Contact: Ellen McDonough

 

 St. Mary’s Parish Center 

 

 392 Hanover St.

Hanover , MA
02339

 

 phone:781-826-4303 fax:781-826-5203 

 [email protected] 

 Or 

 Lennie Peterson 

 (781) 738-1783 

 [email protected] 

 www.Lennie Peterson.com 

 

 

St. Mary’s Parish Center, 

 Hanover, MA presents: Un-Think It! (The Arts of The Flow) Wednesday, July 27, 2011 7:15 pm- 8:30 pm Free and open to the public and includes refreshments

 

 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 

 

 “Picasso said ‘Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.’ If that is true, then Improvisation is my soap,” says artist and musician Lennie Peterson. 

 

 “Un-Think It! (The Arts of The Flow)”, a talk and live demonstration, showcases South Shore resident Lennie Peterson’s passions for art, music and improvisation. Peterson uses his art and music as a metaphor to help people trust their instincts more effectively. He believes that a person of any age and walk of life who develops improvisational skills can experience a fuller and more spontaneous, adventurous life. 

 This special event at St. Mary’s Parish Center will feature Peterson creating a 6’ X 3’ portrait of jazz legend Miles Davis in front of a live audience accompanied by the improvised music of South Shore resident Mark Campbell and saxophonist Tom Hall. 

 The program also intertwines an informal, interactive and open discussion of the spontaneous creative process. Peterson, Campbell and Hall use the metaphor of art and music to discuss practical applications for improvisation and spontaneous creativity in school, the workplace and in daily life. 

Concluding the event Peterson, who is a trombonist, will join Campbell and Hall to perform a composition by Miles Davis. 

Proceeds from voluntary audience donations will go to St. Mary’s LIFE TEEN program, immersing teens in the life of the parish and, on a larger scale, in the Church and providing teens with a Catholic Identity.

 

 ************************************** 

 

 Lennie Peterson has traveled the world several times devoting his improvisational life to music, visual art and Arts education and is a former professor at Berklee College of Music. His artwork has been exhibited throughout the United States with several solo shows including New York City and Harvard University. Peterson’s large composer portraits have been purchased throughout the world including Japan, Spain and Wales and are currently featured in a six month solo exhibition at the new Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston. 

“The Big Picture,” his nationally syndicated daily comic strip, appeared in more than 100 newspapers and is now in re-runs featured on GoComics.com, the web site of Universal Press Syndicate. 

In addition, Peterson has written and illustrated nearly a dozen books. 

 

Mark Campbell is a guitarist, composer, producer and recording artist creating and producing music for the broadcasting and film industry. He is on the faculty at Massasoit Community College and Quincy College and a guitar instructor. Mark is a graduate of Berklee College of Music. Campbell is founder and guitarist of the popular local band “Clutch Grabwell” of which Peterson is trombonist. In the “Un-Think It!” events, Campbell uses guitar technology and digital recording techniques to perform his music. 

 

Saxophonist Tom Hall is a graduate of New England Conservatory. An accomplished musician, teacher and author, Hall teaches at Brandeis University and travels extensively sharing his improvisational skills and pedagogy to musicians and non-musicians alike. He is the author of “Free Improvisation, A Practical Guide”. 

 

Peterson compares the creative process of his original artwork to that of a jazz musician. “All of my drawings and paintings are improvised. They are created spontaneously, just trusting my instincts and going wherever my hand leads me, starting with only a basic outline or framework. It is similar to a musician who is able to improvise freely and spontaneously within a given form and framework of chord structures.” 

And, for Peterson, that is where the metaphor, applied to all people, begins. “There is not one occupation, daily activity or human condition that does not call for improvisational skills and the trusting of instincts,” he says. “Mark, Tom and I simply use art and music as tools to get that point across.” 

 

 The 90 minute presentation is for artists and non-artists of all ages and encourages audience participation. Refreshments will be served after the program.