GALA NYC--Kitchen Sink Concerts Leap Across Musical & Artistic Boundaries

GALA NYC--Kitchen Sink Concerts Leap Across Musical & Artistic Boundaries

Genre-Crossing Cellist Mike Block Brings Daring May Series to Brooklyn Lyceum

NEW YORK, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- And now for something completely different. Really different. Leaping across artistic and musical boundaries, GALA NYC--anchored and developed by the Juilliard-trained cellist and composer Mike Block--is an ambitious, genre-breaking and affordable performance series at the Brooklyn Lyceum. The one-of-a-kind series previews in May with a full season beginning in September. The first shows will take place May 7, 14, 21 and 28, with tickets costing $15 in advance, $18 at the door.

Hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as "The ideal 21st century musician," Block will bring together diverse and talented artists who may not have ever met each other or even speak the same musical or artistic language. The result: a spontaneous combustion of the creative spirit.

It's where an Arab folk musician, a chart-topping rock guitarist and a Grammy-nominated classical violinist can play each other's music, co-write a new piece and even cover a Lady Gaga song. Their collaborations could be an original composition or a reinterpretation of existing music, but audiences will hear something they've never heard before.

Block's GALA NYC will feature world-class international and local musicians -- not to mention Grammy-winning -- in rock, bluegrass, pop, jazz, folk, and classical genres, visual artists, comedians, and dancers in a kind of creative free-for all. The series serves as a platform for artists to collaborate and connect with one another, and with the audience, in a unique and spontaneous way.

And the audience is not left out. The program will always include an improvisational element guided by audience members. Performances will be streamed live, and artists interviews and rehearsals will be blogged, allowing followers to be part of the process regardless of where they live.

"At the highest level, GALA NYC is about a personal interaction between the specific artists," explains Block, who also serves as Artistic Director. "I want to break down the barrier between audiences and performers so it becomes one creative community. The audience can influence the direction the show takes."

Often crossing genres and mixing media, Block performs frequently with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, a collective of accomplished musicians, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers from more than 20 countries. He is also the Lead Teaching Artist for Silk Road Connect, which works with the NY Department of Education to bring musicians from around the world into city classrooms.

The Brooklyn Lyceum is a producing arts venue and cultural center. For more information, go to www.brooklynlyceum.com.

To learn more about Mike Block, please visit his website www.mikeblock.net

CONTACT: Diane Blackman, 212-249-5125, dblackman@brpublicrelations.com

SOURCE GALA NYC

GALA NYC

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