The Savage Wonder Festival is happening this weekend and we can’t wait to see you there!
Doors open each day at 12pm from Oct 11-13, and will feature seven different artists in our gallery, accompanied by live musicians throughout the day. Meet our musicians below.
Benjamin Fortier
Benjamin Fortier grew up in Northern Rhode Island. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve, and within ten days of graduating from high school, he was standing on the yellow footprints at Parris Island. In 2006, he served as an infantry team member with 1st Battalion, 25th Marines in Fallujah, Iraq. He is a writer, musician, and has performed with VetRep on numerous occasions. His latest book, Phantoms, was awarded the Robert A. Gannon Award for poetry dealing with Marine Corps life. He is a life member and plank owner of the 1st Battalion, 25th Marines Association.
Lois Hicks-Wozniak & Hot Wrk
Hot Wrk Ensemble, the saxophone/woodwind and percussion trio founded in 2020 by award-winning musicians J Brooks Marcus (J Why), Lois Hicks-Wozniak and Brad Hubbard, is committed to creating community through diverse, genre-eclectic “chamber grooves” that include collaborative improvisation. Both questioning and answering, “what is chamber music Hot Wrk explores, deconstructs and wrks out concepts of traditional chamber music and the concert experience. “…a trio of phenomenally talented local musicians, Hot Wrk Ensemble. Are they a contemporary classical ensemble with truly eclectic instrumentation? A jazz group that has both Miles Davis and Domenico Scarlatti in their "book"? Three gifted composer/musician/improvisers with a uniquely panglobal focus? The single answer to all those questions is a resounding ‘YES!’ In short, HWE is the very much the poster child for broadly inclusive unconventional cultural engagement.” (Elysium Furnace Works) With Olivia Kieffer’s breathless ride, Hot Work, as the inspiration for their ensemble name, programs can include Scarlatti, Son Jalisciense, Bossa Nova, Funk, free jazz, prepared electronics and original compositions by ensemble members. Hot Wrk is an interactive experience with a mission that breaks the 4th wall and invites audiences to engage – through the idea of musicking -- that community and music is also created by sharing thoughts, asking questions, contributing ideas and listening. Hot Wrk Ensemble believes chamber music can be a voice for change by engaging communities to interact with and partake in the creation process – breaking systemic barriers that have placed classical and jazz in niche markets. Saxophone and percussion are not just limited to and that chamber music is not a narrow definition but is dynamic and changing. “Hot Wrk demonstrated that there is a greater breadth of saxophone and percussion music out there than you might imagine…it is through metamorphosis that we conjure glimpses of eternity.” (CRS - Center for Remembrance and Sharing)
A living room concert during the pandemic shutdown for a friend recovering from surgery, was the setting when award-winning saxophonist, Lois Hicks-Wozniak, discovered her non-musician friends wanted to comment and share their inspirations to the music following each selection. The intimate performance encouraged a conversation that would otherwise be prohibited during traditional chamber music recitals, and she found herself energized and impassioned to create this community connection with an ensemble. Baritone saxophonist and flute player, Brad Hubbard, former member of the New Century Saxophone Quartet and a fixture in countless ensembles, joined in 2020 and formidable percussionist and composer, J Brooks Marcus (J Why) quickly followed in 2021 to foster the mission of Hot Wrk Ensemble.