DJ Spooky's 'Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica' Feb. 11

Story posted February 05, 2010

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DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid aka Paul D. Miller.

Composer, multimedia artist, and writer Paul D. Miller, Bowdoin Class of 1992, is best known under his constructed persona, DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid. Miller will bring his large-scale multimedia performance work, DJ Spooky's Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica, to the stage at Pickard Theater, Memorial Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 11, 2010.

Admission is free, but tickets are required and available at the David Saul Smith Union information desk. Call 207-725-3375 for ticket availability.

Sinfonia Antarctica is an acoustic portrait of a rapidly changing continent. It transforms Miller's first-person encounter with the harsh, dynamic landscape into multimedia portraits with music composed from the different geographies that make up the landmass.

Miller's field recordings from a portable studio, set up to capture the acoustic qualities of Antarctic ice forms, reflect a changing and even vanishing environment under duress. Coupled with historic, scientific, and geographical visual material, Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica creates a unique and powerful moment around man's relationship with nature.

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Miller performing Sinfonia Antarctica.

Miller will be joined on stage by four Bowdoin student musicians: Jennifer Horng '12, piano; Yojin Yoon '12, violin; Stephen Wagner '12, violin; and Audrey Blood '13, cello.

Paul Miller's Bowdoin visit is presented as part of the College's climate awareness initiatives. Sinfonia Antarctica is an example of how an artist's work can blend the visual and performing arts with other disciplines to spotlight such issues as the environment and global warming.

"The conventional notion of the environment conjures images of wild species and places void of human influence," says Phil Camill, director of the Environmental Studies Program and Rusack Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology. "Entering the historical world of environmentalism has been through this narrow lens of wilderness—a world in which not all people can relate. New frontiers are inspiring people to define, in their own terms, what values the environment holds for current and future generations."

Camill notes that the environment must become part of everyday conversation explored by everyone, rather than by just a few.

"It shapes all of our lives and all of our disciplines," he points out. "It shapes how we think about humanity and how we relate to one another. By developing and celebrating linkages from Environmental Studies to programs, departments, and individuals at Bowdoin not traditionally affiliated with the environment, we open and encourage this conversation."

Paul Miller's Bowdoin visit is supported by the Mellon Foundation and is sponsored by the Environmental Studies Program, with additional support from the Africana Studies, Arctic Studies, Coastal Studies, and Gender and Women's Studies programs; the departments of English, History, Music, Sociology and Anthropology, Theater and Dance, and Visual Arts; the Bowdoin Scientific Station on Kent Island; and the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good, as part of the Seeking the Common Good: Innovation for Change series.

In addition to this performance, Miller will speak at Common Hour Friday, February 12, and meet with faculty and students. Common Hour is open to students, faculty and staff.

Sinfonia Antarctica comes on the heels of Miller's highly acclaimed performance work, DJ Spooky's Rebirth of a Nation, which he has performed more than 60 times around the world, including in Athens, London, Rome, Paris, Sydney, Auckland, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, at Dartmouth College, Harvard University, The University of Michigan, and numerous other festivals, universities and theaters.

His latest album, The Secret Song, will be released October 6. The new record marks DJ Spooky's sixth full-length album, and will feature guest appearances by notable artists and musicians such as Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, The Jungle Brothers, The Coup, Rob Swift, and Mike Ladd.

In addition to the making of The Secret Song, DJ Spooky continues to bring his artistic output to fans across the world and dip his toes into other creative realms. He has played many festivals, from the main stage at Bonnaroo to Michael Franti's Power To the Peaceful to the 2009 Bumbershoot Festival. Earlier this year, Miller performed before a crowd of 100,000 on the mall in Washington, D.C. for Earth Day, along with the Flaming Lips and others.

In the world of books, Miller's Sound Unbound features essays from legendary figures like Steve Reich, Pierre Boulez, Chuck D, Daphne Keller (the senior legal counsel to Google), Saul Williams, Brian Eno, Moby, and many others.

In his reconstructing of the role of the DJ, Miller's visual artwork has been honored with solo shows at such art venues as The Tate Modern, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Robert Miller Gallery.

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