Art + Nature + Devotion

Photo/Art Credits: Ed Flores, Christine Rogers, Shiang Hwang, Carl Bowser

Art + Nature + Devotion
Thursday, August 31st, 2017
Great Hall, MOCA Tucson
6:30 pm Doors Open
7 pm Performance

Purchase your tickets here

A unique experience exploring themes of art, nature, and devotion through the medium of solo French horn, curated and performed by Johanna Lundy. Visual art collaborations and poetic connections will bring to life several pieces of music, in the powerful setting of MOCA’s great hall.

While connections to all three themes are shared by the musical compositions, this event will be divided into three parts.

Art will explore music influenced by fantasy and dramatic contrasts, including a piece by Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, set to a visual story by illustrator Shiang Hwang.

Nature will follow the sound of canyons, night storm, wind and water. Photographer Christine Rogers will present video artwork inspired by British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ piece Sea Eagle.

Devotion will contemplate the composer’s connection to deeper meaning through music. The program will conclude with Olivier Messiaen’s movement for solo horn “Interstellar Call” from his larger piece, From the Canyons to the Stars… Featuring photographs by Carl Bowser and Jim Karrer, the piece will explore man’s relationship to nature, God and the universe.

Artist Bios:

Johanna Lundy is the principal horn of the Tucson Symphony, a position she has held since 2006.  She has received critical acclaim for her “robust sound” and her “breathtaking” and “extraordinary” performances. Johanna has performed extensively throughout Arizona in solo, recital and orchestral settings and was named one of Tucson’s 40 under 40 in 2010 by the Arizona Daily Star. Johanna is passionate about getting the world interested in classical music. She is especially interested in contemporary music, celebrating living composers and bringing new works to audiences in fun and interactive settings. She believes in the power of live music: connecting with audiences through performance presents the opportunity to share a deep and expressive experience.

Christine Rogers is a photographer based in Nashville, where she teaches photography at Belmont University. Recent highlights include a two-person show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santiago, Chile. Christine has been working in India for the last four years on a body of work, supported by a Fulbright Scholarship. Her work has been shown in galleries in Mumbai and Bangalore and she has worked with the Great Indian Art Collective and the Clark House Initiative.

Born in 1994 in Taiwan, Shiang Hwang is an illustrator who tells stories through visual images using traditional and digital media. She recently graduated from the University of Arizona, with an emphasis in visual communication. At the 2017 University of Arizona Illustration and Design Exhibition, Shiang’s illustrations won awards including judge’s choice.

Robert Jaime, a native of Arizona, started his career in digital media, producing music videos, short films and commercials as an executive producer and assistant director. Robert has worked as a broadcast designer and art director in commercial and public television stations in Tucson and Phoenix and taught at the Art Institute for six years. Robert’s passion for digital media and storytelling inspire and guide his work.

Introduced to the camera early in life, it became Carl Bowser’s constant companion in his 40-year career as a geologist and educator. Carl’s images are inspired by the reality of the world, striving for the camera to become invisible. His images allow the natural world to shine through the lens of his own sense of aesthetics, compositional balance, emotion, and sense of self.

Jim Karrer is the principal bass player of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. He became interested in nature and bird photography over the past ten years. He has photographed birds across Arizona and the southwest.