| < | May 16, 2014 | > |
The Clamorphone
For years, the Convention Hall Auditorium Pipe Organ in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was deemed the loudest instrument in the world. But in 1989, Bradley Dinklaker built a louder one, the clamorphone. The instrument, which sounded like four tubas having a shouting match with a pneumatic riveter, was so loud that the orchestra’s ear training coach restricted its playing to at least a mile from the other musicians. That stipulation irked Bradley but ultimately made no difference: after he played his first cadenza in the massive orchestral piece Etude Bruté, the resulting shock wave opened a sink hole beneath Orchestra Hall, permanently disappearing more than a third of the performing musicians as well as a nonplused Maestro Pringler. 
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Upcoming Performances |
60x60 Surround Sound Mix at Harvestworks in New York CityFriday, May 16th, 2014 at 7:00 PMVox Novus and Harvestworks invited composers and sound artists to submit recorded works as 5.1 audio 60 seconds or less in length to be included in a special 60×60 project collaboration in New York City. We received over 160 submissions, and present the finalists in an event at Harvestworks’ multichannel TEAMLab listening space. 60×60 is a one-hour-long show made by sequencing 60 pre-recorded pieces by 60 different composers, each piece a minute in length or shorter. A unique collaboration between VoxNovus / Robert Voisey and Harvestworks in New York City to create a 5.1 surround sound mix, this 60×60 presentation will be premiered at Harvestworks’ multichannel TEAMLab listening room. See the list of works below! Every one-minute piece will be played continuously without pause. Each of the 60 pieces will begin precisely at the beginning of the minute, this will mark the end of one piece and the beginning of another. 
A word from the curator - Hans TammenSetting out to assemble one hour of music from the breathtaking range of submissions we received, it became clear that I had to approach the task in the same way I would create a composition. Does it have a beginning, middle and end, and possibly multiple movements? Is it organized in a non-linear or abstract way, perhaps by algorithmic means? (Organizing it in alphabetical order would been a simple example of algorithmic organization.) Or could I simply create sections by grouping all the pieces that are similar in style, instrumentation (we got swamped with works using synthesis), or even the way the composer handles spatialization? I opted for a more traditional, narrative approach, constructing the piece with a beginning and an end in mind. In fact, the "bookends" were the first pieces I chose. I then squeezed several movements in between those two bookends, some movements morphing smoothly into the next, others sharply contrasting those before or after. Finding the right combinations took time. Whether I was looking for contrast or for a smooth transition, the ending of one piece determined what I was looking for in the next piece. I have to admit that I cheated a few times when it came to pieces that were shorter than 60 seconds. Instead of starting at 0'00" and adding the silence at the end (as we announced we would do), in some cases I added silence at the beginning to make the flow to the next piece more organic and natural. Sadly, I had to reject many a good work because it simply didn't fit between other chosen pieces. I remember spending more than half an hour on one single piece alone that I couldn't find a spot for. Though I liked it a lot, however, it had a very peculiar beginning, that I was by no means able to make work in conjunction with other pieces. However, since we would have had to reject around 70 pieces anyway, I finally let it go. Let's talk about numbers here... we received 160 submissions, around 30 we had to reject because they didn't have anything to do with our call requesting surround sound works. Robert & I divided the remaining 130 submissions into approx. 40 "yes", 70 "maybe" and 20 "no" categories. As you can guess from my earlier explanation, the finalists were chosen from all of those categories, because they worked well within their surroundings (pun intended). So what do you hear during this one-hour show? There are the soft and almost inaudible works, those that work more with pauses than with sounds. Field recordings, voices singing or talking, acoustic instruments, electronics and analog synthesis - the latter often frantic outbursts of sound mass. Some works you can dance to, some you can sing to, many others not, although that's up to you, of course. Some works will sound strangely familiar until you realize they are a take on another famous work, I placed them in one of the "surprise" spots. I don't like to be too serious, so there are a couple of surprises in store for you, and maybe you can spot them when you attend one of our presentations. 
Since this exhibit is about multichannel sound, we chose a few works that are exemplary in terms of spatialization of sounds, while most others employ these means in a more subtle way. Everything you can do beyond stereo with 5.1 channels is there: 5.1, 5.0, 4.1 and 4.0. There is even a 3.1 work, it does spatialization solely with the center and rear speakers. If you are interested in artistic approaches to multichannel sound, come to one of our "5.1 60x60" shows at some point, or listen to our Surround Sound DVD (yes, we're producing a DVD from it). You get a good overview over the various artistic approaches to multichannel sound. As long as it fits within the 5.1 DVD standard: we can just drop the DVD in the mail in case you're interested in hosting this show on the other side of the planet. Of course, we need to discuss other things beforehand, but still - the whole show fits on one DVD. I have to thank Robert Voisey for giving me the opportunity to curate a multichannel 60x60 work for Vox Novus; our audio engineer Kevin Ramsay for working hard on assembling and organizing all the works; and Matt Fidler to assemble the video that goes along with the audio showing the titles of the work and composer's names. And of course, my most heartfelt thanks go out to all the composers who submitted their works to us. It's them who made this show interesting and inspiring. Composers selected for the 60x60 Surround Sound Mix include:Jeff Anderson, Daniel Bartos, Simon Belshaw, Jason Bolte, Mike Boyd, Andrei Branea, Arnold Brooks, Steve Bull, Jeremy Van Buskirk, Alejandro Casales, Ian Corbett, Douglas DaSilva, Jamez Dean, Blake Degraw, Rob Dietz, Lorenz Erdmann, Bit.Seq~ (Fred Feeney), Josh Feldman, John Ferguson, Matt Fidler, Tim Fodness, Enrico Francioni, Richard Garrett, Guiseppe Gavazza, Nate Goossen, Scott Gresham-Lancaster, Jenn Grossman, Samuel Hertz, Jason Hoffman, judsoN, Vivek Karun, John Kehoe, Andrew Levine, Jörg Lindenmaier, Buddy Lorentz, Nicolas Marty, Mike McFerron, Claudi Meneghin, Tiago Morais, Dafna Naphtali, Daniel Neumann, Serban Nichifor, Hull Pacific, Maggi Payne, Chris Peck, Samuel Pellman, Patrick Pham, Julien Poidevin, Kevin Ramsay, Cody Ranaldo, Steve Reinthal, Lorin Roser, Josh Simmons, Mary Simoni, David Jason Snow, J Sohn, Yuri Spitsyn, Ariane St.Louis, Hans Tammen, Jamie Todd, A. P. Vague, Robert Voisey, Jaeseong Wu, and Xo Xinh 60x60 Surround Sound Mix Friday, May 16th at 7pm Harvestworks 596 Broadway #602 New York City, NY 10012 United States FREE ADMISSION |
60x60 UnTwelve Mix at Mobius in Cambridge, MassachusettsSaturday, May 17 8:00 PMA very special event where UnTwelve is thrilled to be in collaboration with Vox Novus from NYC; they are known in the music world as the producers of 60x60, the incredibly popular format of a 60-minute concert featuring 60 works by 60 composers, each work a minute or less. 60x60 has taken the world by storm, and we are now proud to present a the second UnTwelve version of 60x60. The miniatures we will present will all be part of what we call the UnTwelve Mix--short works with a focus of the novel beauty of tuning which escapes the rigid boundaries of 12-tone equal temperament, and the use of microtones. All of these works are compelling and worth hearing, including pulse pounding music, gorgeous harmonies, dark and moody soundscapes, humorous vignettes, and ecstatic dreamworlds. 60x60 is a collection of 60 electroacoustic or acousmatic works from 60 different composers/artists, each work 60 seconds or less in duration. For the past 10 years, 60x60 has produced and presented more than 40 different mixes in over 300 performances around the world. We hope you will come out and taste this entertaining feast for the ears! 60x60 UnTwelve (co-curated by UnTwelve and Vox Novus) Composers selected for the 60x60 UnTwelve Mix include:Torsten Anders, George Arkomanis, Kenneth Babb, Christopher Bailey, Mike Battaglia, Oleg Bezborodko, Rich Bitting, Kaja Bjorntvedt, Susan Brewster, Ben Bridges, Paul Burnell, Warren Burt, Brendan Byrnes, Nicholas Cline, Jason Conklin, Maxime Corbeil-Perron, Zach Curley, Jim Dalton, Richard Duckworth, Allen Fogelsanger, Jake Freivald, Soressa Gardner, Kraig Grady, Bruce Hamilton, Pat Hanchet, Todd Harrop, Andrew Hasenpflug, Andrew Heathwaite, Dry Heeves, Aaron Krister Johnson, Charles Jowett, Howard Kenty, Joan La Barbara, Kristof Lauwers, Stan Link, Marco Liy, Nora-Louise Müller, Claudi Meneghin, Herman Miller, Shaahin Mohajeri, Liam Molloy, Quincas Moreira, John Moriarty, John Oliver, Ryan Olivier, Steve Parker, Tina Pearson, Samuel Pellman, Derek Piotr, João Ricardo, Gilberto Rosa, Carlo Serafini, Andrew Smith, Billy Stiltner, Scott Thompson,Christoper Vaisvil, Michael Vick, Robert Voisey, Jane Wang, Julia Werntz. 60x60 UnTwelve Mix Saturday May 17, 2014 8:00 pm Mobius 55 Norfolk Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 United States suggested donation: $5 |
Composer’s Voice presents:
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Circuit BridgesThursday, May 22th, 2014 at 9:00 PMHydrothermal vents, bee hives, a hurricane, live mixes, and heartbeats – this blend of instruments and electronic samples is one audio experience you won’t soon forget. Typically, Circuit Bridges is an electroacoustic series providing audiences with half a concert of performance of local composers and musicians and the other half with electroacoustic works from visiting electroacoustic composers and sound artists. Based at the Gallery MC in New York City, Circuit Bridges seeks to meld the contemporary works of local composers and musicians with the electroacoustic works from visiting electroacoustic composers and sound artists, blending the work of two uniquely different groups of composers on each concert. This Circuit Bridges features violinist Adrianna Mateo and 11 electroacoustic composers based in the United States, Europe, and Italy. 
On this concert is composer Annea Lockwood, known for her explorations of the rich world of natural acoustic sounds and environments, in works ranging from sound art and installations, through text-sound and performance art to concert music. Her music has been performed in many venues and festivals including: the Possibility of Action exhibition at MACBA Barcelona, De Ijsbreker, the Other Minds Festival-San Francisco, the Walker Art Center, the American Century: 1950 – 2000 exhibition at the Whitney Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum, Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Westdeutscher Rundfunk, CNMAT Berkeley, the Asia-Pacific Festival, Donaufest 2006 Ulm, the Donau Festival Krems, the 7th Totally Huge New Music Festival Perth, Ear To The Earth Festival - New York and Sonic Acts XIII. Her sound installation, A Sound Map of the Danube, has been presented in Germany, Austria and the USA. This is a surround 'sound map' of the entire Danube River, incorporating a wide variety of water, animal and underwater insect sounds, rocks from the riverbed and the voices of those whose lives are intimately connected to the river. Dusk (2012), her piece featured on this concert, incorporates the low frequency sounds generated by seafloor ‘black smoker’ hydrothermal vents, transposed bat calls, and percussionist William Winant playing a tam tam. “Sara Corry's music is a beacon of fiery light, crafted with an elevated degree of intelligence, and an inventive imagination," wrote the Sun Post News. As a composer of both electronic and acoustic works, she enjoys being a graduate assistant and teaching Music Technology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She also enjoys spending her summers teaching electronic music and theory at Interlochen Arts Camp. 
Musician and composer Lin Culbertson’s experience as an improvisor greatly informs her sound work. Her compositions are comprised of synthesized sounds, field recordings, and conventional instruments, and incorporate aspects of indeterminacy in their arrangement and performance. She is a founding member of the improvisational unit White Out, and has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists. Howie Kenty, AKA Hwarg, is an award-winning Brooklyn-based composer. His electroacoustic prog-rock contemporary artsound sometimes uses visual and theatrical elements, and he always strives for a conceptual unity to fully immerse the audience in his works. Having received awards, performances and broadcasts internationally in around 30 countries, Mei-Fang Lin is currently an Assistant Professor in Composition at the Texas Tech University. Supported by the Frank Huntington Beebe Foundation and the George Ladd Paris Prize, she studied with composer Philippe Leroux and at IRCAM in Paris. 
Regarded as a lyrical, powerful, and emotionally raw performer, new music violinist Adrianna Mateo has performed as a soloist at the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with its first Artist-In-Residence DJ Spooky, and on tour in Europe. She has recently merged her roles as violinist and singer-songwriter for performances at the Living Room, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, and in Africa and Southeast Asia. Yiannis Christofides, from Nicosia, Cyprus, is a composer, sound artist and sound designer currently based in Los Angeles, CA. His work integrates different media and theoretical tools, extending across a variety of disciplines, creative practices and media, and has been presented across Europe and in the US. Building on his many diverse interests, composer and violinist Mark Zaki’s work ranges from historically-informed and traditional chamber music to electroacoustic music, mixed-media composition, and music for film. In 2012-13, Mark was a visiting professor at the University of Sheffield as the recipient of a highly prized Fulbright Scholar Award to the United Kingdom. He is director of the Music Program at Rutgers University-Camden and the Rutgers Electro-Acoustic Lab (REAL). Louise Harris is an electronic and audiovisual composer. She specialises in the creation of audiovisual relationships utilising electronic music and computer-generated visual environments. Louise’s audiovisual work has been performed and exhibited nationally and internationally and she is a strong advocate of open source technology. Having studied with composers such as Jack Gallagher, Peter Mowrey, and Michael Schelle, Cara Haxo has had her works performed by the PRISM Quartet, the Wooster Symphony Orchestra, the Eleventh Hour Saxophone Quartet, and the JCA Composers’ Orchestra. She is the recipient of the 2013 NFMC Young Composers Award and the 2013 IAWM Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Prize. Having studied with Timothy Kramer, David Heuser, Jack W. Stamps, and Brian Nelson, Thomas Rex Beverly has had pieces performed at the SCI Region VI Conference, the Electroacoustic Barn Dance Festival, the CFAMC National Conference, National Student Electronic Music Event at Temple University, and the 2014 Biennial Symposium for Arts and Technology at Connecticut College. Circuit Bridges will present this exciting concert on May 22nd, 2014 at 9:00 pm at the Gallery MC in New York, NY. For more information about the Circuit Bridges Series: www.circuitbridges.com For more information about Gallery MC: www.gallerymc.org Circuit Bridges May 22nd, 2014 – 9:00 pm Gallery MC 549 West 52nd Street New York, New York 10019 Tickets $10 www.gallerymc.org/ |
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Announcing results for
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Opportunities
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Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame with Karen Phenpimon-Zehavi for percussionDeadline: May 16, 2014Vox Novus is calling for one-minute pieces composed for Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame with Karen Phenpimon-Zehavi for percussion. Instrumentation available include: small bass drum, conga, two tom-toms, bongos and 5 temple blocks, as in Xenakis setup for 'Rebonds' The 15 pieces will receive a studio recording by Karen Phenpimon-Zehavi accompanied by video and published on the Internet by Vox Novus. The instrumentation is taken from 'Rebonds', but compositions shouldn't be limited to conceptual gestures in that particular piece's style. The dry and sharp orchestration suggests music of landscapes: some images could be lunar, Dead Sea, arid, sparse, waves of water or sound, bright light. Process or journey through a space, as well as an economy of musical intention are additional elements worthy of exploration. 
Percussionist, timpanist and drummer Karen Phenpimon is an honors graduate of the University of California and the State University of New York, where she studied with renowned new music percussionists William Winant and Raymond DesRoches. She has appeared as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician throughout North America, Europe and Asia with such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Michel Corboz, Kryzsztof Penderecki, Michael Tilson Thomas, David Robertson, Gianandrea Noseda, Gustavo Dudamel and Andrew Parrott. |
