“Groundhog’s Day Immersion” (2024)
A Regenerate! event at the Hands-On Museum in Ann Arbor
Wednesday, January 17th - Friday, February 2nd, 2024
Photo by Costa Kazaleh Sirdenis 2024
Show at The Hands-On Museum, in Ann Arbor, MI
Supported by Culture Source, the Ypsilanti Freighthouse Museum, the City of Ann Arbor, and Creative Washtenaw
The largest Regenerate! Event to date, this project got over sixty musicians involved in a community-wide musical collaboration, which culminated in an evening of sonic immersion at the Ann Arbor Hands-On museum.
The project featured three open-to-the-public workshops, where participants generated their own musical material that was eventually worked into the final composition. The music for this project was some of the most open and whimsical we’ve done in a Regenerate setting, and the performers clearly had a lot of fun bringing these pieces to life. At the show, the audience was able to wander freely throughout the museum and play with the exhibits. Clusters of musicians were spread over three rooms and two floors, creating a pretty unforgettable sonic landscape.
Photo by Costa Kazaleh Sirdenis 2024.
See a highlights reel from the show.
See a bit of our rehearsal.
Here, we’re playing through “Winter Etude” at the Ypsilanti Freighthouse.
Hear music from the show.
Recordings by Peter Littlejohn.
Project Leadership
J. Clay Gonzalez, director, composer, arranger.
Peter Littlejohn, assistant director, chef, media.
Jim Pudar, food and media help
Cameron Wilson, composer, recruiter
Costa Kazaleh Sirdenis, photographer
Events for the project
Community sound-making workshop Wednesday, January 17th
Community sound-making workshop Wednesday, January 24th
Community sound-making workshop Wednesday, January 31st
Performance on Friday, February 2nd at 7:00 PM
Recording session on Friday, February 9th at 7:00PM
Size of ensemble
63 community musicians participated in this project.
Program
“Groundhog” by J. Clay Gonzalez
“The Garden of Earthly Delights” by J. Clay Gonzalez
“Winter Etude” by J. Clay Gonzalez (premiere)
“Sealed in Secret Soil,” by Cameron Wilson, arr. Cameron Wilson and J. Clay Gonzalez
“The Michigan State Song,” by Clay Gonzalez and Perry Maddox
All photographs by Costa Kazaleh Sirdenis.
Photo by Costa Kazaleh Sirdenis 2024.
