Friday, December 2nd
Chapel Performance Space
Seattle, Washington
Doors: 7pm
Show: 7:30pm
$5-20 sliding scale

Joey Largent presents his most recent composition in collaboration with movement/costume/installation artist Katrina Wolfe for an acoustic just intonation ensemble composed of practitioners of Burmese vipassana, musicians, and friends. Composed primarily on the Olympic Coast and in the North Cascades near the Lower Curtis Glacier, the work follows an exploration of changing natural landscapes and physical masses as the ensemble organically weaves through a semi-improvised score paired with the gradual tidal changes of an extended field recording from the Washington Coast. Sensitive to the sound and structure, Wolfe offers a complementary reflection of the terrain through continuous, hypnotic movement that is enhanced by her meticulously hand-stitched costumes and intricate choreography. Pulling from ongoing years of study in North Indian Classical gayaki (vocal music), Largent’s composition unifies these elements by suspending a passage through variations of four different ragas of morning, afternoon, and night for a slow moving work of an unfixed duration.

For more info and location details, visit: https://www.waywardmusic.org/?p=7171

Annapurna Dharma Communion:

Jackie An – violin
Michael Shannon – cello, voice
Joey Largent – cello, voice, field recording, composition
Manasvi Patel – 7-limit shruti box, bamboo chimes, copper chimes, bells 
Sam Vanderlinda – 7-limit shruti box, steel tongue drum, bells, tibetan bowls 
Katrina Wolfe – movement, costumes, choreography
Russell Christenson – 7-limit harmonium, bells
Ian Gwin – Miraj tambura

Inspired by a variety of collaborations over the past few years, specifically outdoor performances on the beaches of Shoreline, Michael Shannon, David Stanford, and Joey Largent will come together for an evening of continuous improvisatory amplified drone music. All of their collaborations thus far have been to accompany dance, but this evening will offer an exploration into the deeper subtleties of sonic exploration. Using a very simplified setup, the performance will feature Michael on amplified erhu, David on amplified guitar, and Joey on amplified cello. 

The performance will last 1-3 hours without pause. Come to rest, dance, listen. 

$5-15 suggested donation at the door; no one turned away for lack of funds.

Michael Shannon is a sound/recording artist, musician, photographer, and performer of experimental media, based in Seattle. He began performing in the punk clubs of San Francisco in the late 1970's evolving performance and sound designs through various venues and media, specializing in the use of a variety of string instruments from Asia, field recordings, percussion, sound objects, electro-acoustic strings, and electronics. In San Francisco, he started Joy Street Studios, the name for all of his sound art productions and his studio in 1983 to the present. First releases of audio works in the form of cassettes began in 1987, followed by an LP 'Laguz' on Anomalous Records and CDs on various labels around the world. Presently a member of Seattle-based performing/recording groups Gyre, Eye Music, Yuan, Echore, Aono Jikken Ensemble, Animist Orchestra, Broken Mask (Seattle-San Francisco). Previous San Francisco bands: Appliances, Kahunas, KuKuKu, Earnerve, Joyo, Lethal Gospel.

Originally from Massachusetts, David Stanford’s music includes creating soundtracks, electronic and classical. He studied at Cornish College of the Arts. David has played with Brendan Murray, Jason Lescalleet, Animist Orchestra, Eye Music and Gyre.

Joey Largent’s work focuses on exploring long-duration compositions and improvisations for acoustic ensembles and solo performance. Beyond generating music alone, his goal is to offer a space for introspection, beauty, and connection. Through site-specific performances and field recording, he seeks to connect daily experience more profoundly with the impermanent harmony of the natural world. He has collaborated with numerous dancers, musicians, and interdisciplinary artists over the years, and has studied North Indian Classical singing with several disciples of Pandit Pran Nath, including Michael Harrison, La Monte Young, and Rose Okada.

Photo by Briana Jones, July 2nd, 2022 - Richmond Beach with Joan Laage and Katrina Wolfe

Friday, April 5th
Doors, 7:00pm - Show, 7:30
Suggested donation: $10-20

If you plan to attend, please RSVP

Join us for what will certainly be a beautiful evening of deep, subtle, sensitive sounds in an immersive environment. 

Oakland-based field recordist and percussionist Kevin Corcoran will be joining the evening with a solo set featuring bass drum and delicate sounds, amidst other objects, movements, and shapes. Kevin’s work is sensitive and highly textural, guiding listeners who appreciate subtlety and revitalizing change in sound to be constantly awaiting the next new experience, moment by moment, second by second. His performance is contextualized by a past of collaborations with artists across time, genres, borders, and disciplines.

Caspar Sonnet - Portland-based composer, improviser, lap steel/sonic revitalizer, and director of Creative Music Guild’s Discordance series and noise label Andromache Records - will perform in collaboration with Joey Largent, who will accompany Caspar on just intoned harmonium and Dhrupad voice. Together, they will present a delicately unfolding, improvised, long-form piece that weaves the practice of dhrupad jugalbandi with a contemporary approach of sonic interaction— lifting the veil of an impermanent raga, note by note, phrase by phrase, with sensitivity, compassion, and ecstatic wandering; offering to listeners through sound an array of harmonious, conflicting, and inquiring acoustical relationships.

The artist/architect trio of Kyle Griesmeyer, Tae Kim, and Sasha Leon (sometimes known as Ordinary Services) will bless us with their guidance for the evening, presenting what will be a surprise spatial installation/evening shape to unify the night’s sounds with all of us who are in attendance. Their work as collaborators has provided a constant stimulation of mind through unveiling the deeply reflective, symbolic, meticulous, mundane, ritualistic, and organic occurrences of the body, of memory, of time and environment, offering playful, yet evocative interactions with those who witness their work, whether it be in gallery or casual settings. Their holistic vision has and always will tie performance and audience together as one.

After the music, all those who attend are warmly invited to join us for a gathering in the sculpting studio. If you would like to, feel free to bring snacks or non-alcoholic beverages (since we are now also serving as a meditation space for a growing sangha, we have to keep our place alcohol-free— thank you for understanding).

Celebration of the Birth of Tatsumi Hijikata

Wednesday, March 9th

7:00 - 9:00pm, followed by a small gathering

Studio Ma (location below)

Please donate what you wish based on what the experience has given to you.

If you wish to attend, please RSVP.

We are very excited and honored to host an evening to celebrate the birthday of the founder of butoh, Tatsumi Hijikata, and to remember his work by sharing a few pieces directly inspired by him and his company. While so much of butoh is often culturally associated with death, the elements of birth and life are equally as prolific and deeply integral to the practice. We are inspired by this day to share work that gives life, energy, and rebirth as spring appears before us.

To start the evening, Joey Largent will present a live score to the iconic footage of Tatsumi Hijikata and his company of dancers' 1973 performance of Summer Storm at Kyoto University. The performance was captured on silent 8mm film, and it wasn’t until 2003 that filmmaker Aria Misao edited the footage for release. Since the film has no original score (the original score of Hijikata's piece was not captured, and the soundtrack of the 2003 film is an assemblage of various artists), it is only appropriate to pair such a powerful performance with a score that can respond directly to and interpret the movements and themes of each piece. Joey will be presenting his first draft (with more to come) of an immersive live score consisting entirely of voice and acoustic instruments (with some amplified), with support on various instruments by Katrina Wolfe. To better match the organic quality of the movement, no looping devices or electronics will be used. Everything will be played live in real time. The film will run 1 hour and 11 minutes, followed by a short intermission.

After this, Katrina Wolfe will present a new solo work for the occasion of the evening. Her dance will blend the organic sounds and shapes of plant materials, bells, and her voice with a hypnotic dance of shape-shifting as she travels through the garden of the impermanent sensations of the physical body. Joey will join Katrina in a collaborative live, improvised soundscape. 

Following the performance, we invite all attendees to join us in the sculpture room for a small gathering. We invite you to bring any snacks and non-alcoholic* beverages that you'd like. 

From Katrina Wolfe:

"On March 9th, 1928, Kunio Yoneyama was born in northern Japan. He would later go on to become Tatsumi Hijikata and create the avant-garde dance and performance art of Butoh. Upon seeing my first Butoh performance in Seattle in 2008, I immediately felt a strong connection between my visual art and this particular form of movement art. Now, fourteen years later, the inspiration and experiences I have gained through my study of Butoh have made the work of performance (combined with my visual art), teaching, and Vipassana meditation the main focus of my life. Although very little of Hijikata’s actual dance has been recorded, I feel strongly that he is one of my greatest teachers. The film “Summer Storm”, which is the only fully documented performance of Hijikata and his company, has had a profound impact on the development of my personal style of dance."

A note from Studio Ma: 

All events at Studio Ma are entirely supported by donations. We intentionally do not set a fixed price at most events so that giving of any amount can be entirely voluntary and come from your own generosity, volition, and ability. Your support keeps us going, and it tangibly makes a difference for us. Thank you for your continued support and patience as we work to share more with you.

*As we are now hosting Vipassana events at Studio Ma, we ask that you help to keep our space free from any forms of intoxicants, including alcohol.

Covid-19 protocols:

In accordance with King County Performing Arts Venue requirements, masks are required for all performances at Studio Ma until otherwise stated. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with us as we navigate this difficult time. We are so happy to be able to share with you all and be together, and want to be safe and accommodate you while doing so.

Location:

Studio Ma is located in the ALLEY above the business at 4334 University Way NE (EZ Copy N Print, Beetle Cafe). You can access the alley just east of either the intersection of 45th and University or the intersection of 43rd and University. Our studio is in a dark gray building with a black metal gate next to the back entrance of the University Bookstore and across from the Malloy apartment building. Enter the gate (it will be unlocked, just make sure to close it after), go up the ramp and into the door marked "Studio Ma".

At Chapel Performance Space, Seattle - $10-20 at the door - doors at 5:45pm

Joey Largent presents his expanded solo work for ten amplified cymbals as a 3-hour immersive, durational performance in collaboration with movement artists Katrina Wolfe and Kawtee Wolfe, who will join collectively with delicate, continuous, improvised movement throughout. The piece will be performed in near darkness in pairing with hypnotic field recordings captured in the terminal chamber of the continuously dripping Falls Creek Cave. The work is inspired by a composition written in 2018 for Ole’s Cave near Mount St. Helens. 

The work is a continuation of compositions from Largent’s recent site-specific release, Below Diorite Waters (Dragon’s Eye Recordings, 2021), using continuously malleted, closely mic’d cymbals to explore the natural harmonic relationships between cymbals, and to magnify their organic layers of overtones in a sensorially-limited environment. The piece uses no electronic processing, EQ, or effects beyond amplification. 

Those who attend are invited to enter with a dim flashlight or headlamp (putting it out once seated), and are free to come and go at any time, or remain for the entirety of the piece. Seating will be primarily on the floor, with a few chairs for those who need them. All who attend are encouraged to bring floor pillows, blankets and any other items comfortable to them to the space. 

We are so thrilled to once again join master percussionist and improviser Tatsuya Nakatani in a collaborative, fully improvised performance at Studio Ma. The first performance Katrina and I ever did together was with Tatsuya in May of 2019, so this will be a very special reunion! Katrina will present a preview of her Dark Leaves installation to dance amongst, and Tatsuya and I will improvise in a collaboratively developed drone (rare to hear outside of Tatsuya's gong orchestra!). This is sure to be a spectacular night. We will follow the performance with a Q&A. 
We hope to see you there!

Donations appreciated, $10-20 suggested. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Please RSVP by sending an email to joey.largent(at)gmail.com.

*Masks + proof of vaccination or recent negative Covid test are required for entry to this performance. You can email us proof of vaccination or recent (~3 days prior to show) negative test in advance if you prefer. These extra precautions are in place to help keep Tatsuya Covid-free while he is on tour. 

Thank you for your understanding. 

Studio Ma is located in the University District (4332 University Way). The entrance is in the alley accessible via 45th or 43rd between University Way NE and 15th Ave NE (in the alley behind Beetle Cafe and EZ Copy N Print). The studio is inside a gray building across from the back of The Malloy apartments, neighboring the rear entrance of University Bookstore/Bookstore Parking Lot. Enter through the black metal gate and follow the ramp up to the door in front of you.

Join us for a site-specific performance of Dreams of the Forty Whales of the Harmonic Reed System, performed inside of a selected bunker at Fort Worden State Park. RSVP for specific location and more information. Performed by Glacial Time Communion (Danielle Quenelle, Tae Kim, Sasha Leon, Katrina Wolfe, Joey Largent).
Donations accepted.