Irondale Presents Walter Thompson Orchestra 'Soundpainting' in Brooklyn, 6/8-9

Irondale announces the return of the award winning Walter Thompson Orchestra June 8 & 9 in an exciting, intense and ambitious multidisciplinary Soundpainting event.

Soundpainting, created by Thompson, is a unique sign language developed around musical composition and can encompass live musicians, visual artists, dancers, actors to provide a visceral and inspiring audience experience that has seen Thompson collaborate with the legendary Anthony Braxton and perform to sold out houses worldwide.

For this Irondale engagement, the Walter Thompson Orchestra will be comprised of stellar performers, Rolf Sturm, guitar; Steve Rust, bass; Gil Selinger, cello; Chris Washburne, trombone/tuba; Hollis Headrick, drums; Rob Henke, trumpet; Michael Attias, saxophones, Nicole Poole, actor and Leese Walker, actor.

Soundpainting presently comprises of more than 1200 gestures that are signed by the Soundpainter to indicate the type of material desired of the performers. The creation of the composition is realized by the Soundpainter (the composer), through the parameters of the each set of signed hand and body gestures indicating specific and/or aleatoric material to be performed by an individual performer, a specific number of performers, or the entire group. The Soundpainter develops the responses of the performers, molding and shaping them into the composition and then signs another series of gestures, a phrase. The Soundpainter, listening and looking at the responses of The Players, decides the next direction of the piece, signs a phrase - to a performer or performers - and continues in this process of composing the piece in real time. The Soundpainter can include a musical score, a theater script, choreography and/or other elements depending on the nature of the performance. Visit Soundpainting.com for more information.

Thompson conceived the Soundpainting language in Woodstock, New York, in the early 1970s. To date, Thompson has developed Soundpainting into a multidisciplinary live composing sign language comprising more than 1200 gestureS. Thompson has composed Soundpaintings with many multidisciplinary and contemporary orchestras in many cities, including Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela, Paris, Bordeaux, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Oslo, Berlin, Bergen, Lucerne, Copenhagen, and Reykjavik, among others. He has taught Soundpainting at the Paris Conservatoire; Eastman School of Music; Columbia University, Iceland Academy of the Arts; University of Michigan; Grieg Academy in Bergen, Norway; University of Iowa; Oberlin College-Conservatory of Music; and New York University, among many otherS. Thompson is founder of and Soundpainter for The Walter Thompson Orchestra based in New York City.

The Irondale Center is located at 85 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn, NY. Tickets cost $15/$10. For more information, visit www.irondale.org or call 718.488.9233.