COLLABORATIONS
WALK ON AIR PRODUCTIONS
Walk on Air Productions dedicates itself to encouraging a global awareness as we collectively face the challenges of our times from forced migrations of peoples due to climate change, ecological disasters, and political upheaval to disputes that prevent us from finding common cause. We are an international ensemble working collaboratively, creating stories for our time, engaging in interdisciplinary media and technologies in order to pioneer online and live music-theatre performances that promote collective engagement and inclusivity.
How it happened
Going back to school was one of the best things i've ever done. it gave me the opportunity to meet new people that i might not otherwise have had the chance to meet. being back in a learning environment was a great chance to redefine myself as an artist, well really to expand myself as an artist. Walk on Air was created in 2021 with an ensemble of multi-disciplinary artists that i met through my MFA program. together we came up with our production company name by throwing ideas into the ‘hat’, we designed and implemented our website, we soul searched, composed and produced music, gathered media content, implemented video production, spent endless hours on zoom in meetings, actor rehearsals, and then our first multimedia production, Medea Redux, was born.
MEDEA REDUX
A new take of the ancient Greek story of Medea told first hand through the household servants of Medea and Jason. Comedy, tragedy, political savvy, and song shines a new light on Euripedes’ ancient play.
THE GOSPEL OF DEMOCRACY ACCORDIN’ TO SISTER ROXY
A new podcast (in beta form) brought to you from the ancient past into our present day world. Roxanne Solaris has been transported from 400 BCE to 2,400 years into the future to share her views on our current democratic state of affairs right here in the US of A.
Concept, script, direction by Helen E. Richardson
Production, performance, original music, sound by Deborah Latz
TRANSCENDENT
Currently we are working on a new rock opera,Transcendent, about the life and times of the 19th century American journalist, feminist, educator, transcendentalist, Margaret Fuller. the libretto is written by Helen E. Richardson and the music is co-composed by Andy Mason and Deborah Latz. we’re almost ready to share it with you!
PAT WICTOR DEBORAH LATZ
Before you read our bio below i just want to say a few things off the cuff. Pat and i sing together because we have too much fun (especially in rehearsal), we trust one another fully, we forgive each other and ourselves, we explore in the moment on stage, and we bring our best selves. we’re always striving to expand our musical horizons. when we played our third gig out in 2018 we had no idea it would become our debut CD. honestly, i was nervous because the packed house we stood in front of were big Pat Wictor fans and they had no idea who i was but they listened and felt our chemistry. i’m thrilled to tell you that we’ve got plans for another album brewing!
Deborah Latz Pat Wictor Promo
Pat Wictor and Deborah Latz first met at an improvisational singing workshop led by Bobby McFerrin, and their musical collaboration is all about spontaneity and surprise. Based in Brooklyn but coming from two different musical realms - he from the acoustic singer-songwriter world, she from the jazz and performance art scenes - they meet over their shared love of melody, poetry, and possibility. Together they have created a neo-folk, jazz fusion vocal duo that showcases tight harmonies and playful improvisation. Their first CD release, Counterpoise, captures the energy and interplay of a live performance.
Wictor first became known for his slide guitar playing and innovative re-imagining of traditional and contemporary songs. He spent most of the last seven years touring all over North America as one third of the acclaimed harmony-driven trio Brother Sun. Jazz singer, songwriter, and performance artist Deborah Latz has worked in a wide range of musical and theatrical settings. She can move from a deep and soulful ballad, to scatting on a bebop tune, to trading fours with a hip hop artist, all the while delighting audiences with her personal warmth and musical skill.
This new collaboration promises to evolve in exciting ways as they explore new facets of their artistry.
Deborah Latz Pat Wictor House Concert 2022
OPEN YOUR HEART AND MIND
A western woman falls in love with the shehnai. Forests are burning. The Kumbh Mela beckons in Prayagraj. A cacophony of living sounds, colors, and history surround her. Her country is falling apart. Cows, feral dogs, and birds abound. A dream, an abstraction, a very old reality. Enter into the immersive, performance art soundscape of Open Your Heart and Mind.
On July 20, 2018, a very auspicious day, i arrived at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn, NY at 4:30pm, the first person in line, to hear master sitar player Anoushka Shankar - a concert that changed the course of my life. it was on that night that i heard Sanjeev Shankar so artfully play the shehnai that i fell in love with the North Indian classical double-reed instrument.
It requires a lot of physical strength, copious amounts of breath, and embouchure to play this artisan crafted wooden instrument (shehnai) with seven finger holes, a brass bell (pyala), sound chamber (nari), and double reed (pattur).
After i was awarded a research grant i flew to New Delhi, India to study shehnai with Sanjeev Shankar, his brother Ashwani Shankar and their father Pandit Daya Shankar. my lessons took place each day at their flat and every morning i couldn’t wait to begin. when i tell you that i felt a deep connection with the Shankar family it comes from my heart. not only did i begin to learn the intricacies and the nuances of the shehnai, the Shankar’s shared their philosophy of this very special instrument, which has been in their family for four hundred years.
Program graphic design by Inkyoung Bae
Open Your Heart and Mind (OYHM)
SONIC MUSES
IMPROVISED SONIC LANDSCAPES
Three extraordinary performers, tap dance phenom Claudia Rahardjanoto, violinist, composer Helen Yee, and vocalist, composer Deborah Latz, bring their off the beaten track musical sensibilities to New York City.
I was lucky to meet both Claudia and Helen through the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY in 2014 and 2016 while we were creating sounds and soundscapes with world renowned music maker Bobby McFerrin and his faculty. during Sonic Muses’ time together we performed our improvised sonic landscapes in New York City at the Tenth Annual Make Music New York (under the Guastavino Arches), Cornelia Street Underground SonicFest, and El Barrio’s Artspace PS109.
SONIC MUSES Cornelia Street Cafe SONICFEST
