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Featured in Art et Poésie de Touraine’s Autumn 2023 Issue

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Mary was honored to have been invited to write a biographical sketch for the Autumn 2023 issue of Art et Poésie de Touraine‘s quarterly magazine, which is now in print. The article, which was written in English by Mary and translated into French by the magazine, discusses Mary’s synesthetic composition process, as well as her time in France for the second edition of the “Rencontres Poétiques” international concert series in October 2022.

You can read a scanned copy of the article (in French) by visiting the following link:

https://www.marybichner.com/misc/artetpoesiedetourainesnippet_autumn2023.pdf

Founded in 1955, and publishing a quarterly magazine since 1958, Art et Poésie de Touraine has as its mission statement “to promote the arts – most especially poetry, painting and the visual arts – and poets and artists. The association also aims to encourage new creative vocations and to facilitate apprenticeships. Finally, it is a point of connection between poets and artists, particularly through the various meetings and events that it organizes.”

Thank you so much to Art et Poésie de Touraine President Nicole Lartigue for inviting Mary to pen this article, and to the kind translators at the magazine for creating the French-language version. Merci beaucoup!

Featured in National Geographic’s “The Brain” Special Issue, Published on June 10th 2022

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Mary is honored to be featured in National Geographic‘s “The Brain”, a new special edition of the magazine by science journalist Julia Sklar published on June 10th, 2022. In the article entitled “The Language of Synesthesia”, you can find information on Mary and her synesthetic composing style, including details on her two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery of Cambridge, MA.

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The article also contains several photos, including a gorgeous still by photographer Jonathan Beckley of Mary performing during 2019’s “Synesthesia Suite: Live” concert (in partnership with the Museum of Science Boston, Neoperceptions, and SciHub), featuring Neoperception’s breathtaking fiber-optic garments and dome visuals for the song “Lyra“; as well of some photos Mary took of her synesthetic composing tools (including her colored-in sheet music and favorite collection of synesthesia-hued pencils!).

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Although not currently available to read online, you can obtain a print edition of the magazine via your local newsstand, or online retailers such as Amazon.

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Thank you so much to Ms. Sklar and National Geographic for including Mary in this wonderful article and issue!

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(Update 09/17/22: now that this Special Issue is no longer available on newsstands, you can read the passage from the article that discusses Mary’s synesthesia right here.)

April 13th “Rencontres Poétiques” Concert Write-Up on WGBH News Site

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Thank you so much to journalist James Bennett II of WGBH for including a write-up about April 13th’s “Rencontres Poétiques” concert in his article “The April Drop” on the GBH News site! You can check out the full article here:



https://www.wgbh.org/news/lifestyle/2022/04/01/the-april-drop-from-spinning-wax-to-waxing-poetic




Cheers to one and all, and looking forward to seeing you at the Mugar Omni Theater on April 13th for “Rencontres Poétiques”!


Interviewed for the November 2021 Issue of BBC Music Magazine

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( Photo credit: page previews from the BBC Music website )



Mary is honored to have been interviewed for the November 2021 issue of BBC Music Magazine, as part of journalist Brian Wise’s new article about classical music in cemeteries. Entitled “A grave concern”, the article includes a passage detailing Mary’s two-year composer residency at the historic Mount Auburn Cemetery of Cambridge, MA, USA; as well as a photo of her performing with the wonderful Planetary Quartet during a Mount Auburn pop-up concert in the summer of 2016.



“A grave concern” features interviews with several other musical artists as well as cemetery specialists, including Mount Auburn Cemetery’s Director of Education and Visitor Services, Jessica Bussmann.



BBC Music Magazine can be found in-store at retailers such as Barnes and Noble, as well as via digital magazine subscription services such as Readly and Kindle Unlimited.



Thank you so much to Mr. Wise and BBC Music for including Mary in this fantastic article and issue!



(Update 01/01/21: now that the November 2021 issue is no longer in print, you can read the passage from the article that features Mary’s Mount Auburn Cemetery Residency right here.)

Christina Goh’s “Ut Fortis” Project in French Newspaper La Nouvelle République; Concert Rebroadcast by TV Tours Val de Loire on July 11th

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On June 23rd 2021, the French newspaper La Nouvelle République published a write-up on Christina Goh’s powerful and meaningful live concert centered on the topic of suicide prevention, the “Ut Fortis” project. Mary is honored to be mentioned in the article, which discusses “Ut Fortis” as well as Christina’s and Mary’s music work together.



Here a link to the original article in French:
https://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/tours/musique-en-couleur-pour-prevenir-le-suicide



And here is an English translation of the article:



“On June 9, the VIES 37 network (Living and intervening together in the face of suicide) organized a masterclass at the Institut de Touraine with Mary Bichner, guest composer of the Ut Fortis artistic project. Originally from Boston, she is the author of the Synesthesia Suite, with the Boston Museum of Sciences, and the composer of the opera The Memoirs of Antonina on Queen Marie Antoinette. In this context, a series of poetry workshops were conducted by the poet Christina Goh, initiator of Ut Fortis, with the students of the Institute. This is the first time that they have been together on stage in France, brought together by this solidarity project for suicide prevention. Colors are everywhere in the creations of Mary Bichner, synaesthete, synaesthesia being that particularity that allows some people to “see” music, to associate letters or tastes with colors. The final show will be broadcast in July, and from September, made available free of charge and on request to structures that so wish. — http://www.utfortis.com“



As mentioned in the write-up, a televised re-broadcast of the concert will air on TV Tours Val de Loire on Sunday, July 11th at 2:45PM Eastern Time [ET] / 8:45PM Central European Summer Time [CEST]; featuring performances by Christina Goh, Catherine Capozzi, Gotham Aymar, G.K, Les Passeurs de Legendes, Maxime Perrin, Noah Preminger, Jacques Moury Beauchamp, and Mary Bichner. You’ll be able to stream the broadcast on July 11th @ 2:45PM ET / 8:45PM CEST via TVTours website right here:



https://www.tvtours.fr/



Thank you so much to La Nouvelle République for this article, and for spreading the word about “Ut Fortis”! And thank you so much to TV Tours Val de Loire for bringing “Ut Fortis” to the airwaves — we hope you will join us for the broadcast!