COLLABORATIVE

ARTS PROJECTS

 

COLLABORATIVE ARTS ARTISTIC STATEMENT














































PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

2016-SYMBOLIC GESTURES

Interdisciplinary collaboration with composer Valerie Ross and members of the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts. This project combines classical western flute and contemporary extended playing techniques, with fixed media and real-time interactive performance systems; improvised movement; and instruments, costume, and movement forms of traditional Beijing Opera. Project was initiated at the Building Interdisciplinary Bridges Across Cultures conference at the Cambridge University, UK, in July 2016, where the premiere of the first section of a multi movement work was given. Performances throughout Asia projected for summer 2017 and 2018.


2016- ELEVATE

An integrative performance project combining flute performance, dubstep electronic music, live dubstep/rave dance, and music video produced by Nina Assimakopoulos, and created with footage from two multi-pitch, 400 and 500 foot spire rock climbs in Sedona, AZ. Elevate will be premiered on October 23, 2016 at West Virginia University and is produced in collaboration with WVU graduate student, MM in music industry and local and electronic dance music artist, Alexander Merandi, as well as community members involved in the electronic dance music/dubstep/rave culture who will serve as improvised dancers. The video footage used is taken from the larger adventure documentary film project, The Mace, listed above.


2016-SOUL FLIGHT

Integrated performance project incorporating documentary film, dance and flute performance of Katherine Hoover’s Winter Spirits. Nina Assimakopoulos, Flute, Dance, and Film Production; General McArthur, choreography and dance; Sam Thompsen and Michael D’amico, videography.


2016-THE MACE

An adventure documentary film that explores the connections between flute performance, rock climbing, and the breathing and movement practices found in the Qigong, a Chinese martial art and healing practice. Nina Assimakopoulos climbs multi-pitch routes up the face of several mountains and spires, including the Mace, a 500 foot spire in Sedona, AZ, and performs flute on top. Footage sequences include Qigong movement from flute and Qigong sessions with Qigong master Giuseppe Medlin; live performance of a Mozart concerto with orchestra in concert with Nina Assimakopoulos; interviews with climbers about breathing and concentration; and documentation of the climbing experiences.  Film is projected to be submitted to film festivals that include Sundance, Cannes, Reel Rock, Tribeca, and Banff.


2008-BLACK ANEMONES

An integrative-arts and multi-media piece featuring painting, film, poetry, and flute performance, inspired by “Black Anemones” for flute and piano, by Joseph Schwanter. Agueda Pizarro, poet; Nina Assimakopoulos, flute and painter: “Black Anemones,” mixed-media painting (oil and thread on cheesecloth and canvas), 48x48; Angel Vasquez film. Premiered in September 2008 at Bowling Green State University (see NinaAssimakopoulos.info/site/painting gallery).


2006-2010 THE LAURELS PROJECT:

A two-volume new-music commissioning and compact-disc recording project of works for solo flute by American women composers and based on literature.

Volumes I and II released on Capstone Records.


2008-BLACK ANEMONES CONCERTS

Performances including premiere of “Black Anemones” project in addition to collaborative works featuring flute and dance performance, drama, poetry, foreign languages, and film.


2007-KALADEISCOPE CONCERTS

Performances including repertoire from the baroque through contemporary periods combined with digital arts and dance


2006-CONVERGENCE CONCERTS

Repertoire from 20th and 21st Century with Multi-Media Programming and a Focus on the Vocabulary-Convergence of the Visual and Musical Arts


2004-2006 THE PAN PROJECT

A compact-disc recording and new-music commissioning project of works for flute based on the mythology of the Greek god Pan. Arcadian Murmurs, Vol. I, Pan in Pieces, Works For Solo Flute, released on Euterpe Recordings.


2004-2008 MUSIC AND MIXED MEDIA PAINTINGS

A series of 45x 32 oil and mixed-media paintings on canvas by Nina Assimakopoulos. 

Based on choral works by contemporary art-music composers John Taverner, Steven Sametz, Zhou Long, and text by e.e. cummings, Angelos, Sikelianos, Ai Qing, these paintings explore the elements of musical sound and visual art through the painter’s synesthesia. Used in conjunction with integrative arts performances and music teaching presentations. Exhibited at: National Arts Club of America, New York, NY; Butler Institute of Art, Youngstown, OH; Evansville Museum of Art, Evansville, IN, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green OH. (see NinaAssimakopoulos.info/site/painting gallery).

As a flutist, collaborative artist, and creative producer, I engage with flute repertoire that encompasses styles of music from around the globe. These include classical through contemporary traditions of western art music; western pop music styles such as dubstep, reggae, and rock and roll; and repertoire that intermingles the styles and instrumental sonorities of music from multiple cultural traditions. My performance projects include experimental forms of contemporary western art music including real-time electroacoustic improvisation and the most recent developments in extended flute techniques; single work and full-length multimedia and integrative arts presentation formats that include collaboration with artists from fields of the performing, visual, and language arts; and thematic flute repertoire commissioning projects.

In my work as a creative producer, I explore the relationships between the elements and processes of art across media, as well as the connections between music making and seemingly unrelated fields outside of art. Some of the impetus for this exploration stems from my personal experiences with synesthesia, which include sound forms perceived as visual color, as well as the connections between music and visual art that I have found through my work as a flutist and painter.

One of my current interdisciplinary production projects provides an excellent example of the work I enjoy. It centers around the interconnections between flute performance, rock climbing, and a Chinese healing and movement modality called Qigong. The creative research component of this project investigates connections among three seemingly unrelated fields of activity. The performance aspect of this project encompasses film, improvised and choreographed movement, extended flute playing techniques including vocal percussion (“beatboxing”), and electroacoustic music that incorporates a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the 1990s, known as dubstep. The performance of this piece allows viewers to experience connections between three seemingly unrelated practices through the art forms of music, film and dance.

My engagement with the production of performance projects that combine music, visual art, and improvised and choreographed movement, allows me to grow in my understanding of art across media and create resonant experiences and avenues of entry into a greater understanding of music of a variety of genres for myself, co-collaborators, and audiences.

As an artist, I find that engaging with variety of media offers a greater possibilities for exploration and innovative project outcomes.