Mikronesia

Pangaea Recording On Sale

I had such an amazing and exhausting show for the Pangaea premiere. Thank you to everyone who made it out and to all those that supported the KickStater and to the great cast of musicians, singers, designers and staff that made it possible. Thank You!

You can now purchase the studio recording of this 19-track opera at earSnake.com. The recording is available digitally in high quality MP3/FLAC/ACC, as a digipak CD or a deluxe edition which contains the CD and a 60 page of the lyrics, linear notes, story and drawings (see photos below).

Lots coming up in December, including pictures and video from the premiere.

Trinity Sun

So today is 11/1/11, 11 days until 11/11/11 what better day to download and check out the first chapter in the Pangaea saga, Trinity Sun.

http://mikronesia.bandcamp.com/album/pangaea-trinity-sun

This free EP is a spoken word tale recited by Solomon Slowburn with ambient music by Mikronesia. It tells the creation story of Pangaea and the fall of the first superhuman beings, The Stonemen (who play a crucial part in the Pangaea: When The Continents Were One opera premiering in two Fridays)

Tickets On Sale Now

We are almost three weeks away from the premiere of Pangaea: When The Continents Were One produced by earSnake’s own Mikronesia. In case you missed the last couple of emails Pangaea is a modern electronic/rock/chamber opera which will be performed by 11 musicians, 6 masked singers, puppeteers and VJs at the Rotunda on Novemeber 11, 2011.

There will be only one performance of Pangaea so don’t miss your chance to see the premiere. About 25 tickets have been accounted for under the successfully funded Kickstarter and tickets are going fast, so get yours today!

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE » http://therotunda.ticketleap.com/pangaea/

PANGAEA: When The Continents Were One
Friday November 11, 2011, 8:00pm
$10 online before / $15 at the door

Vocalists: Lillie Ruth Bussey, Megan Cauley, Brian McDermott, John Morrison, Steve Quaranta, Jalima Shani with Christian Rabin
Drums and Percussion: Jimmy Coleman
Strings: Carlos Santiago, Maura Diberardinis, Steve Heitlinger, Johnell Lawrence and Christine Mello
Horns: Adam Hershberger and Larry Toft
Flutes: Heather Fortune
Keyboards, Guitars and Electronics: Michael McDermott

Video: Nico Dominguez
Masks and creatures: Liza Goodell
Masks: Tigre Bailando

Recording of Pangaea made possible by American Composers Forum
Performance made possible by Kickstarter

Kickstarter Successful!

 

The last 24 hours were very nerve-wracking but we made our Kickstarter goal! Thanks hugely to my wife Megan who really emailed, texted and pressed the flesh hard on the final day to raise almost $1800 in 12 hours! Amazing.

To get this project funded by friends, family and patrons of the arts means so much to me. With such a huge group of dedicated people working to create this project, I wanted to make sure everyone was paid fairly for their efforts. Plus we have a lot of costs associated with producing an opera on our own. I simply could not afford to finance such a project on my own. Kickstarter has been such a great resource for funding all sorts of arts and music projects over the years and I’m glad I could be part of it.

I want to especially thank all the donors who funded this project. Special thanks to Dr. Pesha for his hugely generous donation towards the end of the day which catapulted us over the $3000 mark. To all the backers

• Jason MacDonald
• Meghan Haugh
• Jonathan and Ellie Moniz
• William and Hunter Clarke-Fields
• Richard Baybutt and Jayashree Patel
• Gene Coleman
• Robin
• Tom Gisondi
• Steve Peltier
• Kevin Brown
• J. Makary
• Brian Doyle
• Steffan and Emily Shultz
• Brian Wainwright
• Carl Franke
• Pearson Constantino
• Joo Won Park
• Michele and Brian Semple
• Siobhan Lyons
• Gary Dann
• Deena Weisberg
• Gina Renzi
• Steven Bullack
• Christine and Steve Farace
• Duke and Bustock
• Pat McDermott and Jack Malgeri
• Thomas Fetterman
• Bernadette and Chad Waters
• Jan Shilling
• Sheila Reynolds
• Donald Silversmith
• Karen Mauch and Diane Zilka
• Frank Walter
• Linda Marshall
• Michael O’Brien
• Lisa Steffanelli and Andrew Hawkes
• Max Nomad
• Nadia Botello
• Steven Grise
• John Colagioia
• Dr. Lynn Rosenthal
• Rebecca Klimowicz
• Nick Karn
• Gary Marshall
• Kimberly Logan
• Katie Goodrum
• Jim Bear
• Emily Sweeney and Bilwa
• Johan
• Brian McDermott
• Melissa Franke
• Meghann Waters
• Jacob Troy
• Susan and Ian Baybutt
• Mary and Robert Niewood
• Dr. Pesha!
• RuthieRoots
• Greenwind
• Patricia and Mike McDermott
• Bobby and Michele Niewood
• John King
• Bill and Florence Niewood
• Becky Soll and Karim Olechea
• Jason Niewood

This project wouldn’t be happening without your love and support. Thank You!

We’ll be seeing many of you whose pledge gift included two tickets to the premiere on 11/11/11. For everyone else you can buy tickets to this limited seating engagement at the Rotunda on UPENN campus in Philadelphia. Tickets can be purchased here - http://therotunda.ticketleap.com/pangaea/ 

One Week Left For The Kick Starter!

Almost three weeks ago we launched a Kick Starter online fundraising campaign for the multi-media opera project, Pangaea: When The Continents Were One. With only one week to go (as of Monday) we are about halfway to our goal of $3000.

If you’ve already given money to the Kick Starter, thank you! Supporting the arts is a wonderful thing. If you haven’t yet, or if you know someone who may be interested in donating to the premiere performance of Pangaea, please head to the Kick Starter and pledge today!

Remember if you were planning on seeing the show, or buying the album, this is a great way to buy tickets and CDs in advance and know that your money is going directly to the two dozen artists and musicians who are making Pangaea a reality.

For this final week of the Kick Starter we will be streaming the entire Pangaea: When The Continents Were One studio album, which will be released next month on earSnake. You can listen to the epic opera yourself and imagine what it will take to perform it live. Please repost and send to any arts patrons you may know.

Thank you,
Michael and earSnake crew

Kickstarter Link - http://kck.st/oM8V0q 

Streaming Album Link - http://mikronesia.bandcamp.com/album/pangaea-when-the-continents-were-one

Pangaea Premieres November 11, 2011 at the Rotunda. More info and online ticket purchasing soon!

Singing Rocks

Here the second sneak preview from the Pangaea Opera. This is one sung by Daeon who uses the metal in rocks to resonate his tongueless voice.

Singing Rocks by mikronesia

Ancient Warning

After a marathon 10 days straight of mixing and editing the opera, PANGAEA everything is done and ready to be mastered. I wanted to share the first track we did vocals for from the brilliant Steve Quaranta. Steve was one of the first people I asked to be on the opera. He has such a unique and powerful voice, I knew he would be perfect to play the unsung hero of the opera, the wise shaman Snakegar.

Enjoy and please support the Kick Starter for the premiere on November 11.

Ancient Warning by mikronesia

Pangaea Recording

It’s been a busy and rewarding summer recording Pangaea tracks. An impressive list of musicians and singers have come through earSnake studios to record parts on the opera, including:

violin: Carlos Santiago
viola: Steven Heitlinger
cello: Eve Miller
percussion: Jimmy Coleman
flute: Heather Fortune
trumpet/flugelhorn: Adam Hershberger
trombone/baritone horn: Larry Toft.

Things are sounding amazingly epic. We’ll be finishing all the group vocals this week with:

Megan Cauley, Steve Quaranta, John Morrison, Jalima Shani Brian McDermott and Lillie Ruth Bussey

I can’t wait to share the Pangaea recordings with the world.

Only two months until the premiere as well!