Arts funds payoff: Tony Imperatrice's ode to NASA's Cassini mission
Plus, some national recognition for Fresno State's Jazz Orchestra.
Back in September, the city of Fresno began awarding out the $9.4 million in tax-collected grant-funds it set aside to boost arts (and by proxy artists) in Fresno.
For a full accounting of the process (including 2025 grant applications), I suggest Doug Hoagland’s reporting over at the Munro Review.
For the sake of this newsletter, we’ve already seen glimpses of how the money is being used. KFCF’s monthly performance broadcast for example, and also CenCal Cinema (which isn’t music-related, but worth noting, especially since it hosts its second film screening on Friday).
Tony Imperatrice’s “Cassini” exists on a different, but no less important scale.
It’s a one-off multimedia art project that harnesses the musician’s experimental organ work and songwriting. And also his love for “space stuff.”
“One of my earliest memories was watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon,” Imperatrice says.
“I was six years old and didn’t really understand the significance, but it led to a lifelong fascination with space exploration.”
It was after watching a NOVA documentary with his wife that the project began to crystalize. “For me, and for most space fans. Saturn is the most beautiful planet in our solar system. NASA’s Cassini mission gave us a chance to see Saturn up close and gave scientists a chance to learn many unexpected details about this distant world.”
He remembers watching the documentary in tears and knowing right then, “I wanted to do some kind of music project that would bring the audience into the emotions I feel about space.”
I emailed Imperatrice to find out more about the project in advance of its debut May 31. Answers (and questions) have been edited for focus and flow.
As a musician, did you know the visual component was going to part of the final piece, as opposed to just an inspirational kick off?
“From the beginning, I wanted to use the NASA images from the Cassini mission as part of this project.
In a way, this is a documentary with a musical score, however the approach is very unconventional. There is no narration, the singers do not have a text and the music takes the lead in the story telling.
Soprano soloist Isabel Bayrakdarian represents the voice of Cassini and the choir (members of the Fresno Community Chorus Master Chorale) represent Cassini’s spirit guilds. CMAC staff are taking the lead in editing the NASA material into a cohesive presentation that enhances the musical presentation.”
Because you mentioned it, there are some cool guests for this thing (including that full chorus). How much of this ended up as collaboration? Or was it them executing your vision? And did that vision differ from the final result (as so often happens)?
“I definitely have a very specific vision for this work. I also recognize that I don’t know everything.
Most of my career as a composer was spent in the Catholic church, where I wrote and arranged music for choir, soloists and a variety of instrumentalists. That experience, and my college training helped me understand the basics, but Anna Hamre and Isabel Bayrakdarian did offer excellent insights when I was fine tuning the score.
I am also very grateful for the team at CMAC; Kyle Lowe, Claudio Laso and Bryan Harley. I could not have made the film portion without them.”
The project was funded with Measure P funds. How important was that money to making this thing happen?
“I started this project before the Measure P grants were available. My plan was to make it happen anyway I could. The reality is, I would have had to make countless compromises and the work may not have ever been finished.
We live in a time when anyone can record music and edit film, but as good as home-grown projects may be, there is no substitute for the talent and experience of experts and specialists.
Without the grant funds, I would not have been able to employ first-class talent and record them at a world-class studio. The grant funds also enabled me to employ the talented staff at CMAC to create the film portion.”
Talk some about the grant obligations as it relates to the work, and then about future possibilities for the project.
“The primary obligation of the Measure P grant is to create something that is by Fresno and for Fresno. The grant is supposed to create opportunities for Fresno artists to work and get paid for that work.
With ‘Cassini,’ dozens of Fresno residents (musicians, film makers, audio engineers and organizations) have received just compensation for their efforts in bringing this work to life.
Through CMAC and hopefully KVPT we will bring the finished project directly to the citizens of Fresno for their education and enjoyment.
‘Cassini’ is being produced as a TV and online video presentation, but it is designed for live performance. Once we have ‘Cassini’ on CMAC and online, we will begin the work of producing live performances.”
It doesn’t seem like a lot of artists (especially musicians) are taking on these kinds of projects, outside of very specific instances (the Rogue Festival, for example). Is that a question of lack of resources and time, or is there something else going on?
“All of the arts have been heavily categorized by society. On top of that, we expect that the art category will be neatly tied to the type of venue. Anything that is even a little bit outside the norm has to fight for a place.
Fringe festivals are defiantly open to anything and everything, but the limiting logistics of a fringe festival keep all the acts small in scale.
Throughout history artist have had to make their own opportunities. The French Impressionists famously mounted their own art shows.
My hope is that once the public sees and hears ‘Cassini’ on screen that the will want to see and hear it live.”
Fresno State’s Jazz Orchestra featured in this month’s Downbeat Magazine
Here’s a quick spotlight on Fresno’s jazz scene, which has produced (and is producing) some amazing players, even as it flies under the radar of a lot of general audiences (myself included).
Downbeat Magazine, which has been covering jazz, blues and the like since 1934, included Fresno State’s Jazz Orchestra in its (48th) Annual Student Music Awards.
The (fall 2024) band took second place in the Undergraduate Large Ensemble category of the international competition, which has been running since 1976 and is certain to go straight on to the resume. It was a tie with the Berklee College of Music, which give you a sense of the competition.
The full awards are featured in the June edition of the magazine, which hit news stands (or bookstores or whatever people buy magazines these days) on Friday.
Also of note: the band has recorded a live album, per Instagram, with release details to come.
That’s it for this week. Remember you can now hear me on the Homegrown Show Sundays at 8 p.m. on New Rock 104.1 FM. Tonight, I’m full up with new music and releases. Follow my other writing at The Fresno Bee. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com