Mia Theodoratus
Encyclopedia
Mia Theodoratus is an American harp
ist and arranger based in Brooklyn
, New York
. She plays Rock
, Jazz
, and Celtic
harp.
with a masters degree in harp performance.
After graduation she moved to New York City and took up residence in Brooklyn. She began to incorporate a wide variety of influences into her music including free jazz
and North Indian classical music
. During this period she worked with performance groups and played with jazz artists including Daniel Carter
, Baikida Carroll
and Roscoe Mitchell
. In 1999, Theodoratus released a CD called 1 Swirl with Tabla artist Nick Smith under the name Jah-La. In 2004 Theodoratus recorded Confusing the Devil with the avant-jazz Hanuman Sextet.
She is affiliated with the Irish Arts Center where she teaches Celtic Harp and performs Celtic Music. She performed with the Shakespeare Theatre Company
production of Oedipus
with Avery Brooks
at the Herod Atticus Theatre in Athens, Greece. She has recorded and performed with TV on the Radio
, Leona Naess
, Ann Magnuson
and Citizens Band.
In 2008 Theodoratus performed in Dueling Harps with Magnuson, Alex Rami and Adam Dugas. Her current touring project is Ravens and Roses (with Dugas) which fuses together Irish tunes, rock songs and Purcell
.
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
ist and arranger based in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She plays Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and Celtic
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
harp.
Biography
Theodoratus graduated from the California Institute of the ArtsCalifornia Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
with a masters degree in harp performance.
After graduation she moved to New York City and took up residence in Brooklyn. She began to incorporate a wide variety of influences into her music including free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
and North Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
. During this period she worked with performance groups and played with jazz artists including Daniel Carter
Daniel Carter (musician)
Daniel Carter is an American free jazz saxophone, flute, clarinet, and trumpet player active mainly in New York City since the early 1970s...
, Baikida Carroll
Baikida Carroll
Baikida Carroll is an American jazz trumpeter.Carroll studied at Southern Illinois University and at the Armed Forces School of Music early in his career. Following this he became a member of the Black Artists Group in St. Louis, where he directed their free jazz ensemble...
and Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell is an African American composer, jazz instrumentalist and educator, mostly known for being "a technically superb—if idiosyncratic—saxophonist." He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past...
. In 1999, Theodoratus released a CD called 1 Swirl with Tabla artist Nick Smith under the name Jah-La. In 2004 Theodoratus recorded Confusing the Devil with the avant-jazz Hanuman Sextet.
She is affiliated with the Irish Arts Center where she teaches Celtic Harp and performs Celtic Music. She performed with the Shakespeare Theatre Company
Shakespeare Theatre Company
The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. Their self professed mission "is to present classic theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights’ language and intentions while viewing their...
production of Oedipus
Oedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
with Avery Brooks
Avery Brooks
Avery Franklin Brooks is an American actor, television director, jazz musician, opera singer and college professor. Brooks is perhaps best known for his television roles as Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and as Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, and in the...
at the Herod Atticus Theatre in Athens, Greece. She has recorded and performed with TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio is an American art rock band formed in 2001 in Brooklyn, New York, whose music spans numerous diverse genres, from post-punk to electro and free jazz to soul music....
, Leona Naess
Leona Naess
Leona Kristina Naess is a British singer-songwriter of Swedish-Norwegian parentage. She released her debut album, Comatised, in March 2000, which produced the single "Charm Attack" .-Early life:...
, Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer who first gained prominence in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan...
and Citizens Band.
In 2008 Theodoratus performed in Dueling Harps with Magnuson, Alex Rami and Adam Dugas. Her current touring project is Ravens and Roses (with Dugas) which fuses together Irish tunes, rock songs and Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
.
Discography
- 1 Swirl, (1999) - Jah-La
- Confusing the Devil (2004) - The Hanuman Sextet
- Adam & Mia - EP (2008) - Adam & Mia
- Thirteens (2008) - Leona Naess
- 9 Meals from Anarchy (2009) - The Hanuman Sextet
External links
- Mia Theodoratus, official site.