Mud Nest Signals in the making...
I'm in the final stages of preparing 'Mud Nest Signals', my first string quartet - written for Del Sol Quartet in honor of their 25th Anniversary. This piece explores color, gesture and sound as a contemplation on what pure sensing felt like before we could speak. The piece is constructed in a 25-toned octave (in extended just intonation), and will include the quartet member's voices, a video trio of backup singers and myself on cello, voice and video projector. The quartet's 3-day festival program will be a treat all around! http://delsolquartet.com/wholesolfestival/
Kansas City Art Institute
Thoroughly enjoyed a week residency at the Kansas City Art Institute with Ellen Fullman, where we worked with Dwight Frizzell's sound art students and the improv ensemble led by Paul Rudy from the UMKC Conservatory. My stay culminated in a performance of Harbors (for cello and Long String Instrument) and several pieces with the students. What a treat to connect to all these young artists in Kansas City - I also have something for the architecture there - amazing old buildings from the late 19th Century and 1930's...hope to be back soon!
KOLOWO Trio last stop: Mózg Festival Warsaw
On the road in Switzerland and Poland with Christian Kobi and Frantz Loriot.
Performing in the formidable gothic cathedral of the Berner Münster
So grateful for the invitation to perform in duo with Frantz Loriot at the Zoom-In Festival in Bern Switzerland - not a shabby space I must say. Much gratitude to Christian Kobi + team!
@ Infuse Gallery, Paris with Rachel Devorah & Kristina Warren
Many thanks to Nissim Schaul and Masha Lankovsky for putting together this evening at Infuse!
Turntable Drawing No.17 at Kala Art Institute
Special thanks to Mayumi Hamanaka and the folks at Kala Art Institute and to my wonderful and BRILL collaborators Jon Fischer, Danny Clay, Frantz Loriot and Christian Kobi for a night of sonic delights.
Kobi/Loriot/Wong Trio in Ventura
Our West coast tour is off to a start in LA and Ventura before hitting the Bay Area!
Video Sketches
I've been creating video sketches which experiment with color, gesture, materials, surfaces, light and spacial settings. Steeping in thoughts of color and gesture as pre-linguistic forms of expression, I see this work developing in many future forms, including an upcoming string quartet that will premiere in November as a part of Del Sol Quartet's 25th Anniversary Festival.
Now Hear This! @ Montalvo Arts Center July 21st - Oct 22nd
I'm very thrilled to be part of Now Hear This! An Exercise in Listening - a special exhibition/event at Montalvo Arts Center. This is an outdoor exhibition featuring immersive site-specific soundscapes, sonic experiences and workshops, sound sculptures, and a new digital curatorial platform, Soundings. My piece, "Venice Is A Fish" will be part of an onsite sound walk of musical pieces set in the residency grounds. The many contributing artists include: Taraneh Hemami, Shane Myrbeck, Emily Shisko, Stephen Vitiello, Walter Kitundu, Hugh Livingston, Luciano Chessa, Elana Mann, Ashley Bellouin, Stuart Dempster, Ramon Sender, Fernando Vigueras, Daniel Godínez Nivón, Arshia Fatima Haq, Taro Hattori, Motoko Honda, Jen Shyu, Henry Threadgill, Mike Gamble, Carmina Escobar, Wayne Horvitz, Nina C. Young.
suube tube - out on edgetone records!
Recorded back in 2009 during a two day session at Sony Studios in Mexico City, this is a collaboration of Mexican and American improvisers, fearlessly led by pianist Thollem McDonas. The ensemble consists of: Thollem McDonas - Piano, Artistic Director, Carmina Escobar - Voice/Electronics, Alexander Bruck - Viola, Julián Martínez Vázquez - Violin, Milo Tamez - Drums/Percussion, Theresa Wong - Cello/Voice, Vinny Golia - Woodwinds, Marcus E. Webb - Guitar/Oud and Marko Novachcoff - Woodwinds. Available at: www.edgetonerecords.com
Interview in VAN Magazine
Following our performance of Harbors in Knoxville at the Sixth International Conference on Music & Minimalism., Rebecca Lentjes has written an insightful and thoughtful interview for VAN Magazine: https://van-us.atavist.com/alchemy
Residency at Lijiang Studios
I have just landed in the countryside of the Yunnan province in southwest China, where I'll be in residence for a month at Lijiang Studio - a unique artist residency embedded in village life of an area called Lashihai.
Harbors at Nief-Norf Summer Festival
The Nief Norf Summer Festival + 6th Annual Conference on Music and Minimalism- what an incredible experience! Getting to hear works by Julius Eastman, Mary Jane Leach, Michael Gordon, Louis Andriessen and many more. The highlight was being able to share and perform Harbors with Ellen Fullman to a full house at the University of Knoxville's Ewing Gallery. Deep thanks to Kerry O'Brien and the amazing team running the festival!
Last stop at The Stone...
A post thunderstorm blaze during a quick trip to New York to perform with Chris Brown and Kyle Bruckmann at The Stone. The visit was packed with a visit to Rei Kawakubo's exhibit at The Met, getting to hear/see The World Is Sound exhibit at The Rubin and not missing my favorite Georgian dumplings in the Lower East Side. It was a bit sad to say goodbye to The Stone, but I'm excited to see it's reincarnation at the New School!
Letters To A Friend at Switchboard Festival
Splinter Reeds gave its second performance of Letters To A Friend at Switchboard's 10th Annual Festival at Z Space in San Francisco. The finale to the 6 hour music marathon was none other than the legendary Kronos Quartet. Here's a link to a review in the San Francisco Classical Voice.
To Burst To Bloom - joining forces with Vajra Voices
I had the sheer pleasure of joining the magnificent singers of Vajra Voices in the premiere of To Burst To Bloom, three settings of poems by the 12th Century Taoist adept Sun Bu'Er. Three more pieces are forthcoming to finish off this collection. The songs were included in the program Remembered Migrations this past weekend at the Presidio Officer's Club (photo by Omid Zoufonoun) in SF and the Berkeley Jazz School.
Letters To A Friend premiere by Splinter Reeds
Huge thank you to Splinter Reeds for a superb performance of Letters To A Friend last night! Dedicated to my dearly departed friend, Alessia Pugliatti, the piece is a musical transmission of Augusto de Campos' poem O Pulsar. The evening's trailblazing program included Babbling by Ken Ueno and Tom Johnson's Narayana's Cows narrated by the one and only Pamela Z.
Remembered Migrations - an evening with Vajra Voices
Vajra Voices member Cheryl Moore said, 'if Hobbits went to church this is where they'd go' - - and truly it was a Hobbit-like evening in the Swedenborgian Church of San Francisco with a wonderful program by Vajra Voices, including the first part of To Burst To Bloom, a new work in the making setting the texts of 12th Century Chinese Female Adept, Sun Bu'er.
"The sun shines on the house of the recluse..."
I've been hiding away working on a piece for the 8 member women's vocal ensemble, Vajra Voices, setting a collection of texts by the 12th Century Taoist priestess and adept, Sun Bu'er. Stay tuned for upcoming performances of this piece to come in the Bay Area.
The Substation in Melbourne
Our setup for Harbors at The Substation in Melbourne, a former power plant in the district of Newport in Melbourne. Huge thanks to Liquid Architecture and Joel Stern for making this all happen!
Pre-artist talking at The Channel in downtown Melbourne.
With Ellen Fullman and Joel Stern