May 14, 2007

Opening Party for NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires to feature ZAPP! String Quartet and Dutch DJ/VJ Micha Klein

(North Adams, Mass.)MASS MoCA hosts the county-wide kick off of NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires on Friday, June 15 at 8:30 PM. This funky and fun party with the collaborating NL partners - Jacob's Pillow, Tanglewood, the Clark, Shakespeare & Company and Colonial Theater -- will mark the christening of MASS MoCA's Pavilion, a sweeping tent structure designed by Dutch sculptor Dre Wapenaar in MASS MoCA's central courtyard. The party will begin with a performance by ZAPP! String Quartet and continue after the sun has firmly set with pioneering Dutch DJ/VJ Micha Klein - really one of the original creators of VJ movement -- spinning into the night crafting a not-to-be-missed visual and aural atmosphere. After immersing themselves in the exuberant energy of ZAPP!, guests are invited to enjoy complimentary desserts during Klein's set and dance the night away under the Pavilion.

ZAPP!'s musicality ranges from a classical base to be-bopping jazz, skitters towards heavy metal, leans on Bulgarian folk, and ultimately melds through their hybrid improvisational style. Currently touring for their third album, Passaggio, ZAPP! "operates so intense and on such a high level that visual tricks are unnecessary," says Frans van Leeuwen of the NRC Rotterdam. With Passaggio the band moves into fresh development for their repertoire. By asking a number of their favorite Dutch musicians/composers to compose pieces for their personalities ZAPP! has created an album that is "so refreshing! This is the way to get away from the very long string quartet tradition and create a new repertoire." (Parool, Amsterdam).

All the members of ZAPP! function as improvisers and composers in their own right, each creating multiple compositions for the ensemble, while all honing their groovy way of playing and percussion techniques to really push their classical genre parameters. ZAPP! has also participated in projects with Eric Vaarzon Morel & Eric Vloeimans, James Campbell, Dox Orchestra, Jazzanova, and Fleurine & Brad Meldhau.

ZAPP!'s performance will be followed by Dutch DJ/VJ Micha Klein spinning music and videos. Klein has been a prominent figure in the VJ movement since 1988. It was around this time that he began to introduce his rhythmic editing of computer graphics and video images at warehouse parties, pioneering live VJ'ing as it exists now.

The Wapenaar Pavilion, unveiled for this event, is a site-specific installation for MASS MoCA's Courtyard C and includes oak flooring, sail-like partitions, and a canopy. The structure creates an exciting addition of social space to the MASS MoCA campus under which museum visitors may gather and visit for years to come.

A summer-long showcase celebrating the arts and culture of The Netherlands, NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires will take place June through August 2007 in the picturesque, culturally rich Berkshires region of Massachusetts. The broad range of The Netherlands's vibrant artistic culture, including contemporary and classical music, visual arts, dance, theater, film, lecture series and more will be presented. MASS MoCA, Tanglewood, Bang on a Can, Jacob's Pillow and the Clark Art Institute are among the arts organizations that have selected and are collaborating with leading artists from The Netherlands'.

NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires received initial funding from the Netherlands Culture Fund and generous support from the Fund for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture.

The showcase is coordinated by the Department of Press and Cultural Affairs at the Consulate General of The Netherlands in New York and the Service Centre for International Cultural Activities (SICA) in Amsterdam.

Tickets for ZAPP! String Quartet are $14 in advance and $18 day of show. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Doors open at 8 PM with snacks from Lickety Split and full bar available. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams, open from 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. Wednesday through Monday (June 30 through September 4, from 10 A.M. until 6 P.M. daily). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org