MAGDALENA II
Fra Angelico, Triptych of Cortona (Cortona, 1430-36, det. of Mary Magdalene with Vase)
George Frederick Watts – St Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross (1866 – 1884)
Portraits of Musician MAGDALENA GEKA
Magdalena Geka
Violon
Violinist Magdalena Geka (1992, Latvia) is one of the most promising young musicians emerging from her country. She was nominated for Grand Music Prize of Latvia as “The Young Artist of the Year” 2014. Her most recent success include playing Bruch violin concerto with the Hamburger Symphoniker in September 2014 and her highly acclaimed debut with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra in October 2014 also with Bruch, replacing the soloist on a short notice.
She appears regularly with various orchestras in Latvia, France, Germany and Ukraine (Concertos of Britten, Tchaikowsky, Schumann, Brahms…) and has performed in most countries in Europe as well as in Israel.
Magdalena Geka is a laureate of numberous international competitions, most recently winning the 1st prize and the special prize in the Wolfgang Marschner international violin competition in Germany (2010), while being the youngest participant in the senior section. She is also laureate of the «Kloster Schöntal» competition in Germany (2007) and many international competitions of violin and chamber music in the Baltic states.
Magdalena started her violin studies at the central music school in Riga with Skaidrite Rakovska before moving to Paris at age 16 to study with Larissa Kolos in the Paris Regional Conservatory from where she graduated with a Concert Artist diploma in 2012. She is currently finishing her Bachelor degree at Conservatoire National Superieur de la Musique de Paris in the class of Svetlin Roussev, Ayako Tanaka and Florin Szigeti. She has also studied regularly with such teachers as Wolfgang Marschner, Amaury Coeytaux and Kathrin ten Hagen.
A passionate chamber musician, she is currently playing in Senna Quartet and has had the possibility to perform with such musicians as Konstantin Bogino, Laura Mikkola, Amaury Coeyteaux to name a few. In summer 2014 she launched a chamber music festival in her native town, Saulkrasti, reuniting young talented latvian musicians studying abroad. They toured extensively in Latvia in February and March 2015 and recorded Shostakovich Piano Quintet for the Latvian Radio. She is also working regularly with many composers and has up to date performed around 20 world premieres. Since February 2014 she plays regularly with the highly acclaimed chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica, and since 2012 has been member of Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle Europe. In the academic year 2014/2015 she is a trainee at the Orchestre Philharmonique Radio France.
Magdalena has been supported by the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation in the U.S.A., the Latvian children foundation, the Ministry of Culture of Latvia, the National cultural capital foundation, the Ministry of Culture of France and others. ORCHESTRE NUVELLE
Magdalena Boiler Room Bogotá DJ Set
PALACE DE MAGDALENA
The Palace of La Magdalena is the most emblematic building of the city of Santander and one of the most prominent examples of civil architecture in northern Spain. With a majestic landscape, it is situated at the highest point of the Peninsula bearing the same name. Its construction, between 1908 and 1912, following the plans of Gonzalo Bringas and Javier González de Riancho, resulted from a municipal initiative: the Town Council wanted to present Kings Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia with a summer residence to consolidate the summer tradition that was taking root in the city and its province. The monarchs and their children spent their summers between 1913 and 1930 in Cantabria. Apparently, it was the Queen, called Ena in the privacy of her family, who especially enjoyed the landscape and the architecture, very close to those of her native England: writers and poets evoked her homesickness for the Isle of Wight and they actually associated it with her stay in Santander and her subsequent exile.
From the Second Spanish Republic, the Palace was given various uses that damaged its status, both internal and external: it was the headquarters for the Summer International University, a hospital, temporary residence for those affected by the fire of 1941… From this year it was owned, together with the Peninsula, by Don Juan, son of Alfonso XIII and count of Barcelona. In 1977 the Town Council purchased this property, which can be enjoyed by every citizen since then. The brilliant total restoration of the main buildings of La Magdalena ended in 1995. Today, the Palace is the venue for congresses and meetings; during the summer, the Town Council allows the Menéndez Pelayo International University to use it as its centre of activity. Among its attractions, the Palace boasts an interesting museum area which can be visited and which offers a significant part of the royal heritage in connection with the city of Santander.
The Palace of La Magdalena has had a truly intense history, which reflects the social and political situation in Spain. Eight decades of busy existence, from Royal Residence to municipal property and headquarters for the International University, made absolutely essential its restoration, completed in 1995. Currently, the Palace is a place that offers different alternatives for hosting conferences and meetings, and it also preserves a museum area recreating the charm of the former Royal Residence. PALACE DE MAGDALENA
BRANDON FLOWERS
Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the lead singer, keyboardist and occasional bass guitarist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers, with whom he has recorded four studio albums.
In addition to his work with the Killers, Flowers has released two solo albums, Flamingo (2010) and The Desired Effect (2015). He has topped the UK Albums Chart six times, including work by the Killers, and is a recipient of the Q Idol Award. WIKIPEDIA
Brandon Flowers – Magdalena (Live)
MAGDALENA by Stephen Thorne
Who she was and why she was: For the fourth year in a row, the artfully inclined International House hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana presents MAGDALENA, an exhibition of provocative, evocative photographs that celebrates female mysticism and explores, with great reverence, the life and legacy of Mary Magdalene. This Holiday season features the powerful images of Canadian-born, award-winning photographer, journalist, editor and lecturer Stephen Thorne. Thorne’s passionate vocation has taken him from war-torn Afghanistan to capturing iconic moments with celebrities, sports figures, and royals, and his images and text have been featured in Time, International Journal, and newspapers worldwide.
For Christmas, it being the last of seven local rituals observed annually at International House, the hotel explores the immortal mystique of an essential character in Christianity and Judaism, Mary Magdalene, a woman whose magnetism endures over millennia. Through the medium of photography, MAGDALENA finds contemporary expression through Thorne’s vivid lens. MAGDALENA 2016 presents sixteen captivating portraits of women from around the world, an ensemble on view together for the first time.
Several of Thorne’s photographs have been acquired by the hotel and will join works from previous MAGDALENA exhibitions, gracing the walls of the hotel’s MAGDALENA Gallery, a permanent collection and 2nd floor public space – “a tribute to extraordinary women and the divine feminine.” As New Orleans’ premier boutique hotel, International House honors creativity and dedicates considerable resources to not only collecting and exhibiting art but serving as prism and hub for discourse on topics that matter.
Several of Thorne’s photographs have been acquired by the hotel and will join works from previous MAGDALENA exhibitions, gracing the walls of the hotel’s MAGDALENA Gallery, a permanent collection and 2nd floor public space – “a tribute to extraordinary women and the divine feminine.” As New Orleans’ premier boutique hotel, International House honors creativity and dedicates considerable resources to not only collecting and exhibiting art but serving as prism and hub for discourse on topics that matter.
WHOISMAGDALENA
JULIE PIETRI
Julie Pietri (born 1 May 1955, Algiers, Algeria) is a French pop singer, known for her single, “Ève lève-toi“, which was number-one on the French SNEP Singles Chart (Top 50) in November 1986 (also released in English-language, under the title “Listen to Your Heart”). WIKIPEDIA
Julie Piétri – Maria magdalena (Live à l’Olympia 1987)
Mary Magdalene is called the second-most important woman in the New Testament after Mary the mother of Jesus. She traveled with Jesus as one of his followers. She was present at Jesus’ most important moments: the crucifixion and the resurrection. The Gospel references describe her as a courageous servant leader, brave enough to stand by Jesus in his hours of suffering, death and beyond. In the New Testament, Jesus cleansed her of “seven demons”, interpreted as referring to complex illnesses.
Luca Signorelli: Mary Magdalene detail
MAGDALENA WROBEL
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Magdalena Wrobel (born in 1975 in Sopot, Poland), is a model best known as the former spokesmodel for Wonderbra’s Three Degrees of Wonder, and as a Victoria’s Secret model.
Wrobel entered modeling at the age of 15 after being discovered by a local photographer. At the age of 18, Magdalena entered the 1993 Ford Supermodel of the World contest and placed 2nd. She started her modeling career with Eastern Models in Warsaw before moving to Paris and finally the US as she appeared on the covers of magazines such as the French and Australian editions of Marie Claire and Glamour, as well as the international editions of Cosmopolitan and Woman. She was ranked #47 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001.
Wrobel has worked for fashion designers and cosmetics companies such as Bill Blass, Christian Lacroix, Comme des Garcons, Givenchy, Christian Dior, Guy Laroche, Marithe Francois Girbaud, Valentino and others. ALCHETRON
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MAGDALENA 1935-2012
KRIEF
Great music takes time – for the creator and the audience – and rock has become a tremendously tricky genre as of late. Of all the musical distinctions that are undergoing transitions, blending with other breeds, and weaving in and out of styles and classifications, rock is probably one of the most fluid. Krief has specific ideas of not only what rock is, but also what it should be.
Hailing from Montreal, Krief is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist that has spent most of the last decade writing, recording and performing with multi-award winning rock-noir band, The Dears. During a band hiatus, Krief struck out on his own in 2007 with the release of his debut solo album, Take It Or Leave.
“Making solo records was something I was doing well before I had joined The Dears,” said Krief. “After some non-stop touring and The Dears performing on David Letterman, the band really needed to take a step back and breathe. This finally gave me some time to get back to what I knew I always did best.”
As Krief toured his solo project across Canada and released Calm Awaits/Black Diamond Bay (2008) – a collaborative album with The Dears’ George Donoso – even Krief himself was taken aback by how strongly the new songs he was writing was affecting him. So much so that he had to step away from the project and The Dears provided a welcome distraction. Yet the pull of those new solo songs, which dealt so earnestly with his anxieties about growing older and continuing down the financially precarious road of a professional musician, were simply too powerful to cast aside.
“I was in the darkest place I had ever been in,” Krief recalls. “In order to get out of that dark place, I knew I had to go back in and finish the songs and see where they took me.”
Krief also began to carve out a niche as a sought after producer, film composer, co-writer and collaborator. Comprised with the release of his third album, Hundred Thousand Pieces (2012), it was evident that Krief had committed himself to the unpredictable artistic path he’d been leading those past eight years and to not fear telling his stories, his way.
“That album was about packing it all in and making music as a hobby on the side,” Krief says. “In the end though, hearing the finished product was the answer – there was no way I could produce something that’s so important to me and just let it rot.”
Hundred Thousand Pieces was critically acclaimed and cemented Krief as an artist in his own right. However, what Krief went through in the years following had all the hallmarks of a mid-life crisis – heartbreak, grief, despair and fear that followed a devastating string of deaths in Krief’s life. But, if that time five years ago was the halfway point of his musical existence, it would have put him out of the game — something he’s far from ready to concede. Especially with how he feels now: rejuvenated, alive and ready to tour.
Krief’s latest release, the double-album, Automanic Red/Blue (2016), is no less than an opus work by a musician who was pushed to the brink, and propelled to a creative peak.
“In 2015, I left The Dears to concentrate on this solo project,” said Krief. “This is not a side thing. Krief has grown to need my entire attention. Combined with expanding my work as a composer, producer and collaborator – it’s all or nothing. I’m all in. Everyone can expect this same level of commitment from me.”
Krief albums are a rare breed: rock guitar based albums where tenderness prevails in the melodies, harmonies, and the rich orchestrations. Trafficking in grandly textured and artfully rendered indie-rock anthems, Krief is clearly a musician who isn’t wary of treading fresh sonic territory. With four solo albums and various singles and videos since 2007, Krief evokes the rich British tradition of the Beatles to the Super Furry Animals with a heavy influence of Beach Boys-era love songs. Topped with ambitious production that sounds warm and intimate, there truly isn’t very much out there like what Krief has created. And it’s refreshing, to say the least.
Krief is currently seeking label, agent & publishing representation outside of Canada. MUSICGLUE
Krief – Magdalena | Live @ Stingray PausePlay
THE MAGDALENA RIDGE OBSERVATORY
The Magdalena Ridge Observatory (MRO) is located on 1,000 acres at 10,600 feet in the Magdalena Mountains of the Cibola National Forest in Socorro County, New Mexico (NM). This multi-use research and educational observatory is built and operated by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT) with offices located on the NMT campus in Socorro, NM.
The Magdalena Ridge Consortium Inc. was formed in January 1996 and the first design for the observatory was commissioned in 2000. In July 2004, a memorandum of agreement was signed with the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, UK for the design of Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI).
The MRO consists of two major facilities: an operational 2.4-meter fast-tracking telescope (2.4-meter telescope) and Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI), a ten-element optical/infrared interferometer, under construction. The mission of the observatory is to support:
astronomy
space situational awareness
education
The 2.4-meter (diameter mirror) telescope, a fast slewing telescope that can respond quickly to targets-of-opportunity, achieved first light in October 2006 and began routine operations during the summer of 2008. It is primarily utilized to observe, track, and characterize solar system astronomical targets, artificial Earth satellites, space vehicles, and is capable of missile tracking. Continuing programs launched in 2008 include NASA and National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research in astrometric follow up and spin rate determination of near-Earth asteroids and comets, and Air Force funded work to track and spectrally study low-Earth orbiting (LEO) resident space objects.
The MROI array simulates single dish telescopes that can range in size from 7.8 to 340 meters in diameter. The MROI, which will be ultimately composed of ten 1.4-meter telescopes, expects first light in the Beam Combining Facility (BCF) in 2015. The ten telescopes will be optically linked together in order to make images of astronomical objects with unprecedented detail. With this interferometric technology, MROI will be able to resolve objects with 100 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope and will be able to make accurate images of complex astronomical objects many times faster than other existing interferometric arrays.
2012.06.05 Venus Transit
2012.05.20 2012 Annular Eclipse Event at MRO – Event Pictures
PIXIES – MAGDALENA
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