Go to 'Wolf' Blog Archives to read updates, hear mp3's, and watch clips of the premiere.
FORMER STUDENT REALIZES HIS BELOVED MUSIC TEACHER'S DREAM
Composer Jonathan Manness will create a modern dance piece in memory of his late trumpet teacher, Nancy Dowlin
(11/3/08) - New York, NY - "This is how I can pay tribute to someone so close and dear to me," said Jonathan Manness. Manness, a composer from Holland, PA now living in Astoria, NY along with Korean choreographer Hee Ra Yoo will create a new modern dance work entitled Who Speaks for Wolf. The dance production is based on Paula Underwood's short story, "Who Speaks for Wolf: a Native American Learning Story." The premiere is scheduled for one night on November 23, 7:00 PM at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Dance Facility in New York, NY. The project began as a way for Manness to realize a work that Nancy Dowlin, his former trumpet teacher, never finished before her death from breast cancer.
Manness and Dowlin's relationship started when he was in 10th-grade at Council Rock High School in Newtown, PA (now Council Rock H.S. North) and wanted private-trumpet lessons. They stayed in touch while Manness majored in music theory and composition at West Chester University in West Chester, PA and on March 24th, 2007, he saw Dowlin one last time at his senior trumpet and composition recitals. Nancy Kennan Dowlin passed away on June 15, 2007, right when Manness was about to move to Manhattan for his graduate studies in composition and film scoring at New York University.
"Nancy was talented, inspirational, and caring. She treated all of her students like her own children and was influential in my development as a musician and person," Manness said.
According to her obituary, "Ms. Dowlin was an accomplished professional musician, composer, and teacher. She was founder and trumpeter of Festive Brass, a member of the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Opera Theatre, and in 1985 she performed and recorded Respighi's The Pines of Rome with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti conducting...Ms. Dowlin was also a well-respected trumpet teacher mentoring many aspiring students."
Dowlin began writing the music for Who Speaks for Wolf, but never got far before she passed away. During her Memorial Service on June 24, 2007, Dowlin's partner, Judy Bartella, asked those at the gathering to take copies of "Who Speaks of Wolf" in hopes that someone would carry out Dowlin's dream.
Manness and Yoo continue to explore ways to raise additional funds in order to produce a great concert and recording. Their goal is to record the live performance so they can submit a demo to artistic directors who may want to program Who Speaks for Wolf. Manness stated, "Hee Ra and I believe in the concept Nancy wanted to convey and we hope to spread her message through modern dance."
This project was supported in part by a Creative Collaboration Support Grant from the New York University Coordinating Council for Music and by the Korean Culture Center. To find out more about this dance production, including how to financially support "Who Speaks for Wolf," e-mail Jonathan Manness at jonathan@jonathanmanness.com or call him at 215-359-7887. You may also visit his website at http://www.jonathanmanness.com. ###
Jonathan Manness and Hee Ra Yoo receive NYU grant to produce a new modern dance piece
(4/15/08) The University Coordinating Council for Music at NYU announced that composer Jonathan Manness and choreographer Hee Ra Yoo will receive a $5,000 grant towards their dance production of Paula Underwood's Who Speaks for Wolf.
"The University Coordinating Council for Music was established in 2006 to provide a forum for interdisciplinary research, discussion, and collaboration in music studies and performance. As one of its first initiatives, the Council established Creative Collaboration Support Grants to foster new collaborations between schools in research and scholarship, and encourage new ways of thinking about music at New York University."
Please check the website often for updates about the project and how you can be involved!