Photo courtesy of Dan Focht
The 2nd Annual WhatYouWill Festival is coming this weekend. This is an outdoor festival dedicated to the art of improvisation, and will occur this weekend June 15th-17th, 2012. The festival offers the chance for improvising musicians and listeners to share in the inspiration and relaxation of a serene rural environment. The hospitality of hosts Dale and Wendy Johnson gives the festival a true “family” feeling, and the presence of Dale’s many sculptures throughout the land lend their own creative inspiration to the proceedings. The program features both local and visiting artists, as well as some interstate Midwest collaborations. This year we are pleased to have the Great Lakes Ensemble, Natura Morta, and many other fine groups and artists performing.
Patrons are welcome to invite others who they think would appreciate the festival. Fans are also welcome to camp on the grounds, and generally enjoy the land. Portable restroom facilities will be available. This year the festival is having an “endless stew” for ongoing nourishment and the festival requests your potluck contributions to the stew.
You can arrive as early as 4 pm on Friday. Friday is the meet n’ greet evening when you can also pick a camping spot, unload gear, enjoy a small bonfire, pot luck dinner/bar-b-que, and extended time for open-ended collaboration. Sunday is intended as a day of workshops, discussion, and for generally winding down the weekend on a reflective note.. SATURDAY is THE day to be here if you must pick only one. We however encourage you to come for the whole weekend and take in the entire experience. While we have booked many good artists and bands, we believe that the festival will make more of an impression as a multi-course meal, not served a la carte.
What You Will Festival Schedule
Friday June 15th
4-7 pm. Arrivals, welcoming buffet dinner, toasts n’ roasts.
8 pm Wizards
9-11 pm. Open collaboration. This time is dedicated specifically for exploring collaborative possibilities among all present.
Saturday, June 16th
DS = driveway stage. WS = workshop stage
DS 10 am Open Session
DS 11 am Hasan Abdur-Razzaq (sax.) Mike Brown (b) Ryan Jewell (dr.) Aaron Quinn (g)
WS 1145 pm Shepard: Bryan Stewart (DJ) /Michael Cundiff (vox/per.) /Aaron Putnam (keys)
DS 1 pm LA Jenkins / Phil Maneri
WS 130 pm Bone Tones: Jason Branscum / Anthony Jacobs / Mike Brown / Ryan Jewell
DS 2 pm Dairdre Scriven, beautyofmyland
WS 245 pm The New Midwestern Thing Aaron Putnam / Jason Shapiro / Sean Ali /
DS 330 pm Paul Stranahan (CLE): gongs/percussion
FIELD 415 pm Aaron Quinn
WS 5 pm Dan Godston / Anthony Poretti
DS 545 pm Natura Morta (NYC): Frank Pontiac (vla), Sean Ali (b), Carlo Costa (dr.)
WS 630 pm Jason Shapiro / Brent Man
DS 715 pm Shakers and Quakers (DET): Joel Peterson (b) Kurt Prisbe (dr.) Jeff Marx (tenors)
FIELD 800 pm Great Lakes Ensemble (CHI-DET)
WS 9 pm Anthony Jacobs/Brooke Smith/Dan Focht
WS 945 pm Ryan Jewell/Tony Zilcinik/Mike Brown/Bhob Drake
WS 1030 pm Sarah J. Ritch
WS 12 pm Out There, Somewhere
Special Saturday feature: Midnight sculpture tour w/Dale Johnson
Sunday, June 17th
12 pm WS Martin Rippel/Dan Focht/Anthony Jacobs/TJ Dellatore (performance)
1 pm WS Circuit-Bending Workshop
2 pm– WS Michael Cundiff, instrument-making workshop. In this workshop Michael will show how to create a Gopichand (stringed instrument with pitch bend) from everyday materials.
3 pm- DS Curtis Glatter, laptop composition workshop. “The revenge of Innovatronica2010? In this workshop Curtis will show the audience how to record, sample, loop, feedback and perform with found objects, percussion instruments and car parts. How the process of creating and recording ambiant and jazz music with found objects can be a fun and easy experience!
What You Will Improvisation Festival
2nd annual Festival of Improvised Music, June 15th-17th, 2012
4820 Beard Road
Sunbury, OH 43074
Full Details: http://whatyouwillfest.com/