Welcome to the August 27. 2006 seminar-week and workshop participants:
back row from left: Nick and Neil Holloway [seminar week], Gabriele Falconi, Peter Ingraham, Mario Nuzzolese and Zeev Shilor [seminar week].
front row from left: Brendan Maloney, Callie Russell, Laszlo Kerekes, Tucker Zenski, Michal Shilor [seminar week], Annie Suzanne Murray-Bissonn and Austin Vanaria [seminar week],

Saturday August 26. 2006 marked the Special Opening for "Nudes & Roses" exhibition at the West Valley Art Museum in Surprise, AZ. This exhibition featured photos by Michel Sarda, who is part of the Cosanti Foundation Board of Directors, with Paolo Soleri as guest artist.

The opening featured Scorpius Dance Theater's Venessa Bossardt and Jordan Kriston, as well as a spontaneous performance by sophrano Helene Bergeron.
Michel Sarda introduced Paolo Soleri and read the recent statement that Paolo presented at the White House reception [see report of 7/10/06].

Paolo Soleri.

Nine of Paolo's Nude drawings are part of this exhibition.

Congratulation to the July 23. 2006 workshop participants on their graduation day. Lewis Schlitt participated in the construction department.

Raheel Yousaf Sadi spent part of his workshop with the construction crew and part with the maintenance department.
Laura Gomez was a great asset in many departments. She helped in guest services and housekeeping; she cooked some of the meals in the cafe, and helped in the garden and bakery, and she was part of the metal shop crew.

Bradyn Smith was part of the agriculture crew.

We last reported on July 12. on interior construction in the lightscoop apartment of Unit 10 in the East Crescent Complex. Tilework in the bathroom had progressed to installation of very small tiles in the shower pan. The pattern for shower walls are layed out here.

As tilework progresses in the shower, a larger set of tiles are layed in the main room. Closet doors are ready to be installed.

Tilework on the floor of the main room is finished. This report will continue on 8/25 with more on tile installation in the bathroom.

Work continues on the roof for a storage shed for ceramic bells. Construction crewleader Angus Gluck teaches workshop participent Laura Gomez.

The sheet metal for the roof has been custom-cut.

This shed will be a welcome extension of space for a busy ceramic bell production.
This report will continue.

Two unfinished apartments on the third floor of Unit 4 and Unit 5 of the East Crescent Complex, have been used for several years as dorm facilities for visiting groups. The apartment in Unit 6 has now been finished for staff occupation. [from left] Most of the interior work concentrated on the kitchen. Floortiles had to be finished and cabinets and shelves put in place.

Construction staff Melissa Soluski installes tiles on countertops

The countertops are finished, a hood for the stove is in place, sink and faucets have been installed, and the kitchen is almost ready. More to come.

The Colly Soleri Music Center welcomes back E.A.R. UNIT, a Los Angeles based comtemporary Music Ensemble, dedicated to the performance, promotion and creation of the exciting music of our time. The group is here for a one-week workshop that will culminate into a public performance on the evening of August 12. 2006. This event marks the 25th Annual Colly Concert, celebrating 25 years of bringing cultural events to the high desert of central Arizona. The memory of Cosanti Foundation co-founder Colly Woods Soleri will be honored with an evening of food, music, and celebration in the music center that bears her name.

Musicians this year are Dorothy Stone, flute; Philip O'Conor, clarinet; Daphne Chen, violin; Eric Sung, cello; Vicki Ray, piano and Amy Knoles, percussion. The young composers this year are Michael Miller, Christopher Biggs, Mei-Fang Lin, Lee Hartman, Keith Kirchoff, Jen Wang, Elizabeth Kelly and Nathan J. Stumpff.

Founded in March 1981, the E.A.R. Unit has brought unparalleled versatility, virtuosity and dedication to its performances and is recognized today as one of America's finest contemporary chamber ensembles. For its contributions to the field of contemporary American music, the ensemble has recently garnered awards from the LA Weekly [Best Classical Series 1999 and 2003] and the 1999 'Letter of Distinction" from the American Music Center.
E.A.R. Unit has performed at major venues all over the world including Tanglewood, Brussels, Aspen, Kiev, Paris, the Kennedy Center, Cologne, New York, Boston, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Amsterdam, Reykjavik, and many places inbetween.

The evening will begin with a free tour at 4pm followed by a wine reception at 5pm. The concert starts at 5:30pm and dinner will be served immedeately after the concert.

Dinner Menu: roasted pepper and coconut soup; mixed green salad with pecans and pears; roasted sweet potatos with hazelnuts; portobellas stuffed with leeks and summer squash; beef with onion and horseradish salsa; and peach leaf custard with peach compote for dessert.

We reported on 7/19 on a small tornado that again damaged the already strained tent structure of the Colly Soleri Music Center amphitheater.

The Arcosanti maintenance crew has once again saved the day. Crew member Cabiria patiently repaired new tears from this last violent storm.

The tent was erected in 1989 and has been repaired many times.
The Colly Soleri Amphitheater has been shelter to amazing events like the annual Poetry Slam in May, the annual Jazz and Blues Festival in June and the annual Italian Night in July. Music, theater and dance, conferences and discussions have been shaded from the intense Arizona sun and protected from the desert chill in the evening. It has served very well and way beyond its initial promise and really needs to be replaced.
Dear Alumni and Friends, your kind generosity can make a tremendous difference.

The Colly Soleri Music Center welcomed back GROUP MOTION, a dance company from Philadelphia. Directed by Manfred Fischbeck, this company has graced the Colly Soleri Music Center with week-long workshops almost annually since 1991.

The Group Motion Company observes and expresses the human experience through movement. Each dance becomes a world of its own, transforming the stage into a ritual space to explore life's mysteries and journeys. Group Motion finds inspriation in universal sources - from myth, nature, and social issues to relationships and everyday adventures.

Group Motion was originally founded in 1962 as Gruppe Motion Berlin, a chamber dance company evolving from the Mary Wigman School of Dance. In 1968, under the direction of Brigitte Herrmann, Helmut Gottschield, and Manfred Fischbeck, the company relocated to Philadelphia and was quick to receive critical success. Group Motion came under the sole artistic and executive direction of Manfred Fishbeck in 1989 and has continued to develop within the forefront of contemporary dance, working with nationally and internationally known choreographers and artists.

[left] Brigitte Herrman and Manfred Fischbeck. [right] The amphiteater becomes part of the stage, here one of the bridges over the amphitheater moat.

Group discussion after a session.

The Colly Soleri Music Center and Amphitheater is an ideal environment for group workshops, with in- and semi-outdoor facilities. A group can be housed on site, delicious meals are available in the Arcosanti Cafe and the pool provides a perfect place for relaxation. For more information please contact Arcosanti Guest Services at (928) 632-6222.

During the workshop, each Friday morning is devoted to a group synergy. Weekly classes are scheduled for Friday afternoons.

On this Friday, manager of construction and utilities, Scott Riley, teaches a class on the solar installation in the second part of the East Crescent.

Interior finishing is almost complete in the Unit 6 lightscoop apartment on the second floor of the East Crescent complex. Workshop participants Tearar Chan, Heather McGregor and Steve Furlong learn how to set tiles.

The closet shelves are installed and the rest of the large studio is tiled.

Planning coordinator Dan Kelliher instructs the workshoppers. More on tile work will follow.