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Back to Kitundu.com PAST EVENTS and RELATED NEWSIn 2008 I received a MacArthur Fellowhip. I am deeply humbled and grateful for this acknowledgment and support. I have been mightily encouraged and supported since my youth - that in and of itself is as rare as any fellowship - and upon reflection have come to realize that none of this might have transpired without that ever-present love and guidance. Thank you to everyone who has and continues to believe in me. Thank you to everyone who has challenged me. I am immeasurably grateful to the MacArthur Foundation for this astounding gift. Here is a video of the PhonoKora from a few years ago. SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2008 Walter Kitundu was appointed the 2008 Wornick Visiting Distinguished Professor of Wood Arts at the California College of Arts.  SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 2008, Kitundu was in Residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts.  JULY 3 - AUGUST 17,2008  DAMN YOUR EYES the infinite dimension of sound Opening Reception: Thursday, July 3, from 7 to 10 pm DARREN COPELAND - WALTER KITUNDU - EMMANUEL MADAN - MATMOS - RASTER-NOTON - TARA RODGERS - THE USER  JULY 2008, Kitundu was commissioned to build three new instruments for the KRONOS QUARTET for a performance of the work of Ethiopian musician and singer Alemu Aga, master of the Beguena. APRIL 2008, Kitundu performed in concert with Robin Sukhadia as FIELD during Robin's residency called Tablacentric, at the Machine Project in Los Angeles. FIELD also gave lecture demonstrations at Pomona College and Kitundu taught an instrument building workshop for 15 people in Machine Project's gallery.     INSPIRATION  I recently met a musical hero of mine whose music and grace has inspired me for years. If you don't know about TOUMANI DIABATE, here is a tiny introduction. NOVEMBER 2007, Patch the Red-tailed Hawk highlighted in the New Fillmore newspaper.  OCTOBER 25-26, 2007, Performed with Kronos Quartet for the San Francisco Jazz Festival.  SEPTEMBER 2007, Performed with Daniel Alexander Jones The Book of Daniel, Austin, Texas.  Performed with MATMOS and SO PERCUSSION at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.  BEATS PER MINUTE - at San Francisco's Museum of Craft and Folk Art.  I'm thrilled to have collaborated with Alice Wingwall on OVERDOG MANGO. (gallery to come)  I recently performed in Aukland, New Zealand with a host of great improvisors and instrument builders. Check out the line-up (click the photo).  S3D (ear & eye) presents a world of fresh sounds from new and unexpected sonic sources; instruments with names as idiosyncratic and offbeat as the players and their inventions, such as Analopos, Blue, Mothics, Shimsaw, Zitherum, Gloopspring, Crustacean, Savart's Wheel . . & the list goes on. Seven charismatic innovators in the field of experimental musical instrument building and performance come to Auckland to join with 5 local practitioners for three intense days of public workshops and performances, where acoustical, physical, electronic and virtual worlds come together in a unique chemistry. Akio Suzuki(Japan), Bart Hopkin, Yekkoo(HelgaFassonaki), Tom Nunn (USA), Walter Kitundu(Tanzania / US),Graeme Leak, Ernie Althoff(Australia), with Marcel Bear, Sam Morrison, James McCarthy, Adam Willetts & Phil Dadson(NewZealand). S3D has its genesis in REV, a 5 day worlds-first festival, celebrating musical instrument invention and performance at the Power House in Brisbane in 2003, where international contributors Bart Hopkins (USA), David Toop, Scanner (UK) & Phil Dadson(NZ) were invited to join with local artists for a week of performances, seminars, exhibitions and installations. S3D differs by focussing on builder/performers with characteristic performance and improvising styles, each with skills to work solo and collaboratively through the three days of sonic exploration. S3D celebrates the magic of the new and unexpected with musical instruments and sounds that blur boundaries between art and music. A festival event for anyone with ears to see and eyes to listen. Generously supported by: The NZ/Japan Exchange Foundation, Creative NZ, Auckland City & Deloitte WHEN Sat 17 & Sun 18 March, 2pm & 7pm Mon 19 March, 7pm WHERE Galatos Theatre. Kitundu performed with Marshall Allen and MATMOS at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles.  Posted after people repeatedly called the police on me while i watched birds in Pacific Heights.  OCTOBER 2006 KITUNDU on tour with MATMOS Tuesday 17 OCT Jensen Rec Center Los Angeles , CA Wednesday 18 OCT Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA Friday 20 OCT Holocene Portland, OR Saturday 21 OCT Triple Door Seattle, WA SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER 2006 Kitundu in Residence Sally and Don Lucas Fellowship at Montalvo Center for the Arts, Saratoga, CA  When Senator Phelan left Villa Montalvo to the people of California in 1930, he specified that it be used for the development of art, literature, music, and architecture. Following his mandate, in 1939 Montalvo created its Artist Residency Program, the third oldest in the United States and the oldest in the West. Since then, more than 600 artists from 20 countries have participated. The opening of The Sally and Don Lucas Artists Programs at Montalvo has taken Montalvo Arts Center's residency program to unprecedented levels of innovation and excellence. The program offers facilities and staff supportive of the creative process, state-of-the-art technology, and an environment conducive to both individual contemplation and the energetic exchange of ideas among international and culturally diverse fellows. By providing talented and visionary artists with the time, space, community and support for the creative process, the Lucas Artists Programs is making a profound and enduring contribution to the world of arts and letters. The recommendation/invitational approach used to select residents ensures the participation of an international group of highly qualified artists who might not normally find their way to residency programs despite their strong potential to become major voices in the next generation of artists and thinkers. The program also intends to make full and energetic use of Montalvo's location on the Pacific Rim to build alliances and collaborations with artists from all parts of Asia, while serving as a conduit between the Pacific Rim and Europe. MORE... KITUNDU with KRONOS QUARTET and MATMOS YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS  Fri & Sat, Apr 21 & 22, 8pm - Main Theater $35 & 25 "I've always wanted the string quartet to be vital, and energetic, and alive, and cool, and not afraid to kick ass and be absolutely beautiful and ugly if it has to be." - David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet The Bay Area's own Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet never ceases to surprise us with their quest to expand the range of the string quartet. Ever on the lookout for collaborators that will take them on new musical adventures, the Quartet has teamed up with local experimental music superstars Matmos and Walter Kitundu for a celebration of new music and sound art. Sound improvisational masters, techno-duo Matmos, hears the music in the objects and sounds of everyday life. For them, the tinkle of rhinestones falling onto a dinner plate, amplified crayfish nerve tissue, or a kiss between lovers, can be the basis of a lush and wonderful soundtrack. Kronos will collaborate with Matmos on a one-of-a-kind world premier work for video, software interface, sample banks and stringed instruments. Walter Kitundu makes extraordinary instruments out of record players and elemental turntables that rely on wood, water, fire and earthquakes for their power and pitch. His collaboration with the Quartet honors American jazz great Charles Mingus in a way the legendary musician could never have imagined, on instruments only Kitundu can play. Be prepared to hear something new and wonderful from some of our most gifted musical minds. March 25, 2006 Kitundu performed with KRONOS QUARTET CARNEGIE HALL  Saturday, March 25, 2006 at 7:30 PM Kronos Quartet: Alternative Radio Zankel Hall Kronos Quartet - David Harrington, Violin - John Sherba, Violin - Hank Dutt, Viola - Jeffrey Zeigler, Cello David Barsamian Walter Kitundu Tanya Tagaq Gillis (featured on Bjork's latest album Medulla) Nonesuch at Carnegie For more than 30 years, the Kronos Quartet, David Harrington and John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola) and Jeffrey Zeigler (cello), has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to expanding the range and context of the string quartet. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential ensembles of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 40 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity, collaborating with many of the world's most eclectic composers and performers, and commissioning hundreds of works and arrangements for string quartet. Kronos' work has also garnered numerous awards, including a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2004) and "Musicians of the Year" (2003) from Musical America. MORE October 23rd-30th, 2005 Teaching Explore Week with Robin Sukhadia Eagle Rock School Estes Park, CO WALTER AND ROBIN TEACH AT EAGLE ROCK - More complete info here. October 16th-22nd, 2005 MINDFEST 2005 Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Fort Worth, Texas October 7th, 2005 Theatre in the Street Festival Performance with Butoh Artist Ledoh Cohen Alley San Francisco, CA  August 14th, 2005 Kitundu at Lincoln Center Outdoors Homemade Instrument Day Lincoln Center Plaza New York, NY August 10th, 2005 Kitundu and Sukhadia performed for the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Yerba Buena Gardens Sann Francisco, CA August 7-8, 2005 Kitundu performed for Weather Weekend at WAVE HILL: New York Public Garden and Cultural Center Wind and balloon powered turntables and the premiere of the Stylus Glove Bronx, New York June, 12 2005 CATCHING THE WAVES - Kitundu and Jim Denevan Headlands Center for the Arts - Rodeo Beach Installations Marin Headlands, California Ocean Edge Device WebsiteMay, 2005World Premiere of Cerulean Sweet I Performed by the Kronos Quartet Theatre De La Ville Paris, France April, 2005 Collaboration on The Book of Daniel with Daniel Alexander Jones Austin, TX Thanks to the Exploratorium for a great opportunity to share my new work. Here is photo from the March 17 performance. I'm playing a spool turntable with a stylus glove. The image on the screen is a live feed of Tan powering the instrument by walking through the Exploratorium with the thread from the turntable braided into her hair. You can see the string leaving the theatre in the right side of the photo.   Thanks to the Singapore Science Centre for an enriching 3 month residency. I developed the light sensitive Phonositar and built an escalator powered turntable. (see picture) And I developed a listening exhibition called "Listen Close." Thanks to the staff and the tech people, Mr. Tay in particular, for a great experience. See the April 2004 Singapore Travelogue EAGLE ROCK! What an amazing week we had teaching at Eagle Rock in Estes Park, Colorado. Chuckles, Coral, Jose, Reina, Veronica, Diana, Josh, David, Brizeida, and Robin. I hope Robin and I can return next summer. SEE THE EAGLE ROCK GALLERIES HERE! Thanks to Chip Lindsey, Augie Nkele, Karen, Mike, Nicole, Liz, and Bruce for a wonderful time at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. I had a great time with the workshops and performance and hope to work in Fort Worth again soon.  Many thanks to Gunnarsstofnun in Eastern Iceland for the wonderful residency they granted me this past September at Skriduklaustur (photo). I am compiling the photographs I took and will publish a book to be released with an album of music composed during my stay. I hope to return to Iceland soon to continue work on the Geologic Sound Casting project. I'm seeking interested Icelandic poets, storytellers, volcanologists, metalsmiths, and arts community leaders to help bring the project to fruition by the summer of 2006. Read the Geologic Sound Casting Proposal See the Iceland Travelogue MORE EVENTS PASTMarch 17th, 2005SITUATION ABNORMAL Re:sound Music Gallery Kitundu performed at the Exploratorium Special Guests - Robin Sukhadia (tabla) and Tan Khanh (Tan-table) San Francisco, CA February 11-13, 2005 Kitundu and Joanna Haigood BLACK CHOREOGRAPHERS FESTIVAL Theatre Artaud, San Francisco November 1st, 2004 - January 21st, 2005 Kitundu in residence at SINGAPORE SCIENCE CENTRE 15 Jurong Town Hall Road, Singapore October 24th - 30th, 2004 Kitundu teaching at EAGLE ROCK SCHOOL With Robin Sukhadia Estes Park, CO October 20th - 24th, 2004 Kitundu performs at MINDFEST Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Dallas Fort Worth, TX October 14th, 2004 9pm Kitundu at Creative Music Thursdays Luggage Store Gallery Guests: Robin Sukhadia - Tabla, Meshell Suhaila Bashir - Bass, Electronics 1007 Market Street, San Francisco, CA October 12th, 2004 Field at Mill Valley Film Festival Mill Valley, California October 10th, 2004 12 Noon Kitundu a featured performer at Y2K4 International Live Looping Festival Santa Cruz, California Saturday October 9th, 2004 Kitundu at 10th annual IN THE STREET Theater Festival 4pm in Cohen Alley (30 minute outdoor set) 500 block of Ellis Street between Leavenworth and Hyde in the Tenderloin, San Francisco, CA September 1-30, 2004 Kitundu in Residence at Skriduklaustur, in the Fljotsdalur Valley, Iceland September 27th, 2004 8 pm Kitundu performs (lecture/demo) Egilsstadir High School Egilsstadir, East Iceland August 14, 2004 Field (cpcarts.org/field) Bansuri Gallery 3929 Piedmont Avenue Oakland, California August 7, 2004 Field (cpcarts.org/field) Chill Space Fairfax, California August 2-13, 2004 Teachers Institute Workshops at the Exploratorium Kitundu is currently an Artist in Residence at the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco (exploratorium.edu) July 28, 2004 Kitundu, Edward Schocker and Dylan Bolles Lecture Demonstration - Mills College Oakland, California July 22, 2004 Xn, Kitundu, and Alexander Kort (three solos) 21 Grand 3929 Piedmont Avenue Oakland, California July 16, 2004 Field with Riffat Sultana and Party Presidio Chapel San Francisco, California Field on KPFA Radio - Live Performance Field performed at San Francisco Magazine Best of the Bay Area Party to Benefit Glide Memorial Kitundu and Field performed at Zaccho Dance Theatre Arts Education Benefit held at Teatreo Zinzanni, San Francisco Field at Red Bull Music Academy - Open Session Blakes on Telegraph, Berkeley, California Music for People and Thingamajigs, Oakland, CA Exploratorium Artist in Residence Open House Singapore Science Centre Residency Minnesota Science Museum Residency South By Southwest Festival with Zell Miller III Teaching instrument building at Eagle Rock School in Estes Park Colorado - with Robin Sukhadia |