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  • Tuning the Air Has Closed

    Jun 21st 2012

    By: tuningtheair

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    THANK YOU FROM EVERYONE AT TUNING THE AIR

    Tuning the Air has come to an end. Seven years. 225 shows in 4 venues. Nearly 100 pieces of repertoire performed, brought to you by a company that over 7 years included 45 individuals. It has been quite an experience. Everyone is a little sad to let it go, of course, but very energized that we have accomplished so much and were able to go out on a high note.

    What will come next? No one knows. Stay in touch.

    Check out Tuning the Air’s History:

    • Tuning the Air Performances
    • Tuning the Air Repertoire over the years
    • Tuning the Air Company Members through history
    • Tuning the Air before it was Tuning the Air
    • The birth of the Tuning the Air concept

    .

  • Tuning the Air Update – June 2012

    Jun 20th 2012

    By: tuningtheair

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    It has been 6 months since Tuning the Air was performed for the last time. For those of us who were a part of it, it seems like only yesterday, and at the same time it feels like it has been a lifetime. Perhaps you are wondering what the Tuning the Air team has been up to since then? On Saturday June 30 from 4-10pm you will have an opportunity to get some answers.

    Tuning the Air founding members Chris and Meleah Gibson have opened the Seattle Creative Arts Center, located on Market Street in Ballard. It is a fabulous facility, and everyone is invited to see for themselves. An Open House.

    Saturday June 30, 2012
    4pm to 10pm
    Seattle Creative Arts Center (map)
    2601 NW Market St
    Seattle WA 98107

    There will be tours of the Center, refreshments, and LIVE MUSIC. And yes, some of that music will be provided by familiar Tuning the Air faces! For instance:

    Sgt Bones
    Continuing their uniquely Bonesian interpretations of music of all sorts.
    Featuring Greg Meredith, Mary Beth Abel, Carl Germain and Darlene Franz.

    Definitely String Quartet
    Jaxie Binder, Bob Williams, Carl Germain and Curt Golden
    Performing guitar quartet arrangements of works by Beethoven, Ives, Correlli, and others.

    Chris Gibson/Travis Metcalf Duo
    Guitar duets from two of Tuning the Air’s founding members.

    Third Law
    Bob Williams, Igor Abuladze, Travis Metcalf in this screaming fusion and funk band.

    Also performing this evening are long-time Seattle Circle members, and friends of Tuning the Air:

    C3
    Steve Ball, Paul O’Rear, Nathan Grigg, Chuck Randall, and Stephen Thompson
    and special guests including Jaxie Binder.

    Birds May Bite
    Featuring Scott Adams.

    Please drop in, for a few minutes or the whole evening. It is going to be a whole lot of fun.

    All Ages and Admission is FREE!


  • The FINAL SEASON of Tuning the Air

    Sep 21st 2011

    By: tuningtheair

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    Announcing the FINAL SEASON of Tuning the Air

    The countdown: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

    September 21, 2011

    Thursday nights, from October 6 through December 15, will be your final opportunities to experience Tuning the Air, which the Seattle Times has called “magical notes around the circumference of Fremont Abbey” and “one of the most dreamily immersive acoustic experiences you can have in Seattle.” This season will mark the completion of seven years of Tuning the Air; a total of 225 performances for this constantly evolving production.

    In 2005, Tuning the Air began in the intimate and homey setting of the Seattle Circle Performance Studio on the 3rd floor of Trinity Church in Ballard, ten guitarists in a circle and the audience lounging on pillows and cushions on the floor in the center. The company honed their craft and developed this thoroughly unique multi-dimensional production. In late 2007, Tuning the Air briefly moved to the more traditional theatrical setting of the Capitol Hill Arts Center. Finally, in early 2008, the production found a home in the newly renovated Fremont Abbey Arts Center; for the first eighteen months in the downstairs Café space, and since 2009 upstairs in the breathtaking Great Hall.

    There may be only 10 final shows, but it “ain’t over till it’s over!” During the summer break there has been all kinds of activity, and for this season the team has put together a set of entirely new music, ranging from uniquely “Tuning the Air” takes on familiar songs to original compositions written specifically for this group. A number of guest artists and other surprises are in the works. And, as always, we will be taking full advantage of the 360-degree experience that only performance in the circle can create.

    THIS IS (seriously) YOUR LAST CHANCE. Come join us. Bring a friend.

    TUNING THE AIR Final Season
    Every Thursday October 6 through December 15, 2011*
    8pm, doors open at 7:45
    Fremont Abbey Arts Center
    4272 Fremont Ave N, Seattle
    $10 at the door
    *There will no performance Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 24

    Want to learn a little more about what you’ve been missing?
    Check out Tuning the Air’s History:

    Tuning the Air Performances
    Tuning the Air Repertoire over the years
    Tuning the Air Company Members through history
    Tuning the Air before it was Tuning the Air
    The birth of the Tuning the Air concept

    TTA2011

  • Tuning the Air History – Foreshadowing

    Sep 15th 2011

    By: tuningtheair

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    On December 11-12, 2004, a weekend workshop took place at Seattle Circle’s studio, located on the third floor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Ballard. It was not a music-related seminar, but a number of members of the Seattle Guitar Circle were taking part.

    The workshop culminated on Sunday night with a feast. Food for 20 people was cooked at my apartment and shuttled over. From time to time during the meal, the seminar director would call for music. That was our cue. Jaxie Binder, Taylor Sherman, Travis Metcalf, Bob Williams and I would rise, leave the room, collect our guitars, briefly discuss and come up with a 2 or 3 piece “setlist”. We entered the room, took our place and played. This happened 3 times during the evening.

    The third time we were called upon to play, we chose for our final selection “Eye of the Needle”, which is also known as “Guitar Craft Theme III”, and is within the repertoire of anyone who has been involved with Guitar Craft for a period of time.

    We entered, and performed our first selection. When it came time for “Eye of the Needle”, we spread out and surrounded the audience – to the extent that 5 players can “surround” a banquet table set up for 20 diners. The effect was immediate and profound. Of course, the composition has that quality and effect for anyone who can enter in to it, but there was something in this presentation that seemed to bring the music alive in a very particular way. Collecting ourselves outside of the room after the performance, we had the very clear sense that something momentous had just occurred.

    It had been a busy weekend, and my computer had been off as part of the seminar. My journal for that weekend, very brief and written in the wee hours of Monday morning, reflects a recognition of the significance of the moment:

    I will also never forget looking up as five of us “surrounded” an audience of 15 people and saying to myself, “hey look! A Guitar Craft Circle!” It was just for a moment, but it was as real as real can be.

    Writing about it nearly 7 years after the fact, I honestly cannot recall whose idea it was to present EotN in this way; and that seems just as well. I also don’t remember whether we made the decision out in the hall before the performance, or if it was a spontaneous impulse that came up in the moment. It set in motion a line of exploration and inquiry that brought 10 players together in February of 2005 to test the viability of formal performance in this format, and in the following April Tuning the Air was debuted.

    Curt Golden

  • Nigel Gavin in Seattle

    Aug 29th 2011

    By: tuningtheair

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    The new season of Tuning the Air may not open until October 6, but there is still some great guitar music to be experienced in Seattle. Our old friend Nigel Gavin will be in town, visiting from New Zealand, and will perform at the Chapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd on Thursday September 8. Highly recommended!

    Nigel Gavin to perform in Seattle, Thursday September 8

  • The Tuning the Air Blog is active

    Aug 27th 2011

    By: tuningtheair

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    Tuning the Air rehearsals have begun, and the Tuning the Air Blog is active, chronicling the process.

  • Tuning the Air Fall 2011 poster

    Aug 6th 2011

    By: tuningtheair

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    We may be “technically” on a break, but the new season is lining itself up. New material being researched. And this…!

    TTA2001 by Roberto Duse

    Roberto Duse has crafted this image for the Autumn season

  • Season Twelve of Tuning the Air

    Jul 20th 2011

    By: tuningtheair

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    The schedule for our twelfth season has been finalized. The Fall run of the show opens on October 6 and will run through December 15, 2011 at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, 4272 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103. Shows every Thursday at 8pm, doors open at 7:45. There will no performance Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 24.

  • The 2011 Winter/Spring Season has been completed!

    Jul 1st 2011

    By: tuningtheair

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    The final show of the was on June 30, 2011. It was a terrific show, with a huge turnout. A full house, and a wonderful night all around.

    The 2011 Fall Season is tentatively scheduled for October 6 – December 15, 2011. Big news coming, so stay tuned for details as the pieces fall into place.

    It was quite a season for Tuning the Air. An expanded performance team – 10 guitarists – continuing to explore to sonic possibilities of performance in the circular, surround-sound format; what the Seattle Times called “magical notes around the circumference of Fremont Abbey.” New material is always being added, including two new compositions that were debuted in June. Ambient guitarist Joel Palmer continues to “tune the space” as the audience arrives and settles in, as well as playing on several pieces within the performance itself. Joel’s preshow performances are available for listening online.

    The April 14 show featured one of the Seattle Circle Guitar School’s classes: 15 4th graders from the Salmon Bay Kids Guitar Circle served as the “opening act” for the show. Their performance can be viewed online. Several shows have included guest artists: guitarist Tony Geballe sat in for the first two shows of the season, as well as the Salmon Bay Kids Guitar Circle show; oboist Darlene Franz performed with us throughout June.

    Thanks from the Tuning the Air team for over 6 years of support. 215 performances… and counting. We cannot do it without you!

  • Tuning the Air History – Show Number Zero

    Jun 25th 2011

    By: tuningtheair

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    On December 15, 2011, the final performance of Tuning the Air will be presented – the 225th show since the inception of the production. Looking back on “Performance Number Zero”; on February 21, 2005, we did a “one time only” test of the feasibility of performance in the circle. The room we occupied at Trinity Church in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle was set up to feel like a living room, with floor lamps for lighting, and a mountain of pillows and cushions on the floor for our audience. The audience was largely made up of friends and family. We simply billed it as An Evening of Music for Large Guitar Ensemble.

    Performing that evening were:

    Jaxie Binder
    Andrew Boscardin
    Chris Gibson
    Curt Golden
    Dean Jensen
    Greg Meredith
    Travis Metcalf
    Taylor Sherman
    Howard Snyder
    Bob Williams

    Of the 10 guitarists who performed in show #0, 7 are still with the company and will be performing in show #225, the final performance of Tuning the Air’s seven year run.

    It was some time after this show, when the commitment was made to pursue this project for an extended run, that we arrived at the name, “Tuning the Air”. During the naming process, founding producer Frank Sheldon presented us with one of several ultimatums: this one to find and agree upon the right name for the production, or else it would default to “Guitar-O-Sphere”.

    Here is the setlist for Tuning the Air #0. Where it indicates “shift”, certain players would get up and move to different seats in a highly choreographed maneuver, in order to be in a better position to play particular pieces of music. This harkened back to the very first guitar circle performance which took place in the ballroom of the mansion at Claymont Court near Charles Town, WV, on March 30, 1985. TTA Producer Frank Sheldon had been in the audience for that performance, and was much impressed with this simple and elegant gesture, which he felt demonstrated a level of intentionality and attention to detail in every aspect of the show.

    Music for Large Guitar Ensemble
    February 21, 2005
    Seattle, WA, USA

    Circulation in C Major
    Voices of Ancient Children (Curt, Travis, Chris)
    Batrachomyomachy
    Not My Sharona
    ~~shift~~
    Where Is The Nurse
    Growing Circle
    Butterfly
    ~~shift~~
    Lylli in Africa (Greg Meredith)
    How Many Times? (The Extended Wilsons)
    Corelli Giga
    ~~shift~~
    Where It Goes
    One of a Thousand Regrets
    Prelude XXII in G Minor
    Eye of the Needle
    Asturias
    49 Notes

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    • Tuning the Air Has Closed
    • Tuning the Air Update – June 2012
    • The FINAL SEASON of Tuning the Air
    • Tuning the Air History – Foreshadowing
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