The Vail Series: ETHEL¡¯s ¡®Documerica¡¯

Ticket Update: The Vail Series is pleased to be able to offer ETHEL Documerica tickets to the greater community as well as to students, faculty and staff. Community tickets are $15.00 each. Please contact us at vailseries@denison.edu to order your tickets.

The Vail Series welcomes ensemble-in-residence, ETHEL, presenting ¡°Documerica,¡± a multimedia experience. A meditation on America¡¯s relationship to our land, our resources, and ourselves, ¡°Documerica¡± is a multimedia concert that melds screen video projections with original music by some of today¡¯s top composers.

Inspired by and showcasing evocative imagery from Project Documerica, a 1970s photographic archive commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency, the program explores this compelling snapshot of a tumultuous era that powerfully connects to today¡¯s environmental and social issues.

¡°It¡¯s difficult to adequately describe the impact of ETHEL¡¯s ¡°Documerica,¡± said Michael Morris, director of fine arts programming and of the Vail Series. ¡°They have created an incredible melding of music and visuals that is greater than the sum of their parts. He added, ¡°As our ensemble-in-residence for the past two years, ETHEL has interacted with the campus in classrooms, concerts and in one-on-one advice with students and faculty that have enriched us all. We are so grateful for our collaboration.¡±

Described by The New York Times as ¡°new music bonding with old images in rich, provocative and moving ways,¡± this evening-long program was created in collaboration with projection designer Deborah Johnson and directed by Steve Cosson. ETHEL¡¯s Documerica juxtaposes manipulated vintage 1970s visuals with the music of today.

Featuring new work by ETHEL members and commissioned composers Mary Ellen Childs, Ulysses Owens Jr., Jerod Impichchaachaaha¡¯ Tate, and James Kimo Williams, the program¡¯s music is in constant dialogue with the projections in an arc that is by turns urban, rural, pastoral, and gritty. The composers selected for ETHEL¡¯s Documerica represent the diversity of America. Hailing from different regions, backgrounds and generations, and influenced by a variety of musical practices, genres and forms, each contributes his or her distinctive voice to the program.

±Ø²©ÓéÀÖ,±È²©ÓéÀÖÍøÖ· ######### faculty and staff took part in choosing photographs for the Documerica concert. They include Lauren Araiza, associate professor of history; Tabitha Chester, visiting assistant professor of women¡¯s studies and black studies; David Greene, professor of geosciences; Rebecca Homan, associate professor of biology; Justine Law, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies; Andrew McCall, associate professor, of biology; Michael Morris, director of fine arts programming and the Vail Art Series; Margot Singer, associate professor of English; Geoffrey Smith, professor of biology; James Weaver, assistant professor of English; and Sheilah Wilson, assistant professor of art.