About

We are living in a dark age. And we are not going to see the end of it, nor are our children, nor probably our children’s children. And our job, every single one of us, is to cherish whatever in the human heritage we love and to feed it and keep it going and pass it on, because the Dark Age isn’t going to go on forever, and when it stops those people are gonna need the pieces we pass on. They’re not going to be able to build a new world without us passing on whatever we can – ideas, arts, knowledge, skills, or just plain old fragile love, how we treat people, how we help people: that’s something to be passed on…and all of this passing things on, in all its forms, may not cure the world now – curing the world now may not be a human possibility – but it keeps the great things alive. And we have to do this because who are we to decide that it is hopeless?

If you wanted to volunteer for fascinating, dangerous, necessary work, this would be a great job to volunteer for – trying to be a wide-awake human during a Dark Age and keeping alive what you think is beautiful and important.

~ Michael Ventura [with James Hillman, R.I.P.], We’ve Had 100 Years of Psychotherapy and The World’s Getting Worse

The crow concert series has been about feeding and keeping going a very small area of vital music that is important to me, and with any luck at all, when shared with new audiences, some will find something to cherish.

As vital as the performances have been, since presenting the first crow concert on May 7, 2011, there has also been the exchange of ideas, arts, knowledge, skills – and more rarefied – moments of plain old fragile love – before, following, and long after the events themselves. I, along with many concert attendees who no doubt came simply to hear good music, have been fortunate to experience this new world with new friends and acquaintances; to date, thirty creative musicians and 100 audience members have been part of a process I am pleased to announce cwnm is continuing throughout 2013.

To participate in such open-ended events is exciting, and in 2013 I am confident both the process and the resultant music will be immense. Planning for the 2013 series has resulted in a schedule of appearances that comprise some of the finest musicians currently working in creative music. It has of course also brought me up against the limitations and constraints of real world planning around this sort of work, and has not been without its frustrations – in the new world I’d bring about, the names not appearing this season would find a place on the schedule, and everyone would be paid a livable wage.

That said, I happily (most of the time) volunteer for this necessary work – to bring to the Twin Cities music that is beautiful and important.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.