A Punk “Bash” to Welcome the Summer!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Angela Yam, Marketing Coordinator
angelayam@guerillaopera.org | (916) 673-8853
Boston, MA (4/18/2024) — On Wednesday, June 5th, Guerilla Opera presents the “Guerilla Backyard Bash”, a new annual fundraiser supporting radical new works of opera theater and programs that support artists whose work challenges the status quo, hosted by radio personality Kennedy Elsey (Mix 104.1).
Located in the Charles River Speedway, the Guerillas take over Garage B, a revitalized 1940s garage for “the bash”. This large industrial warehouse is perfect for indoor/outdoor fun including a backyard grill feast, backyard games, raffle prizes, music from DJ WhySham, and a sneak peek of new music from “The Windows”, a haunting new opera by Elizabeth Gartman and Susan Bywaters. Food is included with the purchase of admission, and raffle tickets can be purchased. Exchange your raffle tickets to challenge your friends to backyard games, enjoy drinks at the bar, and enter raffles with prizes from local businesses, including tickets to the Santana and the Counting Crows concert at the Xfinity Center in July, courtesy of Mix 104.1!
The event will be hosted by local celebrity, Kennedy Elsey, co-host of the #1 morning show in Boston, Karson and Kennedy on Mix 104.1. Elsey is a lifelong fan of opera and a talented singer herself, having sung the National Anthem for the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and the Patriots.
This event also features a performance of world-premiere music from The Windows. This brand new opera is a haunting interpretation of the events preceding the disappearance of local author and former child prodigy, Barbara Newhall Follett in 1939, who was never seen again.
“Susan’s libretto is incredibly evocative and poignant.” Composer Elizabeth Gartman
This new annual fundraiser is Guerilla Opera’s largest event of the year. Guerilla Opera, a BIPOC-led and feminist “punk” organization, is Boston’s only experimental chamber opera ensemble. They are one of only a few companies in the world with the exclusive mission of presenting new experimental works of opera theater. Through their progressive new works, they explore unexpected realms and have garnered a national reputation for innovation, with Opera News raving that “Guerilla Opera redefines the Opera experience.”
Since 2007, the rebellious company has embodied the strongest “punk” values, including challenging the status quo, questioning inherited systems, and advocating for individual rights and equality. In this spirit, they uplift the voices of the unheard through rebellious works of opera theater.
Every dollar raised will be matched up to $50,000 from a Creative Vitality Grant from The Barr Foundation, and directly fuels new productions like The Windows, empowering local artists to produce progressive works that ask strong questions of our world.
Attending the Guerilla Backyard Bash directly contributes to the sustainability of this company that has been a staple of the Boston arts scene since 2007. The fundraiser supports the creation of new experimental operas in outstanding live productions, studio albums, experimental films, virtual performance festivals, and streaming events; allows the company to organize community events and gatherings with organizations like the Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library; and empowers these iconoclasts to offer more professional development opportunities for opera creators like the Guerilla Labs and Guerilla Writer Collective for opera librettists.
This “anti-gala” takes place at 7:00 PM ET on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Garage B at the Charles River Speedway in Brighton, MA. Admission is $30.00 and $65.00, with sponsorship options available. Reserve tickets online today at guerillaopera.org/eventcal/backyardbash or contact Guerilla Opera’s Box Office directly at boxoffice@guerillaopera.org or 617-286-6307.
The energy and enthusiasm of the Guerillas and their supporters is unstoppable. Let's all join together on June 5th to celebrate “punk” opera!
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ABOUT GUERILLA OPERA
Guerilla Opera is a BIPOC and feminist organization, Boston's only experimental chamber opera ensemble, and one of only a few in the world with a mission to exclusively present new works of opera theater. Founded in 2007, the ensemble has accumulated a repertoire of over 40 new works by 30 composers. One of Boston’s most exciting companies, they have garnered a national reputation for innovative contemporary opera and daring performances with Opera News raving that “Guerilla Opera redefines the opera experience.”
The works commissioned by this artist-led ensemble are custom-tailored to their artists, who confront, examine, and question traditional conceptions of what is “operatic” by championing cutting-edge music and immersing audiences in profound experiences. Their vision is to bring new music to new audiences through a unique body of work that ferociously confronts the status quo, eschews antiquated and stereotypical traditions of the art form of opera, and examines stories by and for the people of today through contemporary lenses. They model creative authenticity and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (IDEA) in order to inspire and influence emerging generations of artists and creators. (guerillaopera.org)
ABOUT THE HOST
Kennedy Elsey is the co-host of the #1 morning show in Boston, Karson, and Kennedy, on Mix 104.1. She grew up in suburban Chicago and graduated from Drake University with a double major in Theater and Psychology. She has sung the National Anthem for the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and the Patriots to name a few. She is an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness serving on the board for Samaritans and raising funds with her program "Your Light Is Needed". Kennedy lives in Quincy with the most stable man in her life, her Lab, Elvis.
THE COMPOSER
Elizabeth Gartman is a composer and soprano currently based between Berlin, Germany and New York City. Her compositions call attention to the implications behind the vocal instrument paired with the physical body. Her work also explores themes of process in performance, as well as active listening and response. Elizabeth has been commissioned by Washington National Opera, Beth Morrison Projects, New Chamber Ballet, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra Percussion Ensemble, Pax Duo, InfraSound Ensemble, Ensemble Chemie, the Why Collective, NYC Virtuoso Singers, and others. Her work has been received internationally at venues from National Sawdust, Mark Morris Dance, Salzburg Stadtgalerie Lehen, the Cell Theatre, to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Elizabeth’s hometown of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, among others. (elizabethgartman.com)
THE LIBRETTIST
Susan Bywaters work centers on morality and the victim/perpetrator paradigm. Her operatic works have been performed on stages in Germany, Brazil, Croatia, and across the US. Her most recent darkly comedic opera It is a Comfort to Know, written with frequent collaborator Elizabeth Gartman, was a runner-up in the Beth Morrison Projects Next Generation 2022. This is following the success of their previous collaboration [Weight], featured in Beth Morrison Projects Next Generation in May of 2021 and the recipient of the William Schumann Award for Most Outstanding Score from BMI Foundation in the same year. Her and Gartman’s most recent work, Moritura Filia, was recently commissioned and performed in venues across Germany and Austria by Ensemble Chemie. (susanbywaters.com)