visit empsfm.org/education for a complete list of 2009 camps and workshops offered by EMP|SFM and partners Pacific Science Center and Seattle Children’s Theater.

2008 Wallace Excellence Award

In November, EMP|SFM was granted a 2008 Wallace Excellence Award. EMP|SFM was among eight other Seattle arts organizations to receive the prestigious award, including On The Boards, One Reel, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Opera, Seattle Repertory Theater, Seattle Youth Symphony and SIFF. EMP|SFM is thrilled to be among this impressive list of local arts organizations and to be honored by The Wallace Foundation.

EMP|SFM received a $585,000 grant to expand and enhance youth-driven programming that leverages the museum’s unique collections and offerings to generate online content for the public. The museum will announce its specific plan to implement the grant later this year.

###

Museum Hours:

EMP|SFM is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from September 2, 2008 through May 21, 2009 and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from May 22, 2009 through September 7, 2009.

Museum Admission:

General adult admission to both Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (EMP|SFM) is $15. Admission for seniors, youth, military and students (w/ID) is $12, and admission for children under 5 is free. One ticket gives access to both museums.

Web site:

empsfm.org

Address:

325 5^th Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109

Box office:

206-770-2702

Current exhibitions include:
American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print
October 11, 2008 – July 16, 2009
American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print illustrates the fascinating fusion of art with popular culture and music history. Featuring the work of one of the nation's oldest operating printing shops—Nashville, Tennessee's Hatch Show Print—the exhibition highlights the uniquely American posters produced to advertise everything from vaudeville shows, state fairs and stock car races to the Grand Ole Opry, Elvis Presley and Herbie Hancock.

Founded in 1879 in Nashville, Tenn., Hatch Show Print is still a working letterpress and design shop, creating posters today using the same letterpress methods as yesterday. American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print features historical and contemporary posters and original wooden print blocks—some never before seen by the public.

The exhibition, organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, is supported by America's Jazz Heritage, a Partnership of The Wallace Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition is supported locally by 4Culture.

Robots: A Designer's Collection of Miniature Mechanical Marvels
May 16, 2008 – April 19, 2009

Robots: A Designer's Collection of Miniature Mechanical Marvels celebrates our long fascination with humankind's technological version of itself. This exhibition draws from a one-of-a-kind assemblage of toy robots, which noted designer Tom Geismar has been collecting for decades. Inspired by antique tin and wooden toys, samurai warriors and mid-20th century Japanese film characters, these intricately detailed and beautifully designed miniatures are set against EMP|SFM's backdrop of life-sized robots, androids and cyborgs from the world of science-fiction film and television.

Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound
April 26, 2008 – April 11, 2010
Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound illustrates Hendrix's musical evolution from his early days in Seattle, to his time as a journeyman musician touring the southern "chitlin' circuit" and in New York City, to his explosion on the popular music scene in London and beyond. The exhibition and the visitor experience weave together the various musical styles and cultures that Hendrix soaked up throughout his all-too-short journey.

About the EMP|SFM Building
Since EMP opened in 2000 and SFM in 2004, EMP|SFM has welcomed more than 4.3 million visitors through its doors. From its museum planning stages in 1998 through 2007, EMP|SFM has been a key economic driver among Seattle nonprofit arts and culture organizations, with combined EMP|SFM institutional expenditures and EMP|SFM audience-member spending resulting in $580 million dollars of local economic impact. EMP|SFM is housed in a 140,000 square foot Frank O. Gehry-designed building. This spectacular, prominently visible structure has the presence of a monumental sculpture set amid the backdrop of the Seattle Center.

About Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project (EMP) is dedicated to the exploration of creativity and innovation in popular music. By blending interpretative, interactive exhibitions with cutting-edge technology, EMP captures and reflects the essence of rock ‘n’ roll, its roots in jazz, soul, gospel, country and the blues, as well as rock’s influence on hip-hop, punk and other recent genres. Visitors can view rare artifacts and memorabilia and experience the creative process by listening to musicians tell their own stories.

About Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame
The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (SFM) is the world's first museum devoted to the thought-provoking ideas and experiences of science fiction. SFM’s exhibitions promote awareness and appreciation of science fiction literature and media while encouraging visitors to envision new futures for humanity. In the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, the museum pays homage to the most respected of science fiction practitioners—writers, artists, publishers and filmmakers.

Experience Music Project

Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame

t: (206) 262-3245 f: (206) 770-2727

330 Sixth Avenue North Suite 200 Seattle WA 98109

target="_blank"empsfm.org

Current Exhibitions

American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print

October 11, 2008 – July 16, 2009

Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound

April 26, 2008 – April 11, 2010

Robots: A Designer's Collection of Miniature Mechanical Marvels

May 16, 2008 – April 19, 2009

Upcoming Exhibition

Jim Henson’s Fantastic World

May 23 – August 16, 2009

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Soundtrack Available Dec 16

Award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat’s score to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button creates a mesmerizing sonic mindscape that mirrors the unique emotional world of the movie’s lead character, Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt). Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the score and movie explore the life of some one who is born an old man and ages backwards.

Benjamin’s life progresses in retrograde motion, from his birth at the close of World War I to his death at the start of the 21^st century. During his backwards lifetime, he falls in love with an exquisite beauty named Daisy (Cate Blanchett). As deep and genuine as their love may be, Benjamin’s reverse biology makes a lasting union impossible.

Desplat’s haunting score creates a mystical, diaphanous haze through which we watch events in Benjamin Button’s life transpire as if through a scrim of heart-tugging sadness.

“All the people Benjamin meets he loses quickly,” says Desplat, “as they age and die while he gets younger. Because a continuous love relationship with anyone cannot work, his life is composed of heartbreaking flashes of connection. The music has to express the movement of going inexorably forward but still backwards, and the melancholia that is the essence of Benjamin’s character.”

The miracle of the movie is that Benjamin embraces life fully and continuously moves forward on his journey. In doing so, he transcends the limitations of his fate. As the empathic beauty of Desplat’s score draws us in deeper and deeper, it transforms the cinematic experience into a heartwarming affirmation of love.

“The movie,” says Desplat, “has everything that a film can offer to a composer: A humanistic script by Eric Roth of a man’s epic journey living his life biologically in reverse through a century, a heartbreaking love story played with intensity by two of the most glamorous and gifted actors of our times, the pulse of jazz in the city where he was born, a twist of witty humor, the metaphysical question of death, and the pure visual magic created by a genius director.”

The composer, who was born in Paris in 1961, has received worldwide recognition for creating an ideal musical language for cinema. Desplat received his first award nomination, the César Award of France (the French movie industry’s main equivalent to the Oscar), at the age of 36. Since then, he has been on a roll, receiving 13 other nominations and nine awards for nine different films. In the three-year period ending in 2008, his wins included the BMI Film & TV, European Film, World Soundtrack, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (The Queen); the Silver Berlin Bear, César, and Étoiles d’Or Awards (De battre mon coeur s’est arrêté); the Golden Globe, World Soundtrack and LAFCA Awards (The Painted Veil); and Taiwan’s Golden Horse Award (Se, jie),

Finding a way to weave together music and dialogue with Benjamin and Daisy’s ongoing narration posed a particular challenge for Desplat. “The music has to be powerful, yet very silent,” he explains. “It must be very delicate and prudent – never showing off – while always conveying the characters’ underlying emotions. And since Benjamin is a very silent man, the music must express great empathy with his situation as it illumines his moments of sadness and questioning.”

To mirror Benjamin’s retrograde existence, Desplat created a main theme that can be played backwards as well as forwards. Other themes come and go, and chords switch from major to minor, as the clock ticks and characters disappear from the story.
“The orchestra’s colors have to capture the genuine innocence with which Benjamin embraces the human beings that he meets through his life, and the circular motion of the adventurous world around him,” says Desplat. To bring the movie’s sound world to life, Desplat, David Fincher, and Executive Soundtrack Album Producer and Sound Designer Ren Klyce enlist the 87 exceptional musicians of the Hollywood Studio Symphony.
The movie begins in New Orleans in the 21^st century, just before Katrina hits. As it flashes back to the time of Benjamin’s birth, in New Orleans in 1918, and follows his retrograde journey through life, Desplat’s haunting music finds its counterpart in the forthright, authentic sounds of the jazz era in New Orleans, as performed by Bix Beiderbecke, The Boswell Sisters, Louis Armstrong, and other greats. The contrast between the two sound worlds, as heard on the two separate CDs, speaks volumes.
“Writing this score has been a beautiful, creative experience,” says Desplat. “Eternal thanks to Ren Klyce, who was so supportive of my work, and David Fincher for having created such a fabulous, magical world of its own.”
Paramount Pictures’ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is slated for release in the U.S., Australia, and parts of Southeast Asia on December 25^th, and in the rest of the world in early 2009. The soundtrack is available in stores December 16, 2008.

SHIFT Festival

SHIFT

Movement and meaning between Canada and the Netherlands

A Festival of Canadian and Dutch Music, Film and Literature

Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam: November 18 – 22, 2008

Harbourfront and the Music Gallery in Toronto: February 25 – March 3, 2009

http://www.shift-festival.ca/

For Immediate Release – Toronto, October 31, 2008: Continuum Contemporary Music is pleased to announce SHIFT, a festival of Canadian and Dutch music, film and literature, taking place November 18-22, 2008 in Amsterdam and February 25-March 3, 2009 in Toronto. Programmed by some of Canada’s top artistic voices – Continuum Contemporary Music, Authors at Harboufront Centre and The Images Festival, in collaboration with The Netherlands’ influential Muziek Centrum Nederland (formerly Gaudeamus) and the internationally acclaimed Asko|Schönberg and Ives ensembles -- in Amsterdam SHIFT is hosted by the architecturally stunning new Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ while Canadian activities take place at Toronto’s jewel of the waterfront, Harbourfront Centre, as well as the Music Gallery.

Amsterdam events include concerts, pre-concert talks moderated by well-known Dutch cultural critics, a live VPRO Radio broadcast, film and live music collaborations, late night screenings of film and video, and panel discussions featuring authors from both countries, one of which will be recorded for later broadcast on CBC radio. With 36 Canadian artists represented, 29 of them present, SHIFT is the largest festival of Canadian art to take place in Europe in many years. Added to those numbers are 42 Dutch musicians, composers, filmmakers and writers, making SHIFT an exceptional cultural event.

SHIFT was conceived by Continuum’s Artistic Director Jennifer Waring during her Metcalf Foundation funded residency with Gaudeamus in 2005-06. At its root, the festival is an investigation of the bond between the two markedly different countries, created during the Second World War and through the subsequent wave of immigration to Canada, and provides a new perspective on the relationship. She writes, “The Netherlands is small, rich in human history, and still comparatively uniform in makeup; Canada is large, young as a modern state, and diverse in its population. In these rather obvious factors the countries are diametrically opposed, and to an expatriate – a privilege I had on and off over seven years – the contrast is a head-swiveling, breathtaking experience that can provoke hyperactive theorizing. But a base of common outlook and perception prevents total disorientation and makes comparison possible. Beyond these is an ineffable but strong affinity.”

SHIFT’s musical highlights include:

• On November 18, a performance by the one of the world’s premiere new music ensembles, the ASKO|Schönberg Ensemble, with internationally acclaimed Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan and conductor Etienne Siebens. The programme features premieres funded by The Canada Council for the Arts by James Rolfe and Michael Oesterle, as well as the Dutch premiere of Lettura di Dante by the late Claude Vivier and a new work by the young Dutch composer Corrie van Binsbergen;
• On November 19, a performance by Quatuor Bozzini, twice winner of the Prix Opus from Conseil québécois de la musique featuring works by Canadian composers Martin Arnold and Michael Oesterle, and Dutch composers Richard Ayres, Hanna Kulenty and Martijn Voorvelt.
• On November 20, a joint concert by Continuum and the Ives Ensemble. Recognized as leaders in new music in their respective countries, IE and Continuum premiere music written for the combined ensembles – Linda Bouchard (CA) (funded by the Canada Council for the Arts) and Guus Janssen (NL) (funded by Nederlands Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten NFPK+) and for the separate ensembles – Makye Nas (NL) for Continuum, and Gyula Csapo for IE. Continuum also performs raW (by James Rolfe), winner of the 2006 Jules-Léger Prize. The concert will be broadcast live by VPRO Radio.

SHIFT features an ambitious programme of film and music collaboration in Notes on Composing: 5 collaborations in film and music, November 21. The result of a programming collaboration between Continuum Contemporary Music and The Images Festival, Notes on Composing features world premieres of five short films with live music performed by Continuum and violinist/composer Malcolm Goldstein. Most of the collaborating artists had never met or worked together – as Images Festival Artistic Director Pablo de Ocampo writes, “these collaborations represent something of a leap in faith, or a dare on the part of all the parties involved.”

• Winnipeg-based Guy Maddin (a multiple award-winner at local and international film festivals including Best Canadian Feature at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival for My Winnipeg) working with the brilliant British/Dutch composer Richard Ayres;

• video artist Vera Frenkel (winner of the 2006 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, the Canada Council Molson Prize, the Bell Canada Award for Video Art, the 2006 Governor General’s Award and a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts) working with acclaimed Toronto percussionist and composer Rick Sacks;
• Canadian filmmaker Daïchi Saïto working with one of the originators of North American musical experimentalism, Montreal-based Malcolm Goldstein;
• environmental biologist turned filmmaker Christina Battle working with Toronto composer Martin Arnold;
• Toronto-based filmmaker and poet Clive Holden working with Rotterdam composer Oscar van Dillen.

The program will be repeated in Toronto on opening night of The Images Festival in April 2009.

SHIFT will also feature two nights of screenings of short films from Canada and The Netherlands, curated by The Images Festival and The Impakt Festival (Utrecht) respectively.

Programming for the literature component of SHIFT has been undertaken by Authors at Harbourfront Centre, with events in Amsterdam falling under the banner of the International Festival of Authors (IFOA). In its 35 year history, Authors at Harbourfront Centre has presented more than 5,000 authors from more than 100 countries. The world-renowned IFOA, now in its 29th year, annually presents more than 100 authors – established and emerging – from around the world as part of an 11-day festival each October. IFOA Amsterdam is the first time an element of the Festival has been presented overseas. Events in both Amsterdam and in Toronto feature panel discussions in which Canadian and Dutch authors at different stages in their career open up new debates around literature, culture, and shared international perspectives. The line-up for Amsterdam is: From Canada: Dionne Brand (What We All Long For, Inventory), Lewis DeSoto (A Blade of Grass), Helen Humphreys (Wild Dogs, Coventry), Andrew Pyper (Lost Girls, The Killing Circle), and, as event moderator, Eleanor Wachtel (host of CBC Radio's Writers & Company). From The Netherlands: Gerbrand Bakker (The Twin), Lieve Joris (The Rebels' Hour), Lucette ter Borg (The Gift from Berlin), Anja Sicking (The Silent Sin), and, as event moderator, Michaël Zeeman (cultural correspondent for de Volkskrant). Canadian author Richard Clewes (Finding Lily) hosts all events. The discussion moderated by Eleanor Wachtel will be recorded for broadcast on CBC Radio. Continuum has worked with Authors at Harbourfront Centre Director Geoffrey Taylor to set up these author events.

Continuum Contemporary Music presents the work of emerging Canadian composers alongside works by established national and international composers in its concert series, at festivals, on tour, over the air waves and through recordings. The Chalmers Award-winning group has generated interdisciplinary projects with celebrated Vancouver choreographer Conrad Alexandrowicz; Montreal video artist Ramona Ramlochand; and John Oswald. For l'Oreille Fine, Continuum combined new music and philosophy in concerts and a symposium wherein philosophers, poets and critics dealt with the subject of new music. Formed in 1985, Continuum has a core ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion which is often varied and combined with electronics. The organization has commissioned and premiered over 100 new works from emerging and established Canadian composers; increasingly it commissions international composers. Continuum toured Canada in 1999 and Europe in 2003, and will be on tour again in the fall of 2008, with performances in Aberdeen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Amsterdam and Huddersfield. It has released two CD's on its own label, recorded one for Centrediscs and has two CD projects in the works.

Established in 1987, The Images Festival is the largest festival in North America for experimental and independent moving image culture, showcasing the innovative edge of international contemporary media art both on and off the screen. From Super-8 and hand-tinted celluloid to the latest video art, Images has presented thousands of films and media based projects in our 21+ year history. Images is committed to an expanded concept of film and video practice: alongside film and video screenings, the festival presents groundbreaking live performances, media art installations in local galleries and new media projects by many renowned Canadian and international artists. We go out of our way and over the edge to provide Toronto with an annual extravaganza of image making. Attended by more than 30,000 people each year, Toronto’s 2nd oldest film festival is a critical forum for the independent media arts in Canada and around the world and provides artists with a supportive and professional forum in which to present their projects. Many influential media artists have been nurtured by Images’ willingness to embrace new creative concepts and modes of expression in the media arts field. The Images Festival exhibits and encourages the work of artists producing film and video outside of mainstream commercial production, distribution systems and aesthetic conventions. In addition to the international competition programs drawn from submissions to the festival, Images includes artists' retrospectives, national and regional cinema spotlights, publishing projects, touring programs and special guest-curated sections.

The world renowned Authors at Harbourfront Centre programme is home to a weekly reading series (September to June), the annual International Festival of Authors (IFOA) (October) and, for younger readers, YoungIFOA (October), ALOUD: a Celebration for Young Readers (May) and Forest of Reading® Festival of Trees™ (May). Established in 1974, Authors at Harbourfront Centre's mandate is to present the world's most important and influential authors and distinctive new writers, Canadian and international, in a forum that celebrates books and writing. The programme provides Canadian authors with an internationally recognized platform on which to present their work, and fosters an awareness in its audiences of the variety and richness of writing from Canada and around the world. Since programming began, Authors at Harbourfront Centre has presented more than 5,000 authors, including 15 Nobel Laureates and countless other prize winners, on its stages. In 1980, the fledgling IFOA became the first international literary festival in North America. At that time it presented 18 poets over 6 days. Twenty-nine years later, IFOA continues to grow. The 2008 festival included nearly 70 public events, featuring writers of fiction, non-fiction, travel writing, poetry, graphic novels, and books for younger readers in a series of readings, interviews, and panel discussions. Annual special events include readings by the authors shortlisted for the three major Canadian fiction awards, the awarding of the $10,000 Harbourfront Festival Prize, and a gala benefit to support of PEN Canada.

Continuum is supported through grants from The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the city of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council; the Metcalf Foundation's Strategic Initiatives programme; the SOCAN, Emerald and McLean foundations; by patrons Aurora Tewksbury Reford, Ann Southam and Christopher Des Brisay; by the accounting firm Newman & Sversky; and as well, through the generosity of many private donors.

SHIFT is supported by The Canada Council for the Arts, Muziek Centrum Nederland, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, the Consulate-General of The Netherlands, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Charles Street Video and a variety of individual and corporate donors.

For more information on SHIFT please contact Festival Coordinator Josh Grossman at (416) 924-4945 or josh@continuumusic.org , or visit www.shift-festival.ca .

Ticket prices will be posted shortly.