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Published Thursday August 18, 2005 Ten-day ARTSaha festival offers a musical adventure BY ASHLEY HASSEBROEK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

"Play a sound/play it for so long/until you feel/that you should stop."

You can say it, but can you play it?

A group of musicians from the Analog Arts Ensemble is giving it a try.

The text was written as part of German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen's cycle of pieces "From the Seven Days." The composition uses text instead of musical notation to direct the performers how to play.

It's slightly strange, definitely avant-garde, the kind of "music" that makes some people scratch their heads. But this kind of exploration is precisely why the local group started the ARTSaha festival last year.

The Analog Arts Ensemble, consisting of about 25 musicians, composers and visual artists from all over the world, is dedicated to presenting chamber music concerts that challenge the definition of the term.

"Our mission is to bring to Omaha diverse artistic genres and perform music in a new way," said Dolf Kamper, co-director of the festival and the group.

The second annual ARTSaha festival will begin Friday. It will be longer and more diverse than last year.

Musicians are coming from as far away Germany and Japan. Performances will be held at an art gallery, a church, a park and at public spaces downtown.

In addition to performing Stockhausen's "score" of intuitive music, the 10-day festival will include a performance of Bach's masterpiece "The Musical Offering," featuring five ensembles in the same building.

Kamper said last year's inaugural festival won a positive response from audience members. This year he hopes the adventurous mix will draw even more eager listeners.

Most events are free, except for four concerts that are $10 for the public and $7 for students and senior citizens. A pass for all events is $20. Information: call 346-1434 or visit www.artsaha.org

ARTSaha schedule

Free events: "Soundscapes at the Mall," 7 p.m. Friday, Gene Leahy Mall, 13th & Douglas Streets; "The Musical Offering," 7 p.m. Saturday, First Central Congregational Church, 421 S. 36th St.; "Film & Electronic Music," 7 p.m. Tuesday, Artists' Cooperative Gallery; "Alvin Lucier's 'Chambers,'" 7 p.m. Wednesday, locations throughout the Old Market; "From the Seven Days," 7 p.m. Aug. 26, Gene Leahy Mall; "The Divine Spirit," 5 p.m. Aug. 28, First Central Congregational Church.

Ticketed events: "Baltasar & Blimunda," 7 p.m. Sunday, Artists' Cooperative Gallery, 405 S. 11th St.; "Octets," 7 p.m. Monday, Artists' Cooperative Gallery; trumpeter and composer Joseph Drew, 7 p.m. Aug. 25, At the Loft, 1105 Howard St.; violinist Johnny Chang, 7 p.m. Aug. 27, At the Loft.

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