Category Archives: Past News

Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet
Impulso Tanguero

Pedro Giraudo, the Latin Grammy winner bassist and composer, will release his contemporary tango album Impulso Tanguero on May 28, 2021. Performed by his quartet of virtuoso musicians, the album showcases 9 original compositions that take tango beyond genre boundaries while adhering to its rich musical past.

The Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet’s new album is a classic example of Pedro Giraudo’s contemporary tango style which so elegantly and seamlessly crosses over to the world of chamber music.

One of the most compelling tango artists right now, Pedro Giraudo has always been passionate about taking this musical genre into new territories. With immense respect for its roots and rich musical past, he is an active ambassador of tango and a proponent of its evolution. The quartet’s fervent and virtuosic musical style takes elements from Argentine tango, American jazz, and European classical music, and at times even some Brazilian traditions — and combines them gracefully and organically.

The New York City based Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet is composed of four of the most prominent musicians in the tango world: Nick Danielson, violin; Rodolfo Zanetti, bandoneon; Ahmed Alom, piano; and Pedro Giraudo, bass. The deep musical and personal connection between these musicians add another dimension to the music they create in unison.

Pre Save to Spotify and iTunes

https://fanlink.to/impulsotanguero

Listen

Private label link for press
https://tigerturn.eonedistribution.com/play/211/f7ffa43bbcfc0c192158f7731cc25e154b40358f/

Review

“His arrangements have the ducking countermelodies and cross talk of a Bob Brookmeyer chart, and the feisty footwork of Astor Piazzolla’s up-tempo tunes.”
– Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times

Personnel

Nick Danielson (violin)
Assistant Concertmaster of the NYC Ballet Orchestra, and enjoys a distinguished career in both the classical and tango worlds.

Rodolfo Zanetti (bandoneón)
Recognized as one of the most prominent bandoneonists in the United States, performing at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

Ahmed Alom (piano)
Considered a prodigy since the age of 14, winning many first prizes on piano competitions, and now living in New York, where he continues to garner acclaim.

Pedro Giraudo (bass and compositions)
Among the many noteworthy events in Pedro Giraudo’s career, he recorded bass on Ruben Blades’ CD “Tangos”, which won a Grammy and a Latin Grammy. He is also one of U.S.’s most prominent tango artists including Pablo Ziegler, Hector Del Curto, and Luis Bravo’s “Forever Tango”.

More Info

Website
www.pedrogiraudo.com

Westbeth Artist Page
Pedro Giraudo

Contact:
Cantaloupe Management, Ellen Azorin, ellenazorin@gmail.com – 212-724-2400

Winners: Christina Maile and Fran Markover, plus a story by Jack Dowling

Due to the pandemic and the cancellation of the reading, the winning entries by Christina Maile and Fran Markover and Jack Dowling’s story are published here as excerpts and as downloadable pdf files.

CHRISTINA MAILE

is a printmaker, writer and landscape architect. She grew up in Bed Stuy and belonged to a gang called the Halsey Bops. A past winner of the Miriam Chaikin Writing Award, she has also been the recipient of a Pollock Krasner Grant and a Joan Mitchell Studio Grant.

Here is one of the stories that won the Prose award.

SKIN
The gravel road cuts through the skin of the jungle taking us from the port city at the edge of the Caribbean to a grand 19th century colonial house standing alone in a clearing of gardenias and palms.
Read the complete story, Skin, here.

FRAN MARKOVER

I learned about the Westbeth community of artists from an artist cousin who lives nearby in New York City. My poems have been published in journals including Rattle, Calyx, Able Muse, Karamu, among others. I was one of the finalists for the Henry Morgenthau III First Book Poetry Prize for my upcoming book, How Soft the Letting Go. And I have a chapbook, History’s Trail, published by Finishing Line Press. I have been a poetry resident, as well, at the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts.

Here is the first of fifteen poems that won the Poetry award.

Why I Plant Sunflowers

Because I’d watch my grandfather lose himself
summers among the tall plants. He studied them,
a school boy memorizing the past, urging seeds─
vaxn gezunt, grow well. Because I picture him
among gold-waving faces, lifting me up to the
hardiest flower. Francinooski, he’d shout, schane
maidele. As we twirled, my braids swung like
thick ropes.

Because gardening was his salvation, he left uncut
the fullest blooms for siblings whose names he’d
buried in unmarked plots. Because I imagine how
the brothers played hide & seek behind sunflowers
that lit fields, how the boys severed stems, plucked
and cupped seeds, scattered them on a table like gem-
stones. And the petals. How tightly they held, how
soft the letting go.

Read all fifteen poems here.

JACK DOWLING

After a successful career as a visual artist, Jack Dowling devoted himself to writing. He is a past winner of the Miriam Chaikin Writing Award. As Westbeth’s visual arts chair for some fourteen years, he lent his considerable curatorial skills to the shows at Westbeth’s Gallery—and he continued to help artists exhibit their work through the years. Sadly Jack passed away in February 2021 at age 89. This is the final story he wrote.

In Memoriam: Jack’s final story.

RICHARD
I glanced out of my bank of studio windows to watch the snow, which had started falling as a light dusting in early afternoon but was now drifting down in thick white flower-shaped flakes as evening set in.
I decided that a bar in the Village would be the perfect place to sit at a window, beer in hand, and watch the storm. I trusted that my aged pickup truck, a California native, would not balk at the cold and refuse to start. After a number of grinding turn-overs, the engine gave in and started; gratefully, I drove south to Greenwich Village.

Read the complete story, Richard, here.

The Miriam Chaikin Endowment Fund was established in memory of Miriam Chaikin, a longtime Westbeth resident and prolific writer. Born in Palestine, Chaikin grew up in Brooklyn, and her childhood memories and life in a close-knit Jewish community are all themes represented in her writing. She worked earlier in her career as an editor of literature for young people, and most of her books are intended for them. Later in her life she published books of poetry about aging and beauty based on the haiku format.

Every year, a call for writing from the Endowment produces submissions from all over the country, which are then selected by the Endowment committee. The award is an honorarium of $500 and a public reading.

Westbeth 50th
The Westbeth Chronicles Installation

While Covid 19 put a delay in celebrating Westbeth’s 50th Anniversary, it gave us time to think about the many ideas we wanted to share about this legendary artists’ community. This installation on the walls of the public spaces is the first in a series that will celebrate the past present and future of Westbeth.

The Westbeth Chronicles

was created by Terry Stoller who is a Westbeth resident and writer, as a way to document the experience of living here by former and current residents. The below excerpts which are featured on the walls are part of this continuing series of personal accounts. Click HERE to read more!

Bethune St Lobby – Installation of Chronicles

Michel Dobbs on Geeby Dajani

Christina Maile on Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective

Kanchana Ugbabe on Westbeth community

Eve Zanni on Madelaine Yayodele Nelson

Chronicles Installation at Project Room entrance to Inner Courtyard

Rachel Urkowitz on Vin Diesel part 1

Rachel Urkowitz on Vin Diesel part 2

Terence Burk on community activism

Denice Hurd on Westbeth playground

The Westbeth Chronicles Installation

was conceived by Ellen Salpeter, CEO and President of Westbeth in association with the Westbeth Board of Directors and the Westbeth Artists Residents Council. Designed by Tophos Graphics. Edited by Terry Stoller.

WESTFEST 2021
On-Site & Online
Call for Entries

WestFest On-Site & Online Dance Festival

WHAT:
WestFest is a cutting edge, curated dance festival presenting established and emerging movement artists from all over the world. In response to the 2020 epidemic, WestFest producers created a site-specific online festival called WestFest: On-Site & Online to show a variety of unique approaches using the virtual platform at the artists’ own site of choice.

WHERE:
westfestdance.com

WHO:
We are looking for a diverse group of emerging & mid-career dance artists with a strong artistic vision and high-performance quality. Dancemakers should apply with an idea that would fully utilize the Zoom platform including any ideas about location, concept, and logistics. All chosen artists are required to perform live during the event.

WHEN:
Program A: May 1st, 4PM EST
Program B: May 2nd, 4PM EST

HOW:
Forms and application fees can be found at westfestdance.com/applynow

STEP 1 – Pay the $25 application fee through PayPal.
STEP 2 – Complete the application form.
STEP 3 – Get accepted by February 18th.
STEP 4 – Create new work 7-min or less utilizing the zoom platform.

Submission forms close on February 15th at 11:59PM. Applicants will be notified of acceptance via email no later than Thursday, February 18th.

List of Funding and Grants for Artists

We will update the list as more information becomes available.

Cultured Magazine list of grants and resources from a variety of sources.
https://www.culturedmag.com/emergency-grants-covid19/

Creative Capital list of grants available from a variety of sources.
https://creative-capital.org/2020/03/13/list-of-arts-resources-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/

Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation – (USA)
https://www.gottliebfoundation.org/individual-support-grant-1/

American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) Relief Fund– (USA)
https://agmarelief.org/

Arts and Culture Leaders of Color Emergency Fund – (USA)
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfv4AazvLFVUNAgXoxqBqfZ7jJVkrMroa-CET6Vt6XygR-CaQ/formResponse

CERF+ – (USA)
https://cerfplus.org/get-relief/apply-for-help/

Dramatists Guild Foundation – (USA
https://dgf.org/programs/grants/grants-for-writers/

Equal Sound Corona Relief Fund – (USA)
https://equalsound.org/musicians-corona-relief-fund-application/

Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grants – (USA)
https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/grants/emergency-grants

Jazz Foundation of America – (USA)
http://www.jazzfoundation.org/what-we-do/housing-and-emergency-assistance

Joan Mitchell Foundation – (USA)
http://joanmitchellfoundation.org/artist-programs/artist-grants/emergency

MusiCares – (USA)
https://www.grammy.com/musicares

PEN America Writers Emergency Fund – (USA)
https://pen.org/writers-emergency-fund/

Pollock-Krasner Foundation – (USA)
http://pkf.org/our-grants/#pollock-krasner-foundation-grant

Rauschenberg Emergency Grants – (USA)
https://www.nyfa.org/Content/Show/Rauschenberg-Emergency-Grants

Sweet Relief COVID-19 Fund – (USA)
https://www.sweetrelief.org/covid-19-fund.html

The Actors Fund – (USA)
http://actorsfund.org/services-and-programs/entertainment-assistance-program

Judith Moss performs in Border Crossers – A Festival of Art to Celebrate Immigrant Lives on March 14 at Goddard Riverside NYC

When: March 14, 2020 at 7:30PM

Where: Goddard Riverside
The Bernie Wohl Center
647 Columbus Ave, NYC

Westbeth Resident JUDITH MOSS dances her solo “Undocumented/Border Crossings”, which honors the legacy of her parents who were born in Berlin and fled Nazi-occupied Europe during WW ll.

Border Crossers – A Festival of Art to Celebrate Immigrant Lives: In an evening of theatre, dance, film and discussion. “Crossing borders illegally, living in the shadows, undocumented… dangerous times now and then.” Saturday, March 14th @ 7:30pm.The Bernie Wohl Center, Goddard Riverside, 647 Columbus Avenue at 92nd Street.

Tickets:
General Admission $20
Students and Seniors $15
Eventbrite

More info: Goddard.org/WHAM