Sounds in Bloom/Diana Norma

Music:

Member Since: 25/10/2006
Band Members: The core members are Diana Norma Szokolyai and Dennis Shafer. The duo seeks to collaborate with other artists and create bridges between music, poetry, dance, and the visual arts.

CORE MEMBER BIOS

Diana Norma Szokolyai

Diana Norma Szokolyai is a Hungarian and American poet, performance artist, and educator. Roses in the Snow (her first book of poetry and photography), placed runner-up for best poetry book in the 2008 national DIY Book Festival. Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, Area Zinc Art Magazine, Polarity, Up the Staircase, The Dudley Review, Human Rights Institute: Human Rights News, and other publications. She is recipient of a Human Rights Art Award from the University of Connecticut's Human Rights Institute. Composers that have either written music for her texts or commissioned poems for their music include David Krebs (U.S.), Jason Haye (UK), Peter James (UK), Claudio Gabriele (Italy), and Juliet Case (U.S.)

She is co-founder of Sounds in Bloom, an internationally performing poetry-music-movement-art collaborative that performs in theaters, bookstores, concert halls, art galleries, educational settings. and forests. Sounds in Bloom recently started the Chagall Performance Art Collaborative Series, which is currently in residence at the Zeitgeist Outpost in Cambridge every third Friday of the month.

Together with saxophonist/composer Dennis Shafer (co-founder), they collaborate with a variety of international artists, and give workshops to children and adults. With Sounds in Bloom, she has performed at Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris), Zeitgeist Outpost Art Gallery (Cambridge), Mobius Center for Experimental Art (Boston), Tenri Cultural Institute (New York), The Boston Conservatory, Longy School of Music (Cambridge), and in other venues including spoken word events and artist "salons" in Paris, Vienna, and Budapest.

Education:

HARVARD UNIVERSITY (Cambridge, MA)
Ed.M Arts in Education candidate (2009)

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT (Storrs, CT)
2-yr exchange with SORBONNE PARIS III and PARIS IV (Paris, France)
M.A. French Studies (2007)

Thesis: "Re-examining Subjectivity and Deconstructing the Gypsy/Gadjo Paradigm: Education and Creation of the 'Gypsy' Poet"

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT (Storrs, CT)
B.A. magna cum laude French, minor in Human Rights (2004)

activities: UNESCO student Ambassador for Human Rights, President-Intercultural Federation, Vice President- International Relations Association

Dennis Shafer (saxophonist, composer)

Co-founder of Sounds in Bloom, saxophonist Dennis Shafer was presented with a Legacy Award from the Creativity Foundation in 2008. A native of Lawrence, Kansas, he has returned to Boston after three years in Paris, France where he studied with saxophonist Jean-Michel Goury. In Paris, Dennis worked with several great composers and saxophonists, including Francois Rosse, Etienne Rolin, Yosh'ko Seffer, Francois Coutinaud, and Rico Gubler. He also premiered works by Robert Lemay, Jacques Hetu, Yosh'ko Seffer, and toured with various ensembles across France, as well as Austria and Hungary. Dennis Shafer is the founder and co-founder of several groups in addition to SIB, including Le Tapis Volant, the Skyline Quintet, the Back Bay Saxophone Quartet and the Opus Jazz Duo. Returning to Boston where he has premiered works by Robert Morris, Micheal Paull, and Larry Bell.

Education:

THE LONGY SCHOOL OF MUSIC (Cambridge,MA) (2009)
Artist Diploma Candidate with Kenneth Radnofsky

CONSERVATOIRE NATIONALE DE BOULOGNE BILLANCOURT (Boulogne, France)
3 years of study with saxophonist Jean-Michel Goury (2004-2007)

THE BOSTON CONSERVATORY (Cambridge, MA)
Bachelor of Music cum laude 2004)

COLLABORATIONS:

Ellom in Voice (performing our poems together with musicians www.myspace.com/alonetimewithme) -Estonia, Paris, Boston

Jean-Michel Goury (saxophones)- Paris

Mattias Leboucher (piano)- Paris

Elise Douylliez (violin)- Paris

The Gleason's Twins (trumpet, voice, poetry-)- Boston & New York http://www.myspace.com/gleasonstwin

Jay Fellito (bass) - Boston

Dawson Hill (pianist and singer)- Maine

Chris Montecalvo (drums), -Rhode Island

Vox 4 Quartet (New York )

Juliet Case (composer) - Cambridge

The Vortex Other Dimension Ensemble- Cambridge, MA -http://brunelmethod.com/

Peter James (sound artist, bass player)- UK- http://www.myspace.com/2still

Keith Sanders (Viola)- Cambridge, Boston, New York- http://www.myspace.com/ksviolinz

Victor Pachas (flamenco guitar) -Boston Paris

Jason Haye (sound/media artist,) -UK- http://www.myspace.com/project5am

Duo Zéphyr : Jean Michel Goury (saxophones) and Sophie Goury (flutes)- Paris,France

Antonia Klimenko (poet, actress, pianist, jazz singer, visual artist) Paris, France

Katie Niewodowski (sculptor)- NY, NY- http://www.katieniewo.com/

Ellen Ito (visual artist)- Seattle, WA

Poem inspired by the Brakhage film, "Mothlight," at the request of Project: 5a.m., who composed music (hear it on the playlist under "Space Mothlight":
Influences: MOTHER NATURE

cosmic bodies- their expansions and explosions,
birds- their feathers and songs,
mountains- their waterfalls and fog,
flowers- their tender buds and blushing petals,
rain- its after-glow and sweet scent

LITERARY:

Carolyn Forché, Virginia Woolf, Zbigniew Herbert, Zora Neale Hurston, Marcel Proust, Kathleen Spivack, Allen Ginsberg, Marguerite Duras, Antonia Klimenko, Agnes Martin...

MUSICAL:

Luciano Berio, Madredeus, Mari Boine, Christian Lauba, Erik Satie, Pink Floyd, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Luciano Berio, Sigur Rós, Villa Lobos, Leonard Cohen, Simon & Garfunkle, Srdjan Grujijec, Erica Buettner, The Gotan Project, Ihe Velvet Underground, Dead Can Dance, Jacques Brel, Loreena McMcKennitt, ...and more including cefalophones and other imaginary instruments...

VISUAL:

Chagall, Kadinsky, Picasso, Agnes Martin, Klimt, Anselm Kiefer, Dali, Magritte, all involved in the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements (what a beautiful thing to give priority to light), Paul Chan, Marina Abramovic, Man Ray, Frida Kahlo, Max Ernst, Rothko...

Sounds Like: What some people have said:

Poet & Writer Ed Luhrs has called the poetry "wild" and "an adventure into ecstatic realms."

" Your 'Ripped Lullaby' reminded me of Steve Reich"- Anna Robinson (musician, The Boston Conservatory)

" Delicious"- Peppermoon (musician, Paris, France)

"Très sensuelle, inspiration Saphique et vers ondulant" - Stephanos Kotsanis (writer, playwright, poet)

"Tant de couleurs. de talent, de mouvement- vos notes nous transportent..." -Marine Rossi (Paris, France)

Hope to see you at one of our concerts, readings, or workshops!

Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: Unsigned