(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)February 1, 2019

RAMIX Recordings release events also scheduled

MAHWAH, N.J. — The Music Program at Ramapo College of New Jersey will be hosting its eighth annual Les Paul Festival, named after the great guitarist, inventor, and technologist Les Paul. Sponsored by The Les Paul Foundation, the Festival celebrates Paul’s innovative spirit with a week of guest speakers, workshops, and a culminating concert for the College and regional community. Paul lived in Mahwah and frequently hosted Ramapo students in his home studio.

Guitarist Bill Frisell will headline the Les Paul Festival Concert on Saturday, February 16 at 8 p.m. in the Sharp Theater at Ramapo College’s Berrie Center for the Performing and Visual Arts. Frisell will also have a Q&A session with students before the concert. Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 35 years and many celebrated recordings. Often hailed as one of the most distinctive and original improvising guitarists of our time, he has also earned a reputation for teasing out thematic connections with his music. Past concert headliners have been Mike Stern, Frank Vignola, Charlie Hunter, Nicki Parrott, Lou Pallo, and Bucky Pizzarelli.

The Festival week kicks off on Tuesday, February 12 with a Streaming Music Symposium for students, featuring music journalist Liz Pelly (Pitchfork, New York Times) and Ramapo alumna Danielle Czesniewski, the label manager of AWAL for the Kobalt Music Group. In the evening, the RAMIX Recordings Showcase will feature alumnus Ehiorobo. RAMIX is the record label of the College’s Music Program. Other guest speakers include George Roskos of Arkitekt Music and Ariel Hyatt of Cyber PR.

The Les Paul Foundation is a generous sponsor of the Festival as well as The Les Paul Studio for Music Recording and Sound Design at Ramapo College. The Les Paul Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through support of music education, recording, innovation and medical research related to hearing. The Festival is organized by the Music Program, the Berrie Center for the Performing and Visual Arts, the School of Contemporary Arts, and the student-run Ramapo Music Club. The Mahwah Museum also supports the Festival.

The Music Program at Ramapo College, with its distinctly contemporary orientation, emphasizes creativity and experiential learning in a liberal arts framework. The program focuses on many forms of contemporary music and digital-music technologies, while cultivating an appreciation for Western art music, popular music, American music, and musical traditions from around the world.  Students focus on one or two of five concentrations – Music Industry, Music Performance, Music Production, Music Studies, and (starting next year) Music Education – all of which offer opportunities for internships and independent projects. These flexible and interconnected concentrations allow students to develop their interests, talents, and skills in individual ways.

For tickets to the concert, contact the Berrie Center at Ramapo College at 201-684-7844 or visit https://www.ramapo.edu/berriecenter/event/les-paul-festival-concert-bill-frisell/

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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