The 21st Century has witnessed an unprecedented breakdown of communication as international deadlock prevails. Our mission fulfills the desire for leadership that will move the world to a brighter future with a positive vision of innovation through collaboration.
By celebrating culture, Sonic IMPACT transforms musicians and listeners into cultural ambassadors, empowering them to become leaders in the intercultural conversation that alone can plow through the deadlock, reopening vital communication channels via a language of inclusion, connecting us at the most intimate level. Together, the people of Sonic IMPACT become catalysts for a more compassionate world.
At the core of the project is a fourteen-member chamber ensemble, comprised of musicians from China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong), the United States, Korea, and Japan. By honoring the musical past of each country and forging new music worthy of the internationalism of the 21st Century, the performers will challenge audiences in each country to lead a fresh conversation.
By celebrating culture, Sonic IMPACT transforms musicians and listeners into cultural ambassadors, empowering them to become leaders in the intercultural conversation that alone can plow through the deadlock, reopening vital communication channels via a language of inclusion, connecting us at the most intimate level. Together, the people of Sonic IMPACT become catalysts for a more compassionate world.
At the core of the project is a fourteen-member chamber ensemble, comprised of musicians from China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong), the United States, Korea, and Japan. By honoring the musical past of each country and forging new music worthy of the internationalism of the 21st Century, the performers will challenge audiences in each country to lead a fresh conversation.
Director/Conductor
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Robert Heath has seen music profoundly change the world. As a sailor stationed with the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet Band in Yokosuka, Japan for four years, he has performed in thirteen countries in Southeast Asia, from tropical islands to bustling metropolises. While in Japan, he co-founded and co-conducted the bi-national Project: Ongaku no Tomodachi (Friends in Music), which emphasized the collaborative nature of music in spite of the language barrier, and performed two benefit clarinet recitals. Upon returning to West Virginia after leaving the Navy, he has founded Sonic IMPACT, which brings musicians from Japan, China, Korea, and the United States together to perform in rural parts of those countries. |
Artistic board
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Flautist and composer Kenzie Slottow delights in creating daring sonic textures with the flute, using extended techniques, beatboxing, and electronic effects. In October 2015 she released her first EP set of original music for flute, beatbox, and electronics, titled Hold It Up To The Sun. Kenzie is an avid proponent of contemporary, electroacoustic, and beatbox music for the flute, which she has performed at conferences throughout the United States (SEAMUS Conference, National Flute Association Convention, LaTex, Root Signals Festival). As an amateur ballerina and dance lover, she also enjoys collaborating and combining movement with music. Her most recent collaboration with composer Kay He is a multimedia piece entitled On The Pivot of an Abandoned Carousel, in which the flautist appears in costume and interacts with black and white projections through dance to enhance the narrative of memory vs. reality. She is constantly on the lookout for new collaborators. Playing in pubs with her Irish band in college fueled her love for cross-genre projects; Kenzie dabbles in Irish and bansuri flute as well, and can occasionally be found improvising to blues or classic rock at open mics. As an orchestral flautist she has played under the baton of renowned conductors such as Keith Lockhart, JoAnn Falleta, and Larry Rachleff, and her primary teachers are Amy Porter (University of Michigan) and Marianne Gedigian (University of Texas at Austin). At her core, Kenzie is a collaborator and a traveler; she loves languages, sharing and learning about different cultures, and nature, and she is thrilled to be a part of this fantastically multicultural ensemble.
For more information, see www.kenzieslotto.com. |
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A native of Los Angeles, Tylar Nichols is a graduate of The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University where he has studied with Jon Boen, Greg Flint, and Dale Clevenger of The Chicago Symphony. He is now continuing his studies at CCPA by pursuing a MA in Performing Arts Administration under the guidance of former Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association President Henry Fogel. In Los Angeles, Tylar has studied with studio legend Brian O’Connor, Dylan Hart, John Mason, and at The Colburn School with Dr. Annie Bosler. While at Colburn, Tylar performed regularly for inner city youth in the school's Musical Encounters program, giving up to 12 recitals in one year. In addition to his formal studies, Tylar has participated in masterclasses and coachings by Denise Tryon, Michele Baker, Luca Benucci, and David Krehbiel. Tylar’s career goals are to become both a successful studio musician in his home of Los Angeles as well as help performing arts organizations transition effectively into the 21st century.Tylar plays on a 2012 Lewis & Dürk LDx7 and a 1969 M-series Conn 8D.
For more information, see www.tylarnichols.weebly.com |
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Yuanyuan (Kay) HE began learning piano at age 5. At age 15, she began studying composition at the affiliated middle school of Shenyang Conservatory of China. As a double major undergraduate, Kay He studied with Tang Jianping in composition at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (CCOM), and with Zhang Xiaofu at the Conservatory’s Center for Electroacoustic Music of China (CEMC). The winner of a Snow Scholarship, Kay He completed her Master’s degree in composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). While at UMKC, she studied under Dr. Zhou Long, Dr. Chen Yi, Dr. Paul Rudy and Dr. James Mobberley. Besides music, she also learned to paint at the UMKC Department of Art and Fine Arts. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in composition (DMA) at the University of Texas at Austin, studying under Dr. Dan Welcher, Dr. Russell Pinkston, Dr. Donald Grantham, and Dr. Yevgeniy Sharlat. Kay has won many composition awards in the U.S. and abroad. Her piece On the Pivot of an Abandoned Carousel has been selected for performance in 2016 ISCM World Music Day. Her piece Passeig de Grácia for orchestra was selected for the 2015 ACO Underwood New Music Readings in New York City. On the Threshold of a Drizzly Reality for cello and electronics was selected for 2014 performances at the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) in Athens, Greece and the Root Signals music festival in Jacksonville, Florida; her piano trio Shadow of Dewdrops was selected as a finalists for TICF2015 composition competition in Bangkok, Thailand and Gamma UT music festival in 2014; the orchestra piece Legends of Old Peking won the Seattle Symphony’s Celebrate Asia Composition in 2012; Dying Away won the 2011 DuoSolo Emerging Composer Competition; Destiny of the Sputnik was chosen in the 2011 Beijing Modern Music Festival Young Composers Project, and many other pieces have won awards or competitions in other parts of the world. Visit http://www.kayhecomposer.com/ |
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Jason Rose enlisted as a euphonium instrumentalist in the U.S. Navy in December of 2010 and recently finished a tour of duty with the SEVENTH Fleet Band. Prior to the Navy, he was an eight-year member of the 249th Army Band WVARNG. He graduated from Marshall University in 2006 with a B.A. in Music Education and in 2009 with a M.A. in Music. Jason Rose enlisted as a euphonium instrumentalist in the U.S. Navy in December of 2010 and recently finished a tour of duty with the US Navy. Prior to the Navy, he was an eight-year member of the 249th Army Band WVARNG. He graduated from Marshall University in 2006 with a B.A. in Music Education and in 2009 with a M.A. in Music.
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