by Mike Telin
François Girard’s latest film, Hochelaga, Terre des âmes (“Hochelaga, Land of Souls”), is a historical drama that investigates and dramatizes the long struggle for the land that became Montréal. Like all of the French-Canadian director and screenwriter’s work, which includes Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould and The Red Violin, a great deal of attention has been placed on the musical score — here Girard has turned to the father and son team of Terry Riley and Gyan Riley.
Hochelaga, Land of Souls, which will be screened at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Friday, March 1 at 7:00 pm, features performances by the Kronos Quartet and violinist Tracy Silverman.
Tracy Silverman became one of the first adopters of the electric violin in the eighties when he built a six-string, amplified instrument of his own. He faces the challenge of pitching himself to a potentially diverse audience.
“It’s all about staying in touch with contemporary culture,” the multifaceted electric violinist Tracy Silverman said during a recent telephone conversation from his Nashville studio. On Monday, July 21 at 8:00 pm at the Beachland Ballroom, Silverman will perform a solo concert on his six-string electric violin featuring music by Santana, George Gershwin, Stevie Wonder, John Adams, J.S. Bach, Jimi Hendrix, Terry Riley, Nico Muhly and Kenji Bunch as well as his own compositions.