(Top) Film Still, Reclamation Meridian, Cyan Meeks. (Bottom) Susan Mayo, Composer of Musical Score for Reclamation Meridian
Celebrate the work of Flint Hills Counterpoint’s land reclamation and community projects through live musical film and audio book performances at Charlotte Street Foundation.
As part of Charlotte Street Foundation’s In(Site) series, Cyan Meeks will screen her documentary film “Reclamation Meridian” that chronicles Flint Hills Counterpoint’s land reclamation project set within rural Marion County, Kansas that will be accompanied with an original score by composer Susan Mayo and performed live during the screening by Dr. Ramiro Miranda (violin), Rob Loren (violin), Dr. Elizabeth Wallace (viola), and Dr. Susan Mayo (cello). Following the live musical film performance, Cyan Meeks and Susan Mayo will discuss their organization’s community engagement programming that has been dedicated to bridging the diverse perspectives of farmers, ranchers, conservationists, educators, and artists while cultivating relationships and networks with regional organizations including The Land Institute, Kansas Geological Survey, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kansas Forestry Service, and Healthy Streams for Kansas Initiative through their countywide programming. They will introduce their organization’s most recent collaborative community project, The Flint Hills Counterpoint Audio Tour Book- the story of Marion County told through a series of audio interviews by community members and regional specialists who share their memories and knowledge of the area backed by musical compositions that are interpretations of Marion County’s ecology, folklore, and cultural and natural histories.
Flint Hills Counterpoint is set within that last vestiges of the tallgrass prairie and is considered to be the most threatened ecosystem in North America due to habitat fragmentation and loss, invasive plant species, and soil erosion.
Charlotte Street Foundation’s In(Site) series is a multidisciplinary perforamce series curated by Patrick Alexander that highlights local, regional, and national acts at pivotal points in their practices. Each perforamce showcases contemporary works that push boundaries, takes risks, and demonstrates excellence in performing arts.
The work of Flint Hills Counterpoint has been made possible by the gracious support of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Endowment of the Arts, Mid-American Arts Alliance, Kansas Forest Service, Humanities Kansas, the New York Foundation of the Arts’ AWAW EAG program, and the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission.
Cyan Meeks Bio:
Cyan Meeks is a cross-disciplinary filmmaker, audiovisual documentarian, and social practice artist. Both her collaborative and solo works have been exhibited internationally, including at the Sundance Film Festival, New Directors/ New Films Festival at MoMA, The Chicago Cultural Center, Glasgow International Film Festival, Dumbo Film Festival, Deuxieme Manifestation International Video et Art Electronique in Montreal, Canada, and Charlotte Street Foundation. She has received first place awards from the American Film Institute, Amsterdam International Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival and received grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Mid-American Arts Alliance, National Park Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Humanities Kansas, Kansas Forest Service, and the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission. Her commercial work within the music industry has received accolades by NME and Spin magazines. In addition, she has co-founded several creative space collectives to benefit members of underserved communities. Meeks received her B.F.A. degree in new media from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1995 (mentored by Kristine Diekman), studied for her M.F.A. degree at the California Institute of the Arts in 1997 (mentored by James Benning) and completed her M.F.A. degree in media studies at the State University of New York in 2003 (mentored by Tony Conrad & Sarah Elder).
Dr. Susan Mayo Bio:
Dr. Susan Mayo has been part of the musical landscape of Kansas for over 30 years and is active as a cellist, composer, and community arts organizer. She is passionate about using sound, the universal tongue, as a vehicle for creating community and celebrating place. Vibrations unleashed in the atmosphere truly transform us. Each locale has unique sounds, sharing these promotes and celebrates cultural conversations. Mayo blends genres creating unique sounds in both her performance groups and her compositions. She is intrigued by the blending of technology/nature - acoustic/electronic forces and is passionate about putting interesting music in interesting places. She has performed globally with both classical and alternative ensembles and is currently co-director of Flint Hills Counterpoint, music director for Symphony in the Flint Hills fall event Woodfest, board chair of the Historic Sunflower Theatre, guest lecturer at Wichita State University and a member of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Ramiro Miranda Bio:
Dr. Ramiro Miranda is a native of Asunción, Paraguay, Ramiro Miranda came to the United States to pursue a bachelor’s degree in violin performance at Pittsburg State University. Miranda holds a master’s degree from Illinois State University in violin performance and orchestral conducting, and a Doctoral in Musical Arts in orchestral conducting from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. He is the recipient of many awards and honors, including first place in the Rosa Mistica violin competition in Brazil in the year 2000, the revelation award in the Cardozo Ocampo music competition in the year 2002, two Concerto Aria competitions, chamber music prizes, and a grant from Illinois State University's Friends of the Arts for a full production of Igor Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale.
Prior to coming to the United States, Miranda was an active teacher and performer, playing first violin for the Orquesta de la Universidad del Norte, and as an instructor of strings in Escuela Musical Miranda and Proyecto Sonidos de la Tierra. He continues to give recitals and lectures for string teachers and students in Paraguay and oversees the exchange of international faculty with Escuela Musical Miranda, one of the top music schools in Paraguay.
He has appeared with orchestras, chamber groups, and as a violin soloist in the United States, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Ramiro has conducted several orchestras at the collegiate level, including the recent performances of Mark Adamo's acclaimed opera "Little Women" and Mozart's "Cosí fan Tutte" with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Opera program, and youth orchestras in Kansas, Paraguay and Argentina. He has participated in international festivals and conducting workshops in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Spain, with instructors of high acclaim such as Paul Vermel and Enrique Garcia Asensio. He recently attended the European American Musical Alliance-Nadia Boulanger Institute in Paris.
Rob Loren Bio:
Rob Loren toured as a violinist with country legend Ray Price and has worked with artists as diverse as Charlie Daniels, Johnny Mathis, Jerry Hahn, Phil Keaggy, Pavarotti, and other nationally known artists. After getting his Bachelor's in Music Education degree (with Distinction) from the University of New Mexico, he taught for years with the Wichita public schools and has also taught violin and improvisation at Wichita State University. He works regularly throughout the Midwest playing chamber and symphonic music, as well as folk, country, jazz, and popular styles.
Dr. Elizabeth Wallace previously served as adjunct professor of viola and violin at Utah Valley University, Dickinson College, and the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City. She has held additional teaching positions at Eastern Mennonite University and Stony Brook University. From 2010-2016, she was a member of the Utah Chamber Orchestra at Ballet West and performed frequently with the Utah Symphony. Prior to that, she was Artistic Director for State Street Academy of Music in Harrisburg, PA and served as Assistant Principal Viola of the Reading Symphony and Principal Viola of the Williamsport Symphony.
Dr. Wallace made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Pangea String Quartet in 2007. Other performances include the Bang On a Can Marathon in NYC, and collaborations with artists such as Eugene Drucker, Phillip Setzer, Steven Taylor, and William Purvis on the Staller Center Recital Series. Winner of the 2008 concerto competition at Stony Brook University, she performed the Penderecki Viola Concerto with Guillermo Figueroa conducting. She held fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Taos School of Music, and Schleswig- Holstein Musikfestival, where she performed under the world’s foremost conductors including James Levine, Bernard Haitink, Christoph Eschenbach, and Herbert Blomstedt. She also studied chamber music with members of the Emerson, Kronos, Borromeo, Brentano, and Juilliard String Quartets.
Dr. Wallace is a dedicated teacher to students of all ages and has received Suzuki Certification through Book 5. Her students have been accepted to many prestigious conservatories and universities including Rice University, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, Indiana University, Boston Conservatory, the University of Maryland, Arizona State University, and many others.
Wallace earned her Doctorate in Viola Performance from Stony Brook University, where she served as teaching assistant for Katherine Murdock. She received a Bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the University of Kansas with Ben Sayevich, and also studied violin with Lorand Fenyves at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. In 1996 she won the Kansas State Fiddle Championship, and she has had the pleasure of playing on stage with the Chieftains.