What is "Artifacts"
DuoWest has combined forces with internationally renowned and celebrated vocal composer Craig
Bohmler and award-winning lyricist Marion Adler to create a major work (song cycle) for mezzo-
soprano, cello and piano that musically evokes the mystery and disappearance of the great Hohokam
civilization: a native American people, who then populated mainly the Valley now known as the
Phoenix Metropolitan area and adjoining areas of Arizona and New Mexico.  Using the myths, the
science and the conjecture, the song cycle will have original poetry and music inspired by the
artifacts themselves and seeks to compel the listener into the fascinating aspects of a civilization,
rich in culture, and advanced in science that vanished from the face of the earth, leaving only its
“Artifacts.”

                                                                  
Ron Cipolla of "Treasures of our Past, Inc." has offered to coordinate an assemblage of rare
Hohokam artifacts to accompany  and compliment the premiere performance as an exhibit to be seen
at the performance venue. This will enable audience members to connect the art with the music.
Slides of the artifacts will be projected during the performance itself, thus heightening awareness of
a former American civilization about which we know so little. In connection with the performances,
proposed sessions with Park Rangers and anthropological experts have been discussed to enlighten
the public on remaining “Hohokam” sites of interest including the “big house” in Casa Grande
Arizona and the many areas of interpretive petroglyphs that remain present on boulders and rock
formations throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan Valley.

This unique collaboration of Hohokam art and music is a new way to take listeners outside of the
box, and bring them to the heart of a great civilization long past. With respect to all Native American
cultures, this composition should heighten awareness of a people, that many listeners even here in
the west know little about.

As we face the great issues of global warming, wars, famine, scarce resources and diminishing
fossil fuels, it is possible that the work “Artifacts” can also serve as a metaphor for our time, as
many of these same salient issues may have impacted the disappearance of the Hohokam people.






“Artifacts” is being supported by private and corporate donations and matching grants (one from the
“Argosy” foundation) and grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts in conjunction with the  
National Endowment for the Arts.
To contribute and become a part of what promises to be the most exciting and original cultural event
in Phoenix during the 2008-2009 season, contact the DuoWest Hotline at:480-650-2089 or email
DuoWest at duowest@aol.com

The inaugural performance is slated for April 2009, (date to be announced within weeks) and
several unique venues are being considered at this time that will make the concert a destination as
well as a performance.

Tickets to this one-of-a-kind evening will be available soon on the DuoWest website and will
include a pre-concert lecture by the composer, a viewing of the artifacts, the World Premiere
performance and a gala reception following the Premiere.

Biographies of the Commissioned Composer, Lyricist and guest
Mezzo-Soprano.


Craig Bohmler (composer) is frequently performed in Europe and North America. Mainly a
composer for the lyric theater and the solo voice, he has written 3 operas, 9 musicals, 150 art songs,
choral, orchestral and chamber works, including operas for Houston Grand Opera and  Opera San
Jose. Off-Broadway musicals include GUNMETAL BLUES and ENTER THE GUARDSMAN (1st
prize winner-Int’l Musical of the Year) He has received 3 NEA grants and 3 Meet the Composer
grants, ASCAP and Dramatist’s Guild Awards. His works are published by TRW, SBMP, and
Samuel French, and recorded by Columbus, Centaur, Original Cast, and BMS records. More
information may be found at Craigbohmler.com

Marion Adler is an award winning lyricist whose work has been seen across Canada, the US, and
Europe.   In 2000, Ms. Adler was a winner of the richest prize available to an artist in the U.S., the
Kleban award, for her body of work as a lyricist.  Ms. Adler has developed and work shopped her
writing at the O'Neill Institute in Connecticut and the Dramatist's Guild, NAMT, ASCAP and BMI in
New York City. Works include ALL THE MORE TO LOVE for the Laguna Playhouse in California,
a song cycle SAINTS AND SINNERS for the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, an adaptation of Leslie
Watt's award winning children's book THE BAABAA SHEEP QUARTET, and an original lyric
play OVERBOARD.

Greek-American mezzo-soprano, Layna Chianakas, has sung leading opera roles ranging from Sesto
in GUILIO CESARE (Handel) to Santuzza in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANCA with major opera
companies across the United States and Europe.  She was named Artistic Ambassador of the United
States, performing recitals in Central and South America.  She spent three years touring with The
Songs of Franz Schubert Concert Series performing over 100 recitals, accompanied by world-
renowned accompanist, John Wustman.  Having soloed with many orchestras and choral groups, Ms.
Chianakas sang the world premiere of SAINTS written for her by Craig Bohmler, with the San Jose
Chamber Orchestra.  
"ARTIFACTS"