Chamber Music

Birthdays, Chamber Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Music Events, Portland, Seattle

WCF in the PNW is A-OK (& so is PDX)

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Washington Composers Forum. Like any of these ventures, they’ve had some busy and some moribund periods. But more than most and especially through the last decade, the WCF has been a pretty consistent force, beacon and shelter for composers of all stripes (as I can personally attest to from my own long sojourn in the Seattle area). They’ve been great about getting the word on opportunities out to their members, sponsoring commissions, readings and concerts, and their Composer Spotlight series (a different composer holds court each month, sharing whatever they think is important in their world)  has been a fabulously smart and successful local draw for years now.

The WCF is having their celebratory concert this Thursday evening, May 6th, 8pm at the Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Avenue North, 4th Floor, Seattle / Tickets at door. $5-15 sliding scale), as part of their Jack Straw-supported Transport Series. The concert of world and regional premieres will feature the Icicle Creek Piano Trio, Pacific Rims percussion quartet, violist Melia Watras, and the Seattle Phonographers Union. Highlighted on the program is the premiere of a new work by composer Wayne Horvitz, an inaugural commission by Washington Composers Forum, launching the organization’s new commissioning program. Other composers on the bill include Christopher Bailey, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Diane Thome, Huck Hodge and John Cage — and if you’ve never yet seen the Seattle Phonographers Union in action, you’re in for a spookily wonderful treat.

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Meanwhile, the next day just down the road in Portland, Oregon, Third Angle New Music Ensemble is finishing their season with a concert titled “Views from Cascadia” (7:30 PM, The Old Church, 1422 Southwest 11th Avenue, Portland / Tickets: $30 general/$25  65+ & students). The chamber music program features pieces by Tomas Svoboda and David Schiff from Portland, John McKinnon from La Grande, and Charles Nichols from Missoula, Montana.  This is Third Angle’s big bon voyage before it performs at the Beijing Modern Music Festival in late May, taking a few of these Northwest sounds to introduce to an international audience.

by Steve Layton
Chamber Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Events, Music Events, Percussion, Premieres, Washington D.C.

When Music and Art Collide

Detail of Terry Berlier's "Stair Drum," one of three percussive sculptures for "The 41st Rudiment"

On Friday, April 30, 2010, my ensemble, Great Noise Ensemble, will present the last concert of our 2009-10 concert season.  The program, presented at Ward Hall, on the campus of the Catholic University of America at 7:30 p.m. (Visit www.greatnoiseensemble.com for tickets if you’re in the Washington region this Friday), is a unique program featuring a new work for mixed ensemble and sculpted percussion by composer D.J. Sparr in collaboration with artist Terry Berlier of Stanford University.  The 41st Rudiment, named after the 40 “rudiments” that percussionists study as they develop their craft, represents one more rudiment indicative of the experimental nature of Berlier’s instruments.  It was written for percussionist Christopher Froh, of the San Francisco Contemporary Chamber Players, and Great Noise Ensemble.

D.J. Sparr initially pitched the piece that would become The 41st Rudiment to Great Noise Ensemble’s board some five years ago.  “The idea came through wanting to work with Chris Froh,” he says, “whom  I had seen out on an amazing concert in Ann Arbor years back. I was in the Bay Area, so we went out for drinks, and over the course of the conversation we talked about finding instruments at a hardware store… and somehow, collectively we came up with the idea that we should ‘build something.’  From there, we started talking about what that would be, who might be interested collaborating with us, etc.”  After searching for an appropriate collaborator it was Froh who suggested that they work with Terry Belier.  “Terry and I worked on another project together a few years ago with the Empyrean Ensemble and Italian composer, Luciano Chessa.  I played one of her sculptures then (an earlier “panlid gamelan”) and fell in love with her aesthetic.  When D.J. and I first started talking about this project some five years ago, I suggested asking Terry to be involved.”

“A few years ago,” writes Terry Berlier, “ I was working on a piece called ‘Two pan tops can meet’ (2003) which was based on the homophobic Jamaican saying ‘Two pan tops can’t meet.’  (I had worked in Jamaica for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1995-97.) That first piece used thrift store pan lids as speaker housings that played a sound piece. But while I was sifting through the pan lids, I started setting aside the pan lids that resonated strongly.  These eventually became Pan Lid Gamelan I in 2003 and gallery viewers were invited to play it.

In 2008, Composer Luciano Chessa wanted to compose this sculpture/instrument into one of our collaborations (Inkless Imagination IV) and I was excited to have a professional percussionist, Chris Froh, play them. A few years later, Chris asked if I would like to work with him again on making sculptures specifically for him to play and work with D.J. Sparr.”

D.J. Sparr has been building a reputation for many years now as a composer of rhythmically charged and energetic music  (the Alburquerque Tribune once referred to his piece for eighth blackbird, The Glam Seduction as “Paganini on coke”) that merges classical conventions with rock idioms.  The 41st Rudiment is no different, although the rock influence this time is far subtler than in the works that gained Sparr his early reputation.  “I am always influenced by the drama of a rock-and-roll concert, and in this work, the drummer is the superstar… he engages the other players in ways to entice them to join in with him in gestures and call-and-response melodies…much the same as would happen in a rock-band scenario where guitarists, drummers, and bass players trade solos.  This work,” however, “is heavily influenced by the baroque concerto grosso form as the large scale form is comprised of many short movements. There are elements of Bach and Vivaldi, but there are also elements of other things: Satie Gymnopédies; Spanish barcaroles; improvisatory structures such as Zorn’s Cobra; and many cadenzas and improvisation.”

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by Armando Bayolo
Chamber Music, Composers, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Minimalism, Sound Art, Video

Where there’s a will (and an iPhone) there’s a way

Back last December the New York Times highlighted the Stanford Mobile Phone Orchestra. The first link goes to the NYT video of the ensemble, but here’s a nicely quiet work from the actual concert:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBo4JH-CPPM[/youtube]

But that’s not quite the earliest reference to this new ‘instrument’ and kind of ensemble. Michigan actually brought their own Mobile Phone Ensemble to last November’s SEAMUS proceedings,  and there’s a video of (admittedly much less musical) a group of London tech geeks taking on the theme from Dr. Who much earlier in the year, at the Yahoo Open Hack Day.

Not that you need the halls of academia to get this creative; here’s the Hong Kong band RedNoon taking right to the subway:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blWtj2kvxBg[/youtube]

Just a few weeks after the NYT feature with Stanford, CNN got into the act, also in Hong Kong, interviewing my composer-pal Samson Young about his own iPhone Orchestra. Samson, a Princeton grad student, put together his own performance at the January Hong Kong/Shenzhen Biennale. This one’s my personal favorite:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rD5I3-pQqM[/youtube]

It may seem very queer, but it’s here — get used to it!

by Steve Layton
Chamber Music, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Percussion, Saxophone

Shout-out, South Carolina!

Columbia’s own Southern Exposure New Music Series and xMUSE (University of South Carolina’s Experimental Music Studio, directed by Reginald Bain) combine forces once again to present an evening of genre-bending music and technology. The Saturday, February 27th, 7:30 p.m concert features Odd Appetite, the New York based duo of performers/composers Ha-Yang Kim (cello) and Nathan Davis (percussion) in works for musically interactive computer software, spatial speaker configurations, amplified triangles, microtonal bells, drums, tuned aluminum pipes, and a de-tuned and amplified cello with stomp boxes and electronic effects, all played with dazzling virtuosity and passion. In addition to music by Davis and Kim, Odd Appetite will also perform Radiohead‘s “Like Spinning Plates” in an arrangement that uses electronic loopers, wine glasses, and whirly tubes.

The concert also features Lois V. Vierk‘s Go Guitars for five electric guitars, influenced by traditional Japanese court music, and Reginald Bain‘s Jovian Images, inspired by NASA photographs of planets and performed by renowned saxophone virtuoso Susan Fancher. Admission is free (USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St.), but early seating recommended.

by Steve Layton
Chamber Music

Faking It on 54th

fakebookMet lots of really nice people at my little social media presentation for the Chamber Music America folks at St. Peter’s yesterday.   As promised, here’s the slide deck I used.  If there is anything you’d like more information about, send me an email and I’ll try to answer.  My thanks to the extraordinarily well-organized CMA program director Susan Dadian for inviting me and for being the kind of gal who will quietly tell you that your fly is unzipped before you begin your talk.

by Jerry Bowles
Chamber Music, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Microtonalism, New York

Pick a tone, any tone

The American Music Center’s NewMusicBox-meister Frank J. Oteri dropped by, with word of an upcoming gig of his own this Saturday:

“Just wanted to alert you folks that Tonally Perplexed, my trio devoted to improvisation with just noticeable differences (featuring moi on the custom built 6-octave ‘tonal plexus’ tuned to 205-tone equal temperament) will be performing on Saturday night at 7PM in Harlem for an art opening featuring new paintings by the wonderful Lisa Taliano (Chashama 461 Gallery, 461 West 126th St, between Amsterdam and Morningside). Since our last outing at the Cornelia Street Cafe, the group has taken a somewhat jazzier direction, no doubt urged on by the amazing bass playing of Ratzo Harris and the blues sensibility and sensitivity of Jeffrey Herman as well as my getting somewhat more comfortable on that beast of an instrument (which looks like a Lego assortment).”

Here are the full details. Meantime why not take a listen and a gander at Frank and crew, from a November 2008 outing?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzUXP1rCJyE[/youtube]

by Steve Layton
Chamber Music

Control’s Been Seen..at the Jo Berg Airport

The nice people at Chamber Music America have invited your humble correspondent (that’s me) to discuss “Using Social Networking to Promote Your Ensemble or Series” next Tuesday, February 2, at St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th St. from 3 pm to 5 pm.  It’s free but seating is limited so to make sure you get a seat, you should contact Marc Giosi, Program Associate, by 12 noon, Monday, February 1st at (212) 242-2022, ext. 14; or mgiosi@chamber-music.org   (The CMA folks are being overly optimistic, I suspect.)

Of all the things I know a little bit about, social marketing is one of my better topics, having started one of the more popular social media websites on the web.  Not to mention the Sequenza21 community which is not huge but has one of the most loyal followings around.  Come on over and I’ll try to say something useful about how to use the web to generate some promotion for your group or series.  I seldom leave the house to go further than Starbucks so this is a rare opportunity to confirm that there really is a person named Jerry Bowles

And, I could use some examples to show of groups or musicians who have particularly nice pages on Facebook and MySpace or who have done something clever with YouTube.  Ideas, please?

by Jerry Bowles
Chamber Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, San Francisco

Unwrapping Small Packages on a Saturday Night

Gyorgy Ligeti
Gyorgy Ligeti

I like to plan ahead.  But does that just mean I’m too old to decide where I’m going at the last minute, like the Generation Y and Z impulsives we hear so much about at arts participation conferences?  You know, the ones who don’t know where they’re going until somebody they’re following tweets their destination on the night of?

Mid-life insecurities and fuddy-duddiness aside, I know where I’ll be this coming Saturday evening: in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s sweet new Concert Hall, taking in new short works by ten local composers, all presided over grandly by Gyorgy Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto for 13 instruments.  sfSound is the presenter, and they’ve cast a wide commissioning net to figures from our many micro-scenes.  Including, as my colleague Christian Carey reported earlier this month, Greg Saunier from avant-prog adventurers Deerhoof; plus Heather Frasch, a Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley, Canner MEFE of underground harsh noise fame, Mills College Contemporary Music Co-Director Maggi Payne, and composer/improviser/performance artist Theresa Wong.

All of the composers were commissioned to make new works especially for this concert, entitled Small Packages. Some works are inspired by, and others are meant to contrast with, the regal Ligeti Chamber Concerto. The eight core sfSound performers, plus seven other veterans of the series, will spread their expertise around from the Ligeti work to each of the new pieces.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music Concert Hall can be found at 50 Oak Street in San Francisco’s Civic Center neighborhood, convenient to the eponymous BART station.  Admission is $15.00, although those of us who are “underemployed” can take advantage of an $8.00 price.  If you don’t want to take your chances at the door, you can order tickets online from Brown Paper Tickets.

by Polly Moller
Chamber Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Festivals

Way up North

The Barracuda is swimming a little farther afield now, so I think it’s safe for all you liberal arty types to venture up… to Alaska!  It’s time once again for the minor miracle that is the CrossSound Festival (28 Aug – 6 Sep). Alaska native, Harvard grad and Asian zither performer extraordinaire Jocelyn Clark is the driving force behind this truly unique yearly series; concerts that not only bring living contemporary music into this far corner, but as well building bridges between Eastern, European and American musics and performers. This is the festival’s 10th year — no mean feat and worth big kudos to all involved.

The 2009 edition goes by the moniker “Refugium” (def: “a small, isolated area that has escaped the extreme changes undergone by the surrounding area“), and Jocelyn and crew have put together a really nice mix:

CrossSound’s 2009 project Refugium demarcates and prepares the ground on which two string ensembles historically separated by geography and culture meet. IIIZ+ (“three zee plus”), a plucked zither ensemble founded by Jocelyn Clark, and UnitedBerlin, a string quartet out of Germany, through interplay of the instruments and traditions of East and West, promise to grow new musical forms on Alaska’s isolated soil, where musicians from around the world are free to try new things. The project features two world premiers, in addition to reprising two earlier CrossSound and UnitedBerlin commissions for reconsideration by Alaskan audiences.

The world premieres are Hwang-Long Pan‘s (b.1945, Taiwan) East—West V for zheng and string quartet, and Stefan Hakenberg‘s (b. 1960, Germany) Moments in Human Life: Perching, Soaking for 2 violins, viola, cello, koto, kayagûm, percussion and zheng. This main concert also includes works by Yunkyung Lee (Korea), Il-Ryun Chung (Germany), Shiaw-Wen Chuang (Taiwan) and Matthew Burtner (Alaska), and will be given twice in Juneau (3 & 4 Sept.) and once in Sitka (5 Sept.)

Prior to this main concert, each of the performer groups will have their own solo concert in Juneau, too: 28 Aug. the wonderful zheng player Lai Yi-Chieh will give a solo recital of both traditional and contemporary works; 29 Aug. the Quartet United Berlin puts on a show featuring music of Terry Riley (Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector), Astor Piazzolla, and George Crumb (Black Angels); 30 Aug. Ensemble IIIZ+ (Jocelyn Clark, kayagûm; Lai Yi-Chieh, zheng, Naoko Kikuchi, koto; Il-Ryun Chung, Korean percussion) essay a number of pieces written for them.

Last but not least, 6 Sept. has Anchorage playing host to “Rebound”, a concert of chamber music, sound, and video art with Jaunelle Celaire (soprano), Morris Palter (percussion), and Matthew Burtner (metasax), featuring all new music by Alaskan/Northwestern composers: Burtner (Anchorage), John Luther Adams (Fairbanks) and Owen Underhill (Vancouver, B.C.).

The website has tons of information on each of the pieces, composers and performers, so take some time to check it all out. And if you can’t be there this year, maybe start planning next year’s little Great North getaway.

by Steve Layton
Cello, Chamber Music, Concerts, Electro-Acoustic, Exhibitions, Experimental Music, Music Events, San Francisco

Good herb!

redwall

That’s what early settlers said about the wild mint growing all over the peaceful hills and oceanside that would one day be paved over and known as San Francisco.  In fact, for many years starting in 1835, that’s what the settlement was called, only in Spanish: Yerba Buena.

History lives on in the name of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, located on 3rd Street between Mission and Howard. YBCA’s New Frequencies performance series, curated by Performing Arts Manager Isabel Yrigoyen, is well underway, and offers a couple of intriguing choices in coming days.

First on Saturday evening, August 22, we have local avant-cabaret luminary Amy X Neuburg, backed up by the Cello ChiXtet of Jessica Ivry, Elaine Kreston and Elizabeth Vandervennet.  Their set consists of selections from The Secret Language of Subways, a song cycle for voice, cello trio, electronic percussion and live electronic processing which Neuburg conceived of while riding New York City subways.  It begins promptly at 8:00 p.m. in the YBCA Forum, and serves as an opener for Argentine singer/composer Juana Molina, who’ll take the stage at 9:05.  Tickets are $25 general and $20 for YBCA members, students, seniors, and teachers.

If visual art is your thing, you can have that plus contemporary music on the same evening on Thursday, August 27. Gallery visitors will find that’s one of the nights musicians have been called in to respond directly to the work of the eight visual artists commissioned for the Wallworks exhibition.  The August 27th contingent will be composer, pianist, and electronic musician Chris Brown, Mason Bates (as DJ Masonic), and upright bassist David Arend. Their sounds are free with gallery admission: $7 regular, or $5 for seniors, students, and teachers. (And non-profit employees, KQED members, and folks carrying a valid public transportation pass or a public library card.)

by Polly Moller