Enlivening, Creative,
Community Engagement
For Today's Audiences
We live in new times when
audiences are very visually-oriented and when there are many art/entertainment
options for people to choose. Fortunately, The Photochoreography
of James Westwater is ideally suited both to attract today's visually-oriented
audiences to experience live classical music, and to help
orchestras engage their communities in meaningful ways. Here are
some of the many reasons why Westwater photochoreography is right
for your orchestra today.
1) It's HIGHLY ACCLAIMED.
Click reviews to read what many music
critics, conductors, orchestra managers and fellow concert artists
say about Westwater photochoreography.
2) It's an
ENLIVENING, ENGAGING, MULTI-SENSORY ART FORM.
Over
the course of a typical performance piece, James Westwater personally
directs the projection of hundreds of his photographic images
onto an immense 3-panel panoramic screen suspended above and in
front of the orchestra. While the musicians perform the selected
classical score/s, giant-screen images blend, dissolve, sweep,
cut and fade in and out with the music... conveying the artist's
vision, inspired by great music. Like fine choreography, it's
a deeply moving experience for both the eye and the ear.
3) It's performed to CLASSICAL
REPERTOIRE.
Unlike many programs designed to reach today's audiences, where
orchestras must play non-classical music in order to attract a
broader audience, Westwater sets his photochoreography to great
works of classical music. Contact us for a list of scores.
4) It's utterly UNIQUE.
To
our
knowledge, James Westwater was the first, and remains the world's
only professional, full-time symphonic photochoreographer. His
photochoreography must be experienced in live performance. It
is not available for viewing at home.
5) It's AUDIENCE-BUILDING,
ACCESSIBLE, RELEVANT and
READILY SALEABLE. Both
the themes and multi-sensory format
of Westwater's work have wide audience appeal. His pieces
are about people, life ways, special places, regions, beauty, nature,
heritage, the earth and more. His art speaks to all types of audiences;
young and old, first-time and longtime concertgoers alike. Westwater's
photochoreography can help new audiences overcome intimidating
stereotypes which otherwise prevent them from attending and enjoying
classical concert events. It's both orchestra and audience
friendly. Because it's both visual and attractive to audiences,
orchestras typically find Westwater photochoreography to be readily
salable. Click here to view sample advertisements
orchestras have created to market Westwater photochoreography.
Examples of TV and radio ads are also available.
6) It's VERSATILE.
James Westwater offers a growing assortment of performance pieces
which have been programmed for a wide variety of concerts. Orchestras
program Westwater's work both for traditional concerts (main series
classics, light classics, pops, family, educational, outdoor and
chamber music) and for special innovative musical events designed
to attract new audiences. One orchestra engaged Westwater for
2 subscription, 3 pops, 1 family and 6 educational concerts, all
within a single 12 day period. That's versatility!
7) It's SELF-CONTAINED
and EASY TO PRODUCE.
We
provide virtually all needed performance equipment. The artist
oversees its setup and personally directs the performance of his
photography. The orchestra provides the music and the conductor.
In booking and producing engagements, you work directly with Mr.
Westwater.
8) It's an EXCELLENT
VALUE.
Westwater's
fees, which include projection equipment, are at times less
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than the cost of renting the equipment, and are significantly less than most alternatives
that
utilize contemporary media, such as video, laser, live television
and motion picture projection.
Westwater
photochoreography is an excellent way to add new dimensions
and new audiences to your concert seasons, year after year.
9) It's IDEAL FOR
COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT and
PARTNERING. We offer two programs
that are specifically designed for partnering and community
engagement. They are...
Kids, Cameras & Classics
What
do young people, cameras and the live performance of classical
music have in common? They are all part of the innovative
Kids, Cameras & Classics program offered
by James Westwater. Kids, Cameras & Classics
puts cameras
in the hands of young people and helps them make photographs
of their lives, their communities, their heritage and environment;
their culture, values, interests and neighborhoods; their
families, friends and themselves. Kids can also make photographs
that reflect an understanding of musical ideas, concepts and
principles. It's a great way to engage your community's young
people with the orchestra, with classical music and with your
community. KCC's are interactive, hands-on, innovative, educational,
empowering, skill-developing, collaborative, spirit-lifting,
kid-friendly and readily fundable.
"This
was the best educational concert we've ever done."
--Chair of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Education Committee,
referring to the series of 4 educational concerts featuring
The Photochoreography of James Westwater and his community
engaging Kids, Cameras & Classics program.
Click on Kids'
Gallery to see samples of neat images made by kids for
several KCC pieces, or download
a PDF describing the
program in more detail.
--and--
Community, Cameras & Classics
We
offer another dynamic community engagement program that is
similar to Kids, Cameras & Classics, only
the photographers can be any and all members of your community,
from the young to the elderly, amateurs and professionals
alike... anyone and everyone is invited to make and/or submit
their photographs. The subject matter of the photography (both
newly created and existing) can be of whatever we decide is
desired and appropriate. Community, Cameras & Classics
is a great way to engage your community with your orchestra
and live classical music. See the article below for
a good example of CCC community engagement and partnering.

Extraordinary
Community Engagement & Partnering in an Urban/Rural Setting
A
classical concert focused on Agriculture? Farmers, musicians,
local photographers and the country's preeminent photochoreographer
joining together in an artistic/educational collaboration?
It sounds rather unusual--and indeed it was. To our knowledge
this was the first time a classical concert was devoted exclusively
to celebrating agriculture and rural America. In November
in Springfield, Ohio, the Ohio State University Extension,
along with the Clark County Farm Bureau, joined the Springfield
Symphony Orchestra and James Westwater to present an extraordinary
series of classical and educational concerts.
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Westwater has
performed with the principal orchestras of Cleveland, Pittsburgh,
Seattle, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Dallas, Saint Louis, Baltimore, Milwaukee,
Detroit, Cincinnati, Saint Paul, Indianapolis, Houston, Portland,
Denver, Columbus, Rochester, Buffalo, Salt Lake City, Vancouver
BC and over 100 more >

Photo
by Erin Bardonner


For
repertoire, booking
and more information contact:
Westwater Arts
877-ARTS-WEST
(toll free 877-278-7937)
WestwaterArts.com
info@WestwaterArts.com
©1997-2008 WestwaterArts.com
all rights reserved
Enthusiasm
for this innovative partnership spread to numerous other organizations
both in the greater Springfield area and beyond. The concert program
included Thomson's The Plow that Broke the Plains, Heitzeg's
Symphony to the Prairie Farm, music from Cowell's Old
American Country Set
and four pieces of Westwater photochoreography. Westwater and
the Orchestra performed Westwater's A Love for the Land,
set to Copland's Appalachian Spring, and three newly created
pieces of photochoreography which utilized photography made by
local farm family members, 4-H kids and FFA students, and photographers
from the area. Click here
or on the photo below to see samples of images made for the project.

The
reviewing music critic offered perceptive insight: "Orchestras
across the country are working hard to reach all segments of their
constituencies, but few seem as successful as the Springfield
Symphony Orchestra, at least last weekend. When maestro Peter
Stafford Wilson asked all past and present members of 4-H and
FFA to stand, more than half the capacity audience in [the] Auditorium
rose to its feet. ... The community's response was strongly positive.
Listeners flocked to the Clark State Community College Performing
Arts Center, home of the orchestra, necessitating an added performance
yesterday afternoon. ... Westwater, the orchestra and its music
director brought off the premiere without a hitch to the full
enjoyment of an enthralled audience."
The
orchestra was enthusiastic about this project because it directly
involved the community in a creative hands-on way, it added community
relevance to the concert experience, it enabled the orchestra
to reach audiences they had not successfully reached before, it
strengthened the perception of the orchestra as a valued and vital
member of the community, and it opened doors to further innovative
community partnerships. The concerts, titled "Growing Together,"
were an outgrowth, in part, of Westwater's innovative Community,
Cameras & Classics
and Kids,
Cameras & Classics
programs. Ohio
State University Extension spearheaded the project which was
made possible with a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Click here to see the concert's special
poster.
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