to WORKSHOP

Framedrums of all kinds

Rhythm voice from east to west

 

 

 

Using frame drums from around the world and vocal stylings that span the globe, Glen and Lori have created rhythm songs and sensual sound poems that reflect their innovative approach to drum voice music.

 

Their concert performances demonstrate the principles of using the voice as a rhythm instrument and the drum as a melody instrument. The far flung influences which they incorporate include South Indian drum language Konakkol, mystical Jewish chant , Niggun, Jazz Scat Singing and Central Asian overtone singing, Hoomi, as well as the pulsing rhythms of Arabic Belly Dance music and the exhilarating syncopation's of South India.

 

Recent performances have featured ritualistic processional music, in which Glen and Lori move through the audience, giving listeners a visceral sound bath of primal drum tones along with the ritual cry of Lori´s haunting melodies.

 

There are two unusual and exciting features in their shows. In one, Glen leads the audience in drum chanting, where the group is immediately drawn into an energizing communal drum voice experience. In another, Glen teaches the audience to overtone sing, a spontaneous overtone choir.

 

In the past year they have performed at the Berklee Performance Center (Boston), Plymouth Fine Arts Series (Des Moines, Iowa), Maplewood Underground Concert Series (Maplewood, NJ), National Music Educators Conference (Minneapolis, MN), Montgomery College World Arts Festival (Rockville, MD), House of Musical Traditions (Silver Spring, MD), University of Vermont (Burlington, VT), National Music Therapy Convention (Minneapolis, MN), National ORFF Music Convention (Long Beach, CA), Castleton State College (Castleton, VT), Croussis Festival (Athens, Greece), Palma De Mallorca Museum (Mallorca, Spain), MusikFest (Bethlehem, PA), 2004 KOSA Percussion Festival (VT), 2004 Dodge Foundation Poetry Festival (NJ), City of Palermo Concert Series (Palermo, Italy) and Falun Coppermine Concert Series (Falun, Sweden) and Silver Mine Guild Music Series (New Canaan, CT).

 

 

Glen and Lori ride the sound waves of these two primal instruments into the future with their unique virtuosity. Their recent CD, Elephant Hotelâ is on DafTof Records. Their new CD, Rhythms of Awakeningâ is on Sounds True label, 2005.

Lori Cotler

 

Lori's expertise in the rare art of South Indian rhythm singing is the latest manifestation in her long standing devotion to the possibility of singing wordless, quick vocal articulations. During her teens and all through her degree studies at Berklee College of Music, she became immersed in Jazz studies, with a particular emphasis on composition, improvisation and scat singing, which similar to Konnakol, demand the vocal reproduction of complex and often up-tempo instrumental material.

Among Lori's live performances have been radio concerts broadcasted on Spanish National Radio 4 (Barcelona, Spain), Italian National Radio 3 (Rome, Italy) and National Public Radio. Recent collaborations include: Sonny Fortune, Howard Levy, Javier Paxarino, Eugene Friesen, Robert Miller, Edward Bilous, Kepa Junkera and Enzo Rao.

 

Lori's lifelong interest in the psychology of music led her to pursue graduate studies at New York University, where she earned a Masters Degree and Certification in Music Therapy. She has worked extensively as a certified music therapist in hospitals and clinics with such populations as adolescent/adult psychiatry, autism/aspergers, AIDS, brain injured, cerebral palsy, learning disabled and at-risk teens.

Lori has been a professor of music therapy at New York School University, NYC from 2001-2006. She also teaches voice students from the New School JazzandContemporary Studies Dept. and has made presentations at the Julliard School, Mannes College of Music, Royal Academy of Music (Stockholm, Sweden) and Berklee College of Music.

 

www.loricotler.com

Glen Velez

Grammy award-winning percussionist Glen Velez is an international soloist and a seminal figure in the history of the frame drum. Over two decades ago he brought a new genre of drumming into the Western music world by creating his own compositional style inspired by years of drumming studies from various cultures. He introduced Remo Belli and the Remo Drum Company to the world of frame drums and initiated, what has become, a whole line of drums from world cultures.

After fifteen years performing and recording with Steve Reich (1973-1988) and Paul Winter (1983-1998), Velez is working as a soloist and with his Handance Ensemble, while continuing to collaborate with a variety of prominent artists in many genres. Twentieth century music guru John Cage wrote a piece especially for Glen in 1989. Velez has also played with notables such as Pat Metheny, Richard Stoltzman, Suzanne Vega, Howard Levy, Zakir Hussain, and Sonny Fortune.

www.glenvelez.com