Kentucky Remembers Jazz Virtuoso Thomas Chapin With Screening, Concert
Trailer for "Night Bird Song: The Thomas Chapin Story."
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 16, 2016) — "When you die, the melody remains … it’s the song of your life." — Thomas Chapin.
Thomas Chapin was an alto sax and flute master close to reaching the pinnacle of success in his career when leukemia took his life at the age of 40 in 1998. Kentucky audiences are invited to come together to celebrate the life and work of this jazz virtuoso at a two-day event featuring a film screening and concert tribute Sept. 20-21.
The Chapin tribute will begin at the Kentucky Theatre with a screening of "Night Bird Song: The Thomas Chapin Story," 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20. "A Tribute to the Music of Thomas Chapin" will take the stage 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, in the Singletary Center for the Arts. Both the film screening and concert are free and open to the public.
Although Chapin died at an early age, his music has continued to live on. Today he inspires a new generation of artists who have recently discovered his work. In addition to his music, Chapin created exceptional poetry to match his compositions and developed art collages as visual expressions of his jazz solos.
The new documentary, "Night Bird Song: The Thomas Chapin Story," by Emmy Award- winning director Stephanie Castillo gives an intimate portrait of this musical explorer who transcended the boundaries of jazz and dissolved the distinctions between sound and music. The film aims to transform Chapin from being a footnote in jazz music to being a well-known figure.
"A Tribute to the Music of Thomas Chapin" will feature former Thomas Chapin Trio member and bassist Mario Pavone and prominent composer and musician Dave Ballou with jazz musicians from UK School of Music playing Chapin's compositions. A pre-concert discussion with the film's director, Stephanie Castillo, will be presented before at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, in Holmes Hall's Creative Arts Living Learning Program Studio. The lecture is also free and open to the public.
The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.
UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu