the Moth Project at Cochecton Pumphouse

THE MOTH PROJECT DEBUTS FRI AUG 12 AT COCHECTON PUMPHOUSE

Barryville/NYC based GRAMMY nominated musician Peter Kiesewalter and violinist Whitney La Grange debut The Moth Project on Friday August 12 at the Cochecton Pumphouse.

The Moth Project is a two-person show featuring MUSIC/PICTURES/WORDS about and inspired by moths. Stunning visuals are projected onto the musicians, who are standing in front of a 16’x9’ video screen while performing an eclectic mix of music – from Bach to Joni Mitchell to original songs – and spoken word.

When the pandemic hit NYC in March 2020, every freelance musician in the world panicked. “I had a year’s worth of touring lined up that was shut down,” says Peter Kiesewalter, a Brooklyn-based and Ottawa-born native. Kiesewalter, who was born in Canada, was fortunate to receive a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to develop the Moth Project, which is being rolled out this summer with what he describes as “low-key” shows near his family cottage in Canada and near his upstate NY farmhouse which he bought pre-pandemic with his partner Whitney La Grange, the violinist onstage for the Moth Project. “Seeing what was going on in the performing arts world with this pall of uncertainty whether live performance would ever return to its pre-pandemic days was life-changing for me. I needed to figure out a way of paying the bills without playing in the venues that sustained me for my entire career. This show lives at the intersection of art and science – I’m hoping to bring it to venues that aren’t traditional performance spaces like outdoor amphitheaters, libraries, museums, and yes – all the places I used to play like clubs, theaters, and music festivals.”

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
While the pandemic raged through NYC and musicians were forced to stay home, the two musicians renovated their upstate NY property and turned a detached one car garage into a living/work space by watching YouTube renovation videos and tackling as much of the work as they could themselves. “As anxiety-inducing as the time off was, we were grateful for the opportunity to slow down, take stock, and dive into projects like the farmhouse renovation and the Moth Project.”

Visit www.mothprojectlive.com for details, ticket links, and videos.

To view the trailer, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt37A4Wo4ZU

Click here to view a 8min mini-doc.