Recently I’ve been toying around with a YouTube VR project that involves the viewer in the middle of a square room with four different videos playing on each wall. The idea is that the videos have some connective tissue, but the material will range from somewhat to very different, allowing for the viewer to focus on whatever side they want at their leisure. I recently uploaded a video that betas this concept. It’s me playing […]
I’ve suddenly found myself with two commissions for works that I need to complete over the summer – one work for the Byrne:Kozar:Duo and one for the Portland Percussion Group. The creative concepts I have for both involve using text as a vehicle for the works, but how I use and evolve the text in each piece are contrasting enough that I thought it would be a good exercise to talk about them conceptually.
In the past month or so I’ve been to two contemporary music concerts that featured duets consisting of instrument and voice – one that was trumpet and voice, one that was bassoon and voice. I haven’t written for a lot of voice nor listened to a lot of contemporary music that features voice, but it struck me how the inclusion of voice sets up an expectation of hierarchy –