The Hillsides Dressed
in Red October Leaves
or
Audio Has Stolen the Morning
Tide
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Dear
Comrades,
Much time has
passed since last we sent word of the Society's nefarious goings-on
-- but we wish to assure our most loyal partisans that this cannot
be attributed to a paucity of goings-on, nor to any insufficiency
of nefariousness!
Read on for the particulars...
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Upcoming
Performances
Tonight and tomorrow
(Oct. 14 & 15) at
Judson Memorial Church mark the
first occasions wherein my music will be realized with
(intentional) choreography -- courtesy of the immensely talented
choreographer Kile Hotchkiss and his capering compatriots in TAKE Dance. The production is entitled The Distance of the Moon and
features lunar-inspired music by yrs truly and the other members of
Pulse (a most estimable composers federation of
which I am proud to belong), performed by the Pulse Chamber
Ensemble. This is an invigorating production and I hope
you'll join us tonight or Friday at
Judson.
The following week, I travel to Cologne to
collaborate with one of the finest ensembles anywhere, the WDR Big Band, in a recording of
my original works destined for eventual radio broadcast. The focus
will be on recent works (composed since the release of Infernal Machines),
with additional selections from the Secret Society vaults -- none
of which have yet been recorded in a studio setting. I've long
admired the WDR Big Band -- East Coast Blow-Out is a
formative recording for me -- so it's a tremendous honor and
privelge for me to be able to work with them on my music.
In November, Secret Society returns to the Jazz Gallery on Nov. 12 &
13, before embarking on a short-but-sweet European tour:
we make our UK debut at the London Jazz Festival on
Nov. 18, (thanks to the generous support of
the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation) and our Italian
debut at Milan's Teatro Manzoni on Nov.
21, as part of the Aperitivo in Concerto series.
After retunring to NYC, my co-conspirators and I round out the
month at Joe's
Pub on November 30 in a concert celebrating the 20th
anniversary of the Manhattan New Music Project --
and to mark this august occasion, they have comissioned a new work
from me to be premiered that night.
Looking ahead to 2011, we plan to enter the belly of the beltway
beast -- indeed, Secret Society will stage an infiltration of
Washington DC on Jan. 5, with the assitance of
another insurgent large ensemble, Fight The Big Bull (venue TBA -- suggetions
welcome!) The next day -- Jan. 6 -- both
Brobdingnagian bands appear at Brooklyn's own Littlefield, an estimable new
venue. (Speak of the devil, I was just there last night checking
out John Hollenbeck's Large Ensemble.) Both concerts are presented
by our friends at Search and Restore.
Last (for now) but certainly not least: on Feb.
24, Secret Society and Newspeak share the bill at the Merkin Hall's Ecstatic Music Festival. This
is a very special event, featuring the premiere of the MKULTRA-inspired song cycle I am currently
writing for Newpseak. And, for the first time ever, Secret Society
will be performing newly written works composed by people other
than myself -- namely: Vijay Iyer, Nicole Liz�e, and Newspeak's David T. Little.
�
Oct. 14 & 15, 2010 -- Pulse & TAKE DANCE - The Distance of the Moon @ Judson Memorial
Church, New York, NY. 8 PM.
� Nov.
12 & 13, 2010 -- Secret Society @ Jazz Gallery, New York, NY. 9:00 PM & 10:30
PM.
�
Nov. 18, 2010 -- Secret Society @ Care Oto, London Jazz
Festival. 8:45 PM.
�
Nov. 21, 2010 -- Secret Society @ Teatro Manzoni, Aperitivo in
Concerto, Milan. 11:00 AM.
�
Nov. 30, 2010 -- Secret Society @ Manhattan New Music Project 20th Anniversary
Celebration @ Joe's Pub, New York NY. 6:30 PM.
�
Jan. 5, 2011 -- Secret Society (w/Fight The Big
Bull) @ venue/time TBA, Washington DC.
�
Jan. 6, 2011 -- Secret Society (w/Fight The Big
Bull) @ Littlefield, Brooklyn, NY. 8:00
PM.
�
Feb. 24, 2011 -- Secret Society (w/Newspeak) @ Merkin Hall, Ecstatic Music
Festival, New
York, NY. 7:30 PM.
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Fall
2010 Fundraiser
It's been two years since the last Secret Society fundraiser,
during which an assemblage of
excellent individuals stepped up to help us pay for the
recording of our debut recording, Infernal
Machines. We are extraordinary grateful to our generous
contributors -- we could not have done it without you. But the
fact is, we can't keep going without your continued support,
either.
I've just finished telling you about some of the exciting upcoming
projects we have planned: performances in London, Milan, and
Washington, DC, and newly commissioned works for Secret Society by
outstanding, innovative composers like Vijay Iyer, Nicole Liz�e, and
David T. Little.
There's more to come as well, lots of really amazing stuff I can't
wait to tell you about... but in order to make all of this happen,
we need your help. Your donations help us pay for our
(considerable) transportation and rehearsal costs -- in a very real
sense, the more money you give, the more places we can go and the
better we'll sound when we get there.
Thanks to the good folks at Fractured Atlas,
your contributions to Secret Society are
tax-deductible. This band would not be sustainable
without your support, so if you can, please give
generously.
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All of the musicians
involved in Secret Society are sincerely grateful for your loyal
patronage. Thank you for supporting independent art.
Be seeing
you,
- Darcy James
Argue
composer - conductor -
ringleader
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Darcy James Argue's Secret
Society is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit
arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of Darcy James Argue's Secret
Society may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are
tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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INFERNAL MACHINES
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SHEET MUSIC
SCORES & PARTS are
now available for
selected Secret Society compositions.
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SECRET SOCIETY T-SHIRTS
For Secret
Society partisans, every week is Fashion Week.
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