Noa Fort Concert September 8 at NYM Cultural Center

NY Musician is Resident Artist in NYMills

The Cultural Center in New York Mills presents our first “Visiting Artist Pop-Up Concert” with Noa Fort on Saturday, September 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Ms. Fort is a musician from New York who is spending two weeks at the Arts Retreat House in New York Mills as part of the Cultural Center’s artist residency program. She has offered to play a solo concert for community members during her residency as a way to express her appreciation of the program and connect with local residents.

Israeli-born vocalist, pianist, songwriter, improviser, painter of sounds Noa Fort was recently regarded as “one of New York’s more interesting and original artists” (New York Music Daily). She draws inspiration from different musical worlds, integrating her background of classical and jazz piano, jazz singing, and free improvisation into her original music.

Fort has sang and played the piano from an early age; she started taking classical piano classes at age 5 and cannot remember a time when she did not sing. However, her life journey took her to other places (she earned her first bachelor degree in Biology, and researching birds in the Israeli desert is one of her most favorite moments out of that experience). Yet she knew that music was her true passion.

It wasn’t until she travelled to India for a year, taking private lessons in tabla and playing with traveling musicians like her, that she decided to pursue this passion professionally. Upon her return to Israel she started her studies in the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, both as a vocalist and a pianist. She started performing with various bands and projects in Israel and quickly gained a name as a versatile pianist/keyboardist/vocalist. She also led the Noa Fort Quintet, which played her original compositions, written in her last year in the academy. She graduated in 2012 and moved to New York in 2013.

Since her arrival in New York in 2013, she has played in numerous venues and has collaborated and played with greats such as William Parker, Okkyung Lee, Rene Hart, and Anat Fort. She recently participated in the Banff Jazz and Creative music workshop under the leadership of Vijay Iyer.

Fort also holds an MA in music therapy from NYU; she uses music in her work with youth at risk, adults with developmental disabilities and people who suffer from mental illnesses and believes in the power of music to heal.

When the Cultural Center was founded, its name was “The New York Mills Arts Retreat.” The artist retreat and residency program remains central to the mission, purpose, values, and vision of the Center today. This new “Visiting Artist Pop-Up Series” will feature visiting artists of all disciplines offering various outreach opportunities such as concerts, workshops, readings, and more, often on rather short notice, as residencies typically last just 2-6 weeks.

All are welcome to this free live music event. A freewill donation will be collected to help support the Cultural Center’s Arts Retreat residency program.

Questions? Call the Cultural Center at 218-385-3339 or visit us online at kulcher.org.

The Cultural Center in New York Mills is a rural hub for creativity, community vitality, and lifelong learning in the arts. We offer visitors intimate opportunities to encounter art and artists in our 80-seat concert listening room, two galleries in a historic building, a gift store featuring local artists, an artist residency program, a sculpture park, and a variety of opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Since our incorporation in 1990, we have been passionate about connecting people to artists and rich cultural experiences in rural Minnesota, celebrating the local and being a window to the world.