IDEAS, NOT THEORIES, is a theatrical percussion company for unconventional instruments that offers several programs featuring Reynaliz Herrera's original music for bicycles and other unconventional instruments. One of the programs, "Ideas, Not Theories- Full Staged Show" features original music which explores the use of unconventional instruments such as: bicycles, tap and body percussion, water, brushes, as well as traditional percussion instruments such as marimbas and drums, where the musical works are linked together through a story line, physical theater and comedy, and original characters making the complete performance a unique, quirky and creative artistic experience.

 

* "Ideas, Not Theories"  offers several programs, some of the different programs are:  

"Ideas, Not Theories- Full Staged Show"

"Ideas, Not Theories- Educational & Interactive Show"

"Ideas, Not Theories- Bicycle Rock Band"

"Ideas, Not Theories- Bicycle Orchestra"

"Ideas, Not Theories- Bicycle Beats"

"BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra"

 

(See SHOWS page for more information).

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​SYNOPSIS (Theatrical Programs)

(Of our programs "Ideas, Not Theories- The Full Staged Show" and "Ideas, Not Theories-  The Educational & Interactive Show"): Three magical creatures secretly inhabit a warehouse.  These creatures are awakened by a kid who stumbles into the room and begins to discover its sounds.  Once awakened, the magical creatures join the child as they go on an adventure of sound and music that can be created inside the room by using the objects in it.  By doing this, they discover the magical potential that the warehouse has. During their adventure other surprises come along…

 

 "Ideas, Not Theories"- BIO

 

IDEAS, NOT THEORIES, had its premier in Monterrey Mexico, inside the Festival de Musica Nueva 2012 and has been performing regularly since then in the U.S (Boston and Massachusetts, NYC, Maine, Philadelphia, New Haven CT, New Mexico and Arizona), Mexico, Barbados and Canada. Highlight performances include:  Percussive Arts Society International Convention 2022,  Interference Series 2024 (Arizona), The Space Between 2024 at McGill University, The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston 2021/2024, The Museum of Science Boston 2024, Bridgetown International Arts Festival 2023, National Cultural Center of Barbados 2023, Peabody Essex Museum 2022, Harvard Museums of Science and Culture 2021, Currents New Media Festival  2021 (New Mexico), Institute of Contemporary Art Boston 2021, Cambridge Public Library 2020, The International Festival of Arts & Ideas 2019 (New Haven, CT), The Flea Theater in Tribeca NY 2018, The National Arts Center of Canada 2018,  M.I.T 2018 / 2019, featured with 5 performances inside The New York International Fringe Festival 2015, The New York University Day of Percussion (NYU/KoSA/HLAG) 2016,  at The Boston Children's Museum for 3 years in a row (2016/ 2017/2018) at The Please Touch Museum 2019 (Philadelphia, PA), The Brooklyn Children's Museum 2017, The National Arts Center of Canada,  The Cambridge Arts River Festival 2019, ILLUMINUS Festival 2017, and The World Maker Faire NY 2017 (At NY Hall of Science) and Boston Maker Faire (2016/2017/2018). Other performances include: at  Friends of Congress Square Park 2019 (Portland, ME), Mayo Street Arts (Portland, Maine), Cambridge Summer in The City 2019, FOG X FLO (2018 Emerald Necklace rendition of the Fog sculptures by Fujiko Nakaya),Outside The Box Festival 2016 Play On! Music Festival 2017, The Boston Harbor Re [Creation Arts Program 2017, Community Music Center of Boston,  ArtBeat Festival 2017, and The Lower East Side Girls Club in NYC , among others. "Ideas, Not Theories" was also the recipient of an Emergency Grant from The Foundation of Contemporary Arts  and from The Boston Foundation and The Somerville Arts Council.

In 2021 Reynaliz Herrera & Ideas, Not Theories premiered Reynaliz's composition "BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra" which was funded by  The Boston Foundation (Live Arts Boston 2021 grant) and The Somerville Arts Council (LCC 2021 grant) and is now the newest program offered by Ideas, Not Theories. In June of 2023 she released a critically acclaimed and award winning album of the same piece, both featuring Reynaliz as composer, producer and bicycle percussion soloist and her “Ideas, Not Theories” as the ensemble. Her debut album is entitled "BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra (By Reynaliz Herrera)". 

This year of 2024, Reynaliz was awarded a $30,000 award/grant from The Boston Foundation's "Live Arts Boston" 2024 program.

For her "Live Arts Boston" grant, her project will consist on taking her piece/composition "BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra" to the next level supporting its live performance in 2025/2026 both locally and touring in renowned venues, with Reynaliz Herrera as featured composer/producer/bicycle percussion soloist and with her own company "Ideas, Not Theories" as the ensemble/orchestra. 

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Ideas, Not Theories has been featured in news stories, articles, interviews and reviews in: The Boston Globe, GBH (Boston's NPR station) "The Culture Show", NBC10 BOSTON, The Santa Fe New Mexican, The WholeNote Magazine, Percussive Notes, Fanfare Magazine, Nation News Barbados, Percussive Notes, The Patriot Ledger, DRUM! Magazine, NY1 Time Warner Cable, TimeOut NYC, Modern Drummer (mention), Broadway World (mention), Curtain Up, Theater is Easy NYC, among others.

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MEMBERS

Founder & Director/Composer/Scriptwriter:  Reynaliz Herrera

 

Cast/Performers:

 

In USA-

Lead performer: Reynaliz Herrera

Rotating Performers:

(Current) Lydia Lucas, Chandler Beaugrand, Anthony Tran, Ryan Chao, Gerson de la Rosa, Hannah Lopez.

(Past) Nicholas Samuel, Jacob Moux, Robert McCarthy, Yuriana Sobrino, Michael Alber, Laura Jordan.

 

In Mexico-

Lead Performer: Reynaliz Herrera

Rotating Performers: Lissy Ortega, Daniel Brizuela, Edgar Yanez.

 

*See "BIKEncerto" page for list of performers of the piece/program "BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra".

* In every performance the performers may be subject to change.

 

 

REYNALIZ HERRERA - BIO

 

Founder & Director/Composer/Scriptwriter/Lead Performer

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Included in The Boston Globe’s “The best of Boston music” 2023 list, Boston-based and originally from Mexico, REYNALIZ HERRERA is a multi-award winning professional performing musician, percussionist, composer, producer and educator based in Boston but originally from Mexico. She was born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1984. 

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Reynaliz has performed in different countries like Mexico, US, Canada, Cuba, Barbados, Spain, Germany and Italy, and has performed and collaborated with renowned ensembles such as: Double Edge Theater, The National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada (as soloist), The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, The Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne, The Boston Conservatory Orchestra, Mexican Dance Group: Danza Contemporanea en Concierto, Front Porch Arts Collective, Moonbox Productions, The Boston Opera Collaborative , Grooversity, Flamenco Boston, Boston Percussion Group and band Muy Cansado. She has engaged in solo recitals and performances which include repertoire of her own works in countries such as U.S.A, Mexico, Cuba, Canada, Spain, Barbados, Italy and Germany, and has collaborated with prestigious artists such as Iva Bittova, Bob Becker, Ian Bernard, Evelyn Glennie (sharing the stage), Pinchas Zukerman, Gunter Schuller, Marcus Santos, Maria Finkelmeier and Giselle Ty. She has also been marimba and percussion soloist several times with The National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada (One of them Broadcasted by CBC Radio Canada national wide).

Her compositions have been performed internationally by her own “Ideas, Not Theories” company, several universities, and ensembles like JU Percussion Group (Taiwan).

 

Reynaliz Herrera is the founder, director, composer, scriptwriter, and lead performer of “Ideas, Not Theories” a theatrical percussion company for unconventional instruments that offers several programs featuring Reynaliz’s original music and compositions for bicycles and other unconventional instruments. For the last 12 years, the focus of Reynaliz Herrera's original music has been to explore the musical bike's different capabilities by composing her own original music for bicycles and performing that original music, she performs these original compositions in the form of programs with her company "Ideas, Not Theories".

Since 2012, she has brought her "Ideas, Not Theories" company to perform throughout NorthAmerica and the Caribbean (U.S, Canada, Mexico and Barbados) at renowned venues and festivals such as The Percussive Arts Society International Convention 2022,  Interference Series 2024 (Arizona), Bridgetown International Arts Festival  2023 (Barbados), The Space Between 2024 at McGill University, The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston 2021/2024, The Museum of Science Boston 2024, Peabody Essex Museum 2022, Harvard Museums of Science and Culture 2021, Current New Media Festival 2021, International Festival of Arts and Ideas 2019, The New York International Fringe Festival 2015, NYU/KoSA/HLAG Day of Percussion 2016 NY, National Arts Center of Canada, The Flea Theater, ILLUMINUS, Outside The Box Festival, FOG x FLO, ArtBeat, World Maker Faire NY 2017 and Boston Maker Faire, Boston Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Please Touch Museum.

In 2021 Reynaliz Herrera & Ideas, Not Theories premiered Reynaliz's composition "BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra" which was funded by  The Boston Foundation (Live Arts Boston 2021 grant) and The Somerville Arts Council (LCC 2021 grant) and is now the newest program offered by Ideas, Not Theories. In June of 2023 she released a critically acclaimed and award winning album of the same piece, both featuring Reynaliz as composer, producer and bicycle percussion soloist and her “Ideas, Not Theories” as the ensemble. Her debut album is entitled "BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra (By Reynaliz Herrera)". 

This year of 2024, Reynaliz was awarded a $30,000 award/grant from The Boston Foundation's "Live Arts Boston" 2024 program.

For her "Live Arts Boston" grant, her project will consist on taking her piece/composition "BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra" to the next level supporting its live performance in 2025/2026 both locally and touring in renowned venues, with Reynaliz Herrera as featured composer/producer/bicycle percussion soloist and with her own company "Ideas, Not Theories" as the ensemble/orchestra. 

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Other appearances in Reynaliz's her career have included: Revolutions International Theater Festival (NM), Paramount Theater, South By Southwest (Austin), MIT Kresge Auditorium, The Peabody Essex Museum, The Boston Science Museum, The Wang Theater, The Palau Hall (Spain), theaters and festivals in Mexico, and Italy, and Teatro Amadeo Roldan (Cuba).

Reynaliz began pursuing music at the Escuela Superior de Musica y Danza de Monterrey, with maestro Noel Savon, and holds a Bachelor of Music from The University of Ottawa where she studied with Prof. Ian Bernard, former solo timpanist of The National Arts Center Orchestra and Reynaliz's mentor (Graduating Summa Cum Laude) and graduated from The Boston Conservatory with a Master of Music in Percussion Performance where she studied with renowned percussionists like Nancy Zeltsman, Sam Solomon, John Grimes and Keith Aleo. 

 

Reynaliz has received numerous grants to support her original work from organizations like The Boston Foundation (“Live Arts Boston” 2021 & 2024), Somerville Arts Council, Massachusetts Cultural Council and The Foundation for Contemporary Arts, 

Reynaliz has also received international awards such as The Global Music Awards 2023, inclusion on the Boston Globe's list "The best of Boston music 2023", Somerville Arts Council "Artist of the Month (July 2023)", "My First NAC Award 2014" (Canada), The National Youth Award 2004 (Mexico), The State Youth Award 2009 (Mexico), The Festival PERCUBA 2002- International Percussion Competition in Cuba (1st place), The National Arts Center of Canada´s Bursary Competition 2005, National Arts Center of Canada “My First NAC Award 2014” and the MTV Latin America “agent of change award 2009”.

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Reynaliz and “Ideas, Not Theories” have been featured in news stories, articles, interviews and reviews in: The Boston Globe, GBH (Boston's NPR station) "The Culture Show", NBC10 BOSTON, The Santa Fe New Mexican, The WholeNote Magazine, Percussive Notes, Fanfare Magazine, CBC Radio Canada, The Ottawa Citizen, The Patriot Ledger, DRUM! Magazine, NY1 Time Warner Cable, TimeOut NYC, Broadway World, Curtain Up, Theater is Easy NYC, among others. Additionally, her music has been played on radio stations like KQAC “All Classical Portland” (Oregon), GBH (Boston Public Radio), WMBR (MIT Radio), SkyLab Radio (Australia) and WOMR (Cape Cod Radio).

She was percussion and music instructor at ZUMIX, and has taught at different programs, like The Hamilton- Garret Music and Arts Academy and The Boston School of Music Arts, and formerly at The Urbano Project, and the El Sistema Somerville, and she has been a panelist for the Somerville Arts Council and a guest panelist for the Tough Broads Film Festival at The Lower East Side Girls Club of NY.