Hear hear: the third edition of Birds of Paradise coming up!
// Read moreBirds of Paradise presents the Dutch premiere of José Gonzalez' latest project A Tiger in Paradise.
// Read moreAfter the already announced concert in the Stevenskerk Nijmegen (15. July), our own festival production with LUWTEN x B.O.X is also booked on September 15 in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.
// Read moreHow beautiful they were: our Birds of Paradise 2023! This is for those who were there or wanted to be there...
Talk Jlin: on Sunday, March 19, 7:30 PM, American producer Jlin will talk to Remy Alexander about her music
// Read moreToday we are launching the first full Artist Room 2023.
// Read moreDue to a date conflict, Son Lux had to adjust its March tour.
// Read morePlease welcome a new flock of birds for our second installment!
// Read moreNomen est omen: in fact our Mees Joachim is the only permanent resident of the Birds of Paradise nest.
// Read moreLooking back at out very first edition, we can proudly say that during these five days of sonic enchantment, these birds dared to fly and leave the comfort of the nest.
// Read moreWelcome to the mechanic, wondrous universe of Actress, where analog meets digital, and orchestrated meets improvised and coincidental.
// Read moreActress feat. MILYMA, It’s hard to pin down Darren Cunningham: every move the musician makes as Actress is a completely unexpected one. Whether he changes timbre and colour completely, or reaches heights of a satellite in just a whim: the Briton always proves to be prolific in delivering innovative sonical work.
// Read moreFrom 9.-13. March five Birds of Paradise will land in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht. At Birds of Paradise Festival, five renowned multi-disciplinary artists are offered a residency for one day. During their residency, they get a free pass for creating exclusive, tailor-made performances, start new collaborations and curate an extensive context programme: both off and online. Expect blends of genres and disciplines, profound musical and theatrical experiences at the verge of indie pop, EDM and contemporary classical music.
// Read moreThe shell is broken, the beak is open. Hungry for new experiences, fresh tastes and flights to unfamiliar territories: the birds are ready to fly out. Unknown colours, aesthetically pleasing combinations and new ways of singing: these features make our Birds of Paradise unique. Expect genre and discipline fluidity, exclusive one-off performances and in-depth music experiences: both live and online.
// Read moreBirds of Paradise is a 4 day festival, annually taking place in Utrecht (TivoliVredenburg) and Antwerp (De Singel) in which indie pop, electronic and contemporary classical music blend. Internationally, a vibrant scene of genre bending composers, singer-songwriters, electronic artists, ‘classical musicians’ emerges. Birds of Paradise provides a platform for these artists who get their inspiration on the verge of undiscovered artistic territories, genres and disciplines.
At Birds of Paradise festival, five renowned multi-disciplinary artists are offered a residency for one day. Each day is dedicated to one particular musical innovator: a Bird of Paradise, so to speak. During their residency, they get a free pass for creating exclusive, tailor-made performances, start new collaborations and curate an extensive context programme: both off and online. Their very own musical skills, unique style and connection to socially urgent topics form the basis of the context programme, which will offer audiences the stories behind the works and many in-depth experiences.
Music Miners is het educatieprogramma van Birds of Paradise. In Music Miners maken leerlingen kennis met verschillende nieuwe genres, presentaties van muziek en een ‘andere’ manier om naar muziek te luisteren. In het programma ontdekken leerlingen als ‘miners’ (muziekdelvers) vernieuwende muziek door een reeks korte concerten op ongebruikelijke plekken in de concertzaal te beleven. Aansluitend volgt een workshop. Het ontwikkelde educatiemateriaal is geschikt voor bovenbouwleerlingen in de richtingen vmbo-T, havo, vwo en gymnasium. Het materiaal is zo ontworpen dat het bestaat uit een receptief, actief en reflectief onderdeel en kan in overleg aangepast worden aan een specifieke doelgroep of groepsgrootte.
Music Miners sluit aan bij de vakken CKV en Muziek. We hanteren maximale leerlingenaantallen in verband met de intimiteit van de concerten en benodigde focus tijdens de workshops. Tijdens de concerten is er ruimte voor uitwisseling tussen leerling en artiest.
Music Miners is in verschillende settings beschikbaar. Keuze en planning van artiesten in overleg met programmamanager Remy Alexander: educatie@birdsofparadisefestival.nl
For all questions, comments, suggestions and (constructive) comments: info@birdsofparadisefestival.nl
Communication, marcom: dave@birdsofparadisefestival.nl (Dave Coenen), renee@birdsofparadisefestival.nl (Renée Veenstra)
Press: johan@nieuwsmakelaar.nl (Johan Kloosterboer)
Production: jessica@birdsofparadisefestival.nl (Jessica Dassen)
Music Miners: educatie@birdsofparadisefestival.nl (Remy Alexander en Margriet Broekroelofs)
Address: Gezellestraat 36
5615 HL Eindhoven
0031-610917648
IBAN: NL84 RABO0129508578
BTW: NL 8225.10.972.B01
KVK: 50038702
RSIN: 822510972
The Birds of Paradise Foundation is a charitable organisation registered under Dutch law. Audited accounts for 2021 can be found here.
Frank Veenstra, Artistic and Managing director
Arthur van der Drift, chair
Ester Louwers, treasurer
Rian Brus, secretary
Lucas Maassen, member
Birds of Paradise wants to offer a state of the art international platform on the verge of indie pop music, EDM and contemporary classical music with all sorts of connections to other progressive (stage) disciplines and genres for the benefit of:
Ironically, one of the things that would distinguish a human being from a Bird of Paradise is the trademark of this vocal ensemble’s name: Roomful of Teeth harmonize, dissonate and again complete their vocal interplay in the span width of a single performance. Eight voices strong, the collective always has an ear for the most enchanting, estranging and exciting works to completely blow away their audience with only their vocal chords. For their performance at Birds of Paradise, Roomful of Teeth will perform core member Caroline Shaw’s Partita for 8 Voices and David Langs’ Little Match Girl Passion, based on the fairytale created by Hans Christian Andersen. Hauntingly beautiful, chillingly piercing your ear drums: Roomful of Teeth is here to chirp with lasting effect.
Listening Session w/ members of Roomful of Teeth
12. March 7.30-8.15pm TivoliVredenburg, Hertz
Neil Wallace, Artistic Director of the International Choral Biennale Haarlem, will talk to members of Roomful of Teeth about the playlists that the vocalists have compiled exclusively for Birds of Paradise. You better be prepared! All 10 playlists can be found under the button A roomful of playlists in the 3D Artist Room of Roomful of Teeth.
Listening Session w/ members of Roomful of Teeth
12. March 7.30-8.15pm
TivoliVredenburg, Hertz
Neil Wallace, Artistic Director of the International Choral Biennale Haarlem, will talk to members of Roomful of Teeth about the playlists that the vocalists have compiled exclusively for Birds of Paradise. All 10 playlists can be found under the button A roomful of playlists in the 3D Artist Room of Roomful of Teeth. Happy Listening!
“This series of clips was taken over two years at our annual 2 week residency at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). We use this time to work with composers and collaborators on new projects, record existing repertoire, and give works-in-progress performances. It’s also just a very special time for us to be with eachother, cook meals together, and talk about our dreams for the future.”
Cameron Beauchamp
3 video premieres
Scoop! Roomful of teeth shares three previously unreleased music videos exclusively for Birds of Paradise: Fall into me, Run away and Vesper Sparrow. Three real trademark ‘Roomful of teeth pieces’ by three leading American composers.
Fall into me meant the big breakthrough for Alev Lenz in 2016 when the song was featured in an episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror. Judd Greenstein wrote the lead vocal of Run away for Virginia Warnden, alto of Roomful of Teeth. Her voice sounds on a warm bed of background vocals, where Roomful of Teeth uses enchanting Mongolian overtone singing technique, as in Caroline Shaw’s Partita. In Missy Mazzoli’s Vesper Sparrow we hear the distant echoes of birdsong: as if it the piece commissioned by Birds of Paradise.
Judd Greenstein – Run away
“Run Away was written at Mass MoCA in the summer of 2009, during the first-ever assemblage of Roomful of Teeth. I came up for the second week of their 2-week residency, not knowing what the group was capable of doing — a forgivable sin since the group itself was just beginning to learn their own abilities and capacities. With me, I brought some sketches that I felt could be adapted to whatever sounds I heard the singers produce; these were études of sorts, studies in rhythm and harmony that left a lot of room for different sounds in different places. Once I heard what the group was able to do, I adapted some of these with their varied techniques in mind, creating fully-formed pieces that combined my sketches with the sounds of the ensemble.”
“Run Away is a simple song that I wrote to feature the voice of Virginia Warnken. She sings over a “pad” that the men lay down, a blend of vocal sounds that approximates Tuvan singing but is mellowed considerably. The other women join Virginia at the end of the song, carrying the story on into the future.”
Judd Greenstein
Libretto
run away
into the forest
pick the flowers that you find
make a bouquet
cut the stems
place them in clear water
and remember
to throw away all the roots
and the thorns
all reminders
of the thing
that once as born
from the dirt
and through the soil
coming to rise up
among the trees
in the forest
not a noble thing
but the whole thing
finds a way
to find the daylight
on a May night
you run away
3 video premieres
Scoop! Roomful of teeth shares three previously unreleased music videos exclusively for Birds of Paradise: Fall into me, Run away and Vesper Sparrow. Three real trademark ‘Roomful of teeth pieces’ by three leading American composers.
Fall into me meant the big breakthrough for Alev Lenz in 2016 when the song was featured in an episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror. Judd Greenstein wrote the lead vocal of Run away for Virginia Warnden, alto of Roomful of Teeth. Her voice sounds on a warm bed of background vocals, where Roomful of Teeth uses enchanting Mongolian overtone singing technique, as in Caroline Shaw’s Partita. In Missy Mazzoli’s Vesper Sparrow we hear the distant echoes of birdsong: as if it was commissioned by Birds of Paradise.
Alev Lenz (arr. Dashon Burton) – Fall Into Me
“This is a song born out of resonance. It represents a deep longing to understand, explain, or grasp the unknown darkness in each of our souls, the deep pain that can live in a person. If it finds a way out, which way will it go?”
Alev Lenz
“I found this piece late one night in a customary glut of television, at the very end of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian science fiction TV anthology Black Mirror. Through the haze of a sleep-laden mind, I heard a voice, carrying the echoes of the past in a direct line through the timeline of the far future. I knew it would be perfect for Roomful of Teeth. We always wish to send the benumbed ears and minds of our audiences gracefully into the welcoming night.”
Dashon Burton (Roomful of Teeth)
Libretto
Follow me, I’ll show you the way
Out of this blue
Out of this blue
Fall into me
And drown inside me
I know you will see
The beauty of me
Now you see
All that I can be
I know you will see
The beauty of me
Tired are your splendid soldiers
Tired are they here they go
Tired are your splendid soldiers
Tired are they here they go
During the lockdown, American viola player and new music curator for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Nadia Sirota, made a series of ‘quarantine episodes’ of her popular podcast series Living Music. A series featuring artists from all over the world, performing and chatting from their homes, streamed via facebook.
Sirota made a Living Music episode with David Lang and Caroline Shaw especially for Birds of Paradise. Two American composers and both Pulitzer Prize winners, who are among the most important music pioneers of our time. They talk about Little Match Girl Passion (Lang) and Partita (Shaw), the two iconic works on the Roomful of Teeth program.
This Living Music, Birds of Paradise episode can be viewed in the week of February 28 under this button in the 3D Artist Room.
3 video premieres
Scoop! Roomful of teeth shares three previously unreleased music videos exclusively for Birds of Paradise: Fall into me, Run away and Vesper Sparrow. Three real trademark ‘Roomful of teeth pieces’ by three leading American composers.
Fall into me meant the big breakthrough for Alev Lenz in 2016 when the song was featured in an episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror. Judd Greenstein wrote the lead vocal of Run away for Virginia Warnden, alto of Roomful of Teeth. Her voice sounds on a warm bed of background vocals, where Roomful of Teeth uses enchanting Mongolian overtone singing technique, as in Caroline Shaw’s Partita. In Missy Mazzoli’s Vesper Sparrow we hear the distant echoes of birdsong: as if it was commissioned by Birds of Paradise.
Missy Mazzoli – Vesper Sparrow
“Vesper Sparrow was written for Roomful of Teeth at their 2012 residency at Mass MoCA. The text comes from Farnoosh Fathi’s poem Home State, from her recent book Great Guns. The piece is an eclectic amalgamation of imaginary birdsong and my own interpretation of Sardinian overtone singing. In this piece I tried to capture the exuberance and energy of these individual singers as well as a bit of the magic that is created when this group comes together.”
Missy Mazzoli
Libretto
What will come so soon
To my golden door
When asleep from all sides
Asleep in the glass pajamas of man
“This incredibly eclectic collection of playlists perfectly describes the many backgrounds from which we come and highlights the influences on each of us and the band at large. Our collective curiosity in all music keeps us constantly inspired and excited to try new sounds in our own music.”
Cameon Beauchamp (bass)
Cameron Beauchamp - bass (mic 8)
Thann Scoggin - bass/baritone (mic 6/7)
Taylor Ward - bass/baritone
Jodie Landau - tenor (mic 5)
Virginia Warnken - alto (mic 4)
Virginia Warnken - alto (mic 4)
Eliza Bagg - alto (mic 3)
Martha Cluver - soprano (mic 2)
Estelí Gomez - soprano (mic 1)
Randall Squires - Sound Engineer
Sunny Cyr - General Manager