David Spelman

[1] In a 2009 interview,[2] with Allan Kozinn, published in the New York Times Sunday Arts & Leisure, Spelman discussed the influence of classical guitarist and composer Benjamin Verdery, whom he had first encountered in a master class in Santa Cruz, California.

Spelman has commissioned scores by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver,[5] Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, James Blackshaw, Gyan Riley, David Bromberg, Steve Kimock, Alex de Grassi, and Chicha Libra, for classic silent films by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harry Everett Smith, Yasujirō Ozu, Wu Yonggang, and Georges Méliès.

Programing highlights included outdoor concerts by Goran Bregovic, The Derek Trucks Band, Daniel Lanois, Taj Mahal, Randy Bachman, Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya, an all-day Brazilian Guitar Marathon (co-curated by The Assad Duo), and a sold-out tribute to Neil Young at Massey Hall, featuring the Cowboy Junkies; Holly Cole; Danny Michel; Steven Page; Carole Pope; Bill Frisell Trio; Issa (formerly Jane Siberry); Colin Linden; Stevie Jackson (Belle & Sebastian); Harry Manx; Jason Collett; Sarah Slean and musical director Kevin Breit.

The project was the third collaboration between Frisell and filmmaker Bill Morrison, who has worked with some of the most important composers of our time, including John Adams, Gavin Bryars, Henryk Gorecki, David Lang, Harry Partch, and Steve Reich.

The Long Count had its premiere on September 11, 2009 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and was a collaboration between visual artist Matthew Ritchie and twin brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner, best known as members of the indie rock band The National.

In 2006, Spelman partnered with Carnegie Hall to co-commission the guitarist-composer Bill Frisell to present a program of new works featuring the world premiere of a multimedia piece created in collaboration with visual artist Jim Woodring.

The evening featured Bill Frisell's 858 Quartet and with Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola), Hank Roberts (cello), and special guests Ron Miles (trumpet), and Greg Tardy (tenor sax and clarinet).

The event, Songs of Love & Despair: A Musical Tribute to Pablo Neruda, featured performances and readings by Clogs, the Czech experimental musician Irene & Vojtech Havel, Chilean poet Cecilia Vicuña, Colin Stetson (Sway Machinery, Bell Orchestre, Arcade Fire), Pedro Soler with Basque vocal improviser Beñat Achiary, poet and Bowery Poetry Club founder Bob Holman, experimental performance artist Laurie Anderson, and rock musician Lou Reed.

[7] As a visual arts curator, Spelman has organized gallery exhibits in New York and Toronto by photographers Ralph Gibson, Danny Clinch, Andy Summers, Jack Vartoogian, Steve Sherman, Rahav Segev, and Hank O’Neal.

Singers Matt Berninger (of The National), Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond), and sisters Kim and Kelley Deal (of The Breeders) will perform original compositions by the Dessners that will fuse with the continuous soundscape of a 12-person orchestra for a condensed visual epic brought to life through projected images and a mirrored stage surface."

[13] The 2011 Ellnora festival took place September 8–10[14] and the line-up included Luther Dickinson as Artist-in-Residence,[15] the world premiere of a multimedia work about the 1927 Mississippi River flood by Bill Frisell and filmmaker Bill Morrison,[16] and performances by Calexico, Lee Ranaldo, My Brightest Diamond, Richard Thompson, Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub, Sharon Isbin, Taj Mahal, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Adrian Belew, Robert Randolph, The Tony Rice Unit, Cindy Cashdollar, and Marc Ribot.

[24] Other multi-artist tributes produced by Spelman include New York concerts celebrating the musical legacies of Andrés Segovia, Jimi Hendrix, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, John Fahey, Skip James, Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Elizabeth Cotten, Neil Young, George Harrison, Jerry Garcia, Tom Waits, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Lefty Frizzell, the Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Terry Riley.

The organization's mission statement, posted on their blog,[25] states: "Based in the micro-urban beach community of Springsteen lore, Asbury Park, New Jersey, Sonic Garden is an association of musos, writers, architects, baristas, painters, surfers and winos committed to pursuing artistic development through residences, exhibitions, and education programs which foster dialogue across disciplines and barstools."