She Wrote

 About

Kinetic returns to Archway Gallery for an interdisciplinary performance that explores the relationships female artists share with the natural world and the impact it has on their craft. Blending visual art, chamber music, and a combination of sung and spoken word, the concert is based around the artwork of gallery artist Maryam Lavaf and the poetry of Mary Oliver, whose works share themes of reverence for nature and inspiration from the elements. With an overarching emphasis on the contributions of female artists, the concert is designed as a narrative experience from start to finish, with recitations of Oliver’s poetry paired with musical offerings from Sarah Kirkland Snider, Libby Larsen, Rebecca Clarke, and Robert Schumann. 

— curated by Bree Ahern, cellist

Program

• Humpacks by Mary Oliver (recitation)

• Hildegard von Bingen, arr. Sarah Kirkland Snider: O Virtue Sapientiae for soprano & string quartet

• Excerpt from James Joyce’s Ulysses (recitation)

• Libby Larsen: She Wrote for string quartet

• Peonies by Mary Oliver (recitation)

• Rebecca Clarke: Daydream for soprano & string quartet

• Robert Schumann by Mary Oliver (recitation)

• Robert Schumann: String Quartet in A Major, Op. 41 No. 3

Guest Artist

Ukrainian-born soprano Yelena Dyachek was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2016, receiving praise from The New York Times saying “…memorable as the soprano Yelena Dyachek from California, who demonstrated impressive range, depth and power in ‘Come scoglio’, before delivering an emotionally captivating Letter Scene…”.  She is a graduate from Houston Grand Opera’s prestigious studio program and during her time in the HGO Studio, Ms. Dyachek appeared in several productions including as Musetta in La bohème, Flora in La traviata, and Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Further productions included Norma, Some Light Emerges, and Nixon in China. In the summer of 2019, she made her debut as Marie Antoinette in Ghosts of Versailles at the Glimmerglass Festival, a production which travels to the Opera House at the Palace of Versailles in the winter of 2019. Further engagements in the 2019-20 season include her professional role debut as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin with Palm Beach Opera under the direction of Tomer Zvulun and joining the Lyric Opera of Chicago for their productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia and Dead Man Walking. 

Recent performances for Dyachek include Elettra in Idomeneo and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as a Filene Young Artist at Wolf Trap Opera and Fiordiligi for San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program. A multi-year member of the Aspen Opera Theatre Center, Ms. Dyachek appeared as Fiordiligi in 2015 and as Tatiana in 2014. She will return to the Aspen Music Festival in the Summer of 2020 as part of their Beethoven Celebration. 

Further recognition includes the Ana Maria Martinez Encouragement Award at the 2016 Eleanor McCollum Competition, and singing as a finalist at the Palm Springs Opera Guild of the Desert’s vocal competition. She holds a bachelor’s degree from University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, and a master’s degree from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Further roles performed while at USC include Frau Von Daubek in the concert premiere of Thomas Morse’s Frau Schindler, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito, the title role in Iphigénie en Tauride, and Madama Cortese in Il viaggio a Reims.

Featured Exhibit

The word Nowruz means “new day.” Occurring on the spring equinox, on or around March 20, Nowruz is celebrated as the beginning of the New Year by more than 300 million people worldwide. For over 3,000 years, Nowruz has marked a new beginning and a sense of renewal. In her new series of abstract paintings and sculptures, Maryam Lavaf seeks to create an energy and vibrancy reflective of the Nowruz spirit as we move into the season of its celebration after a COVID-driven challenging 2020-2021.

Maryam believes that even the darkest situations contain a spark of positive energy. Our task, she says, “is to look for that spark – in nature, in humanity, or in someone’s eyes – to know it is always there, encouraging us to change and to move forward.” This year, as the world comes together to defeat COVID-19, Maryam encourages us to let the new beginning spirit of Nowruz serve as an inspiration to recover and rebuild in a more just and sustainable way. “Change is difficult, but it is necessary and is a natural part of life,” says Maryam Lavaf. “It challenges us to be open to possibility, to acknowledge our own resistance, and to celebrate the renewal and blooming we can bring forth.”

In this exhibition, Maryam Lavaf explores the concept of renewal by embracing change in her own view and approach to her work. The footprints of nature can be traced throughout Lavaf’s work. “Nature stimulates the primary sense – the ecstasy of existence and the essence of life -- for me,” she explains. “It’s the same sense that we experience in love.” Each of these new works begins with a sound from nature -- the sound of a raindrop or a leaf falling. She then allows each sound to form its own visual logic, and each work is guided by its own rules according to its unique demands. Collectively, Lavaf strives to present the elements of nature in abstract form through her work.

Maryam Lavaf began her life in Iran. She received a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Painting from Tehran Azad University in 2002. In 2004, Lavaf moved to Houston. Her first connection with the arts community in the U.S. was through the Visual Arts Alliance where she met fellow Archway artist, Becky Soria, who connected her to a group of artists at Winter Street Studios. In 2015, she began an exploration of ceramics under Jeff Forster’s supervision at the Glassell School of Art. She is currently an active member of Archway Gallery.