a

Westwater Reviews

• The Washington Post-- "The images magnified the music" at Westwater's sold out concert with the National Symphony.

• Los Angeles Times-- "the photography was spectacular."

• Akron Beacon Journal-- Westwater's piece was "the most distinguished portion" of the Cleveland Orchestra program. "Absolutely breathtaking... Westwater is obviously a master with the camera, and his scenes are perfectly mirrored by" the composer's "rugged and proudly lyrical music."

• The Pittsburgh Press-- Westwater's performance with the Pittsburgh Symphony was "spectacular and loving... touching and lyrical..." a "brilliant photographic display."

• Robert Birman, Executive Director, Santa Barbara Symphony-- "The Santa Barbara Symphony concerts featuring the photochoreography of James Westwater rank as our second best ticket draw of all time (the first was Beethoven's Ninth Symphony). For our concerts with Westwater, we sold $23,000 worth of tickets at out theatre box office from walk-up patrons alone. Our audiences are unanimous in their appreciation of his exquisite art and stunning choreography to the music. In past seasons, the Symphony has performed programs that featured 'orchestra and film,' 'orchestra and dance' and 'orchestra and visual images.' My most pleasant surprise with Westwater's photochoreography was that no one has expressed the typical concern that the visual stimulus detracted from the music (as was the case in several of our prior attempts). By all accounts, our concerts with James Westwater were a huge success! Westwater is a pleasant person to work with and provided the Symphony with very helpful materials in advance of our concerts. We look forward to having him return with more of his productions soon."

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel--
"profoundly beautiful"

• Steven Ovitsky, V. P. & Exec. Dir., Milwaukee Symphony-- "Bravo for Vanishing Forest! [Westwater's] intensely rich photographs of the rainforest combined with Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending made a sight and sound experience of the deepest beauty... The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra received raves for our 'Song of the Rainforest' concerts, and the world premiere of Vanishing Forest was the highlight for most of the audience. "We are often told that we live in a visual society and that symphony orchestras need to add visual elements to concerts. When the visuals are as artfully created and sensitively set to the music as [Westwater's] are there will always be a place for them at MSO concerts."

• Pepe Romero-- "I was deeply moved by the performance of James Westwater. It uplifted my spirit. I felt surrounded by beauty on a level that surpassed the senses, becoming a truly spiritual experience. I felt loved by God and Nature and in complete communion with both. "I wish and hope that his work can be experienced by multitudes of people, for it is through dedicated artists such as James Westwater that the earth can become a better place to live."

• San Antonio Light-- The composer's "musical imagery was made even more eloquent through the stunning color photography of James Westwater."

• The Post-Courier, Charleston, SC-- "But surely the highlight of an otherwise superlative program was a three-screen, multiple projection spectacle of imaginative visualization by... James Westwater... He illuminated and helped reevaluate" the composer's piece "in ways that were both charming and uncanny, and utterly right. To say that this" Charleston Symphony "performance of" the score "was fully, perhaps even definitively, worthy of Westwater's photography is one of the highest forms of praise for an often heart-melting multimedia experience."

• The Birmingham News-- "stunning... spectacular... glorious..."

• The Tulsa World-- Westwater's "work displayed an artist's eye, a musician's ear, and a pet's feeling."

• Robert Alan Reed, Executive Director, Tulsa Philharmonic-- "One of the highlights of the... season will surely be the performance that featured the photochoreography of James Westwater. Not only did it bring the largest audiences to the masterworks series, it gave our audience members a fresh perspective of some of the most popular orchestral literature. The evening was every bit a 'satisfying concert experience.' It is great working with [Westwater]. I am sure our paths with cross many times in the future."

• The Sacramento Bee-- "spectacular sights and sounds." The composer's "music, Westwater's photos blended to perfection... The pictures Westwater was inspired to make and put together for the music worked in perfect accord with it. That's why he richly deserves his bows; his sensitivity and artistry were at the heart of the success of the evening..."

• The Cincinnati Enquirer-- In concert with Erich Kunzel and The Cincinnati Pops, Westwater's photochoreography was "a gorgeous wide-angle mirror of America... a stunner."

• Uri Barnea, Music Director, Billings Symphony & Chorale-- "Once again you have proven that sight and sound, when created and combined in a meaningful way, can make a tremendous impact on the listener. The choice of subject in your photos, the colors, lights and shades, the humor, the pain, and the music you have selected to accompany it--all have contributed to one of our most successful and best attended concerts."

• The Billings Gazette-- "spectacular... awe inspiring... Westwater creates what he calls 'music for the eyes,' combining sublime images with the music in ways that are... always arresting... The pictures are about the music and the music enriches the pictures; neither is an afterthought to the other."

• News & Record-- "symphony melds music, art ... The Greensboro Symphony Orchestra's outstanding playing coupled with the photographs of James Westwater are a match made in heaven."
• Cleveland Plain Dealer--
His photochoreography with the Cleveland Orchestra was "splendid... breathtakingly beautiful" ... performed "with technical excellence."

• Gideon Toeplitz, V. P. & Mgn. Dir., Pittsburgh Symphony-- "spectacular to behold... This creative interplay of sight and sound was instrumental in drawing an entirely new audience to the hall."

• SYMPHONY magazine-- The photochoreography of James Westwater was "the highlight ... by all accounts" of the Milwaukee Symphony classical series.

• Daniel Hege, Music Director, Syracuse Symphony-- The music of Aaron Copland, the photography of James Westwater... "there's no better integration of images and sound."

• Columbus Dispatch-- "Copland and Westwater are a perfect match. One cannot hear Copland's music without sensing its innate American qualities. It evokes images of the land in all its power and beauty. Westwater just went the next step, actually realizing an appropriate visual dimension. ... [In the series of three All-Copland subscription concerts] The Columbus Symphony and James Westwater have forged a comprehensive--and thoroughly delightful--lesson in American music history."

• Christopher Wilkins, Music Director, Orlando Philharmonic, Akron Symphony and San Antonio Symphony (emeritus)-- "I have known James Westwater's photochoreographic work for several years. I am always thrilled to experience it on repeated occasions, and invariably surprised by its impact all over again. Jim's work far surpasses anything else of its kind I have encountered, partly because of his impeccable devotion to all aesthetic concerns, partly because of his innate sense of music and musicality, and mostly because his work communicates with the same awareness of spirituality and inner life which is the essence of great music."

• Raymond Leppard, Conductor Laureate, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra-- "Bravo!" Westwater's work is "very beautiful... wonderful." His images, set to three Haydn symphonies, in six performances with the ISO, were "quite extraordinary... magical."

• Jean-Pierre Rampal-- "Beautiful... fantastic... bravo!"

• Philippe Entremont-- "I was greatly impressed, not only with the beautiful photography, but with the extremely musical approach to the visual realization of the score."

• Grand Rapids Press-- "A visual and aural experience of marvelous beauty ... pure art for the eye and ear... Westwater describes himself as a photochoreographer. The appellation is deserved. Like a dancer, his pictures enhance the composer's music, adding insights without placing limitations on the musical imagery."

• Priscilla Munson, Artistic Director, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra-- "James Westwater's photochoreography is extraordinarily beautiful, inspiring and inspired; [it] deepens one's experience of music and it's emotional impact; [it] is a visual enhancement that has been artfully created with great integrity and respect for the classical piece[s] with which it collaborates. James Westwater is a consummate professional lovingly dedicated to his craft; [he] is a harmonious partner in executing the myriad of production details due to his commitment to excellence and clarity of purpose. ... "The experience we just had at the LBSO with James Westwater was one of joy and upliftment. It was a week to remember as 21,000 greater Long Beach residents experienced his exquisite work together with our orchestra."

• Chair of the Baltimore Symphony Education Committee-- "This was the best educational concert we have ever done."

• Mary Wayne Fritzsche, Director of Education & Outreach, Milwaukee Symphony-- "I wanted to let you know... how pleased we were to have the privilege of premiering your magnificent Vanishing Forest in this important and, for us, landmark community collaboration [our "Song of the Rainforest" concerts]. For me, a key opportunity and objective of our Rainforest concert was to demonstrate how powerful a catalyst orchestral music can be in awakening public consciousness, sensitivity, and compassion toward nature. Both awe-inspiring and reflective, your photochoreography struck precisely the chord we sought. ... Beyond being an arresting and fascinating counterpart to the Vaughan Williams, your lush rainforest images did so much to enhance audiences' frame of reference for absorbing the other rainforest-inspired works on the program. It was heartening to discover that we could produce a concert program so topically and musically contemporary, as well as so thoroughly accessible and engaging to the community... "

• George Zack, Music Director, Lexington Philharmonic-- "James Westwater's extraordinary photo essays prove, once again, that while music delights the ear, the imagination of the mind can and should move in quite different and enriching directions. The photo images accompanying these two masterpieces were hauntingly beautiful and moving, each enhancing the musical effects through the use of color, composition, natural beauty, and expansion of our vision to places we now want to visit and conserve. The experience for the audience is overwhelming, the technical prowess of its creator prodigious, and the combined effect unforgettable."

• Grand Rapids Press-- "'Eyes' have it in gem from symphony... If music is an art form that can be described, in part, as the development of an idea through time, then Westwater's work qualifies as music for the eyes."

• Holly Turner, Executive Director, Wyoming Symphony-- "Great concert! Terrific response ... excellent audience development!" ... We had a "very new audience ... a lot younger." Westwater was "very organized ... very helpful in all aspects." I "especially liked all the support materials for marketing; ads, tapes, videos." Westwater was "very positive and upbeat ... very helpful with the media. We received more media attention for this concert than any other we've done."

• The Charlotte Observer-- "The merging of sound and image was exquisite."

• Peter Nero-- Westwater's photochoreography is "a work for our time."


Westwatera 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


• Murry Sidlin-- "magnificently creative and the best artistic achievement of its kind I have ever personally witnessed... superb... an unqualified success and a profoundly moving experience for everyone."

• Arizona Daily Star-- Westwater joins images and music "with unusual intelligence, sensitivity and verve."

• The Bulletin, Bend, OR-- "a capacity crowd" witnessed "James Westwater's engaging, harmonious 'photochoreography'" in performance with the Bend Festival Orchestra. ... The concert was a "masterpiece... a perfect performance."

• The Nashville Banner-- "Westwater is surely a poet who uses his camera for a pen..." His work "filled the eye and the soul with joy..."

• The Tennessean-- "stunning... beautiful often achingly, heartbreakingly, breathtakingly beautiful."

• Barry Auman, Executive Director, Reno Philharmonic-- "The concert quickly sold out with ... a waiting list which grew to six-pages long. The audience reaction has been very positive. We found you to be one of the most congenial guest artists to visit and perform with the orchestra. You certainly are thorough and things seem to go smoothly because of your experience in producing these programs."

• The Post-Standard, Syracuse--"With the stage lights dimmed, a trio of screens was lowered. Pictures... faded into and out of view... at all times, the visual reflected the score and honored the rhythmic pulse ... Don't be mistaken ... this was not a travelogue with music. It was a thorough re-creation of the score by an artist who grasps" the composer's "music as firmly as did the conductor. "The concept of photochoreography is very exciting ..." especially "photochoreography from the magnificent vision of James Westwater."

• Edward Polochick, Dir., Baltimore Symphony Chorus, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Peabody Conservatory Orchestra & Chorus-- "phenomenal!"

• Fran Goldman, Executive Director, Jackson Symphony-- "The photography was absolutely spectacular and the way it blended with the music was artistic, sensitive and powerful. ... I believe that this particular program... may have gone a long way toward making classical music more relevant and accessible to our audience."

• Barry Horn, Executive Director, Valley Symphony Orchestra, McAllen TX-- At Westwater's concert with the orchestra I noticed "probably a 60% increase in faces 30-55 years of age." A number of audience members remarked that they "did not know [a] symphony concert could be so enjoyable."

• The Buffalo News-- "Fine Finale: photos add zest to multi-media concert -- It wasn't only the sell-out house that stamped 'Success' on this final concert in the new Sight, Sound & Symphony series" of the Buffalo Philharmonic. "It was the attitude of the huge crowd in the afterglow of this multimedia concert, which ended with" the composer's piece, "adorned with spectacularly beautiful color photo projections of scenes from rural life on three huge screens suspended above the orchestra... Departees quietly commented about the 'restful satisfaction,' 'beauty of sight and sound' and the 'way the music and photographs complemented each other.' Amen to all the above! Westwater's photographs were beautifully composed, captured the colors of the countryside with a glowing richness and were projected onto three screens with a remarkably uniform, sharp focus that I've never seen surpassed. His variety of means for changing the projections were exceptionally smooth and subtle."

• The Californian, Bakersfield-- Westwater "understands" the composer's "constructions very well: his" images "follow the same paths between main thematic ideas and transitional material to tell his own story. Fortunately, Westwater never commits the unforgivable -- reducing" the composer's "score to mere background music. Instead, a kind of synergy is created with juxtaposition of" images "and music often with profound emotional effect."

• Maine Sunday Telegram-- "a spectacle in sound and light..." a "sensual feast ... sumptuous... not to be missed... the audience clearly loved it."

• School Teacher in Portland, Maine-- "Wow!  The power of music and photography!  We left the concert hall as changed people, enriched!  It was a life changing experience.  Thank you, thank you!  Aaron Copland, Agnes DeMille and Martha Graham are smiling and pleased.  Every second we had wonderful instruments to listen to and beautiful photos to see.  What an aesthetic experience!  We hope the PSO and James Westwater will team up again in the future."

• Marcel Marceau-- "beautiful!"