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Posts Tagged ‘Los Angeles’

Interview: WasteLAnd’s Nick Deyoe, Matt Barbier, Scott Worthington, Brian Griffeath-Loeb, and Elise Roy

WasteLAnd‘s second season at ArtShare starts this Friday, September 19 (tomorrow) at 8 PM, with percussionist Justin DeHart performing John Luther Adams’ The Mathematics of Resonant Bodies in its entirety. Their first season at the venue was a blast, and drew great crowds for dense and challenging music. We managed to track down the series’ co-directors for an interview about the series and what’s coming up.

What was the impetus to start this series?

Scott: I think we had all individually dreamed of having a series that played music we wished would get played more ’round these parts. Then we realized that multiple heads can be better than one. Our programming is sort of a mash up of all of our desires. For example. I mostly just recommend pieces that are long enough to be the whole concert.

Matt: A lot of the music I really love has a tendency to fall in the cracks between different series in town, so for me, an exciting part of wasteLAnd is getting to focus upon music that I really love that is just outside of the mission of a lot of the series and groups I play with. It’s exciting to get to listen to other performers interested in this type of music and hear what they want to play, but don’t get to, and help provide a space for them.

Nick: I’ve been talking about wanting to do this for years.  I’ve never really wanted to run an ensemble, but have wanted to run either a series or a venue for quite a while.  In fact, I would love it if, at some point down the road, it became possible for wasteLAnd to have its own space.  I had discussed this off and on for some time with Scott, Brian, and Matt, but nothing ever got started until Scott finally found an opportunity through ArtShare that looked promising as a way to launch wasteLAnd.

Is there a central mission, theme, or idea you program your concerts around, or is each one a beast of its own?

Scott: We try to focus on local performers the most (their repertoire interests and, of course, performances), local composers second, and then music that doesn’t seem to show it’s face much around Los Angeles. From there we try to put together concerts that we want to go to.

Matt: Frequently a programming decision is made around the idea of “I really want to hear/perform this one piece, but it’s too much for me to throw together a concert.” With wasteLAnd that’s frequently become a central kernel for a concert. We have an idea for one or two pieces one of us really loves and that gives us a bend and ensemble to build around. Or at least that’s how I think…

Nick: Basically what Scott said…  We love LA and want to show how special the things that happen here are while also presenting music by composers around the country/world who excite us.  The five of us (Elise, Brian, Matt, Scott, myself) have pretty different aesthetic positions.  For anything to be programmed, all five of us have to be on board with it, rather than a simple majority vote.  This is something I feel strongly about because it helps to keep our overall output broad and requires that we all give serious consideration to all of the ideas that are brought to the table (or G-chat conference).

I’ve heard Barbier joke that the directors are Deyoe’s minions. How do you guys divide responsibilities?

Brian: This is a classic example of Barbier’s inability to grasp infinite recursion. As one of the directors himself, Deyoe clearly makes this so-called “joke” an ontological cow pie.

Matt: Well maybe I’m just Deyoe’s minion, or at least try to be.

Nick: the division of responsibilities is an ongoing project for us.  For season one, everyone kind of did everything. For each set of tasks that came up, we’d email around with a list of “what needs to be done” and divvy up the responsibilities.  This will always be some version of how we do it (especially during concert weeks), but we are also working on better defining our individual roles within the organization to make certain aspects more efficient.

What do we have to look forward to in the coming season?

Nick: LOTS to look forward to! We’re excited to finally be at the point of announcing things (coming out this afternoon along with our kickstarter). We’ve been thinking about the concerts (programs/personnel/logistics) since April.  We have 25-30 local performers playing and are presenting something around 30 composers.  Some highlights are The Formalist Quartet with Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick in October, Mark Menzies and Stephanie Aston with the wasteLAnd musicians performing Ferneyhough’s Terrain and Etudes Transcendantales, Italian violinist/violist Marco Fusi playing a solo program of young Italian and Angelino composers, and the world premiere the brass version of James Tenney’s Saxony….and lots of other things.  Check our website www.wastelandmusic.org for full season 2 details.

Matt: What Nick wrote. This year is exciting because it’s a wonderful mix of pieces I’ve wanted to play for a long time (Terrain, Saxony, Hölszky’s WeltenEnden, EARTH) and that I’ve always dreamed of hearing like- particularly Ferneyhough’s Etudes Transcendantales. So for me it’s very exciting and I think this year’s programs will have that for a lot of people.

Is Elise Roy having any issues with being the only beardless member?

Brian: All conditions are impermanent. My beard, for instance, has grown substantially in the last few days. Elise was brought on for her deep existential wisdom; I doubt she’d fall prey to fears of beardlessness as a permanent state of being…

Nick: I think there’s still plenty of beard to go around.  Having Elise as a part of the team has been great so far. She came in once most of the season was already planned, but will be instrumental in our planning for season 3 and has also offered a lot of very useful insight as we prepare to raise the funds for the current season.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Scott: Please be on the look out for our Kickstarter which will help prolong wasteLAnd’s life and wellbeing.

Matt: Well one can braid top-of-head hair into a beard with quite successful results.

Elise: If you find yourself at any of our concerts, please introduce yourself or say hi to us.  For the five of us, one of the joys of hosting this series is seeing the new music community of Southern California come together!

Last day to vote for The Industry’s Hopscotch for #LA2050

The Industry, Yuval Sharon’s visionary opera company, has announced their next project. Hopscotch will be a mobile opera that takes place simultaneously in 18 cars driving around LA, with audiences either riding along or watching from a central hub. Six composers are involved, and, importantly, they’re in the running for a $100,000 grant.

You can help them out by casting a vote in their favor at http://myla2050create.maker.good.is/projects/HOPSCOTCH. There are just a few hours left.

Here’s a video that The Industry posted introducing the project.

Welcoming Andrew Glick to New Classic LA

I’m pleased to announce that New Classic LA has snagged a great first round pick for new writers. As of today, you’ll start seeing posts from Andrew Glick.

Andrew has previously worked at the American Composers Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic (R.I.P.), Opus 3 Artists as well as Programming Manager at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia and as Associate Manager, Artistic Planning for the LA Philharmonic. He has always had a close relationship with composers and contemporary music and looks forward to sharing his diverse and varied musical tastes while helping promote music and events happening in and around Los Angeles.

I’m so glad to have Andrew on the team, and am sure that you’ll enjoy reading his writing. If anyone else is interested in contributing to New Classic LA, please send us a message via the form on the “about” page.

9/8 – 9/14: Event picks this week

Tuesday, 9/9

Southland Ensemble plays Oliveros at Human Resources

Southland Ensemble and guest duelist Jake Rosenzweig as we explore the work of Pauline Oliveros on Tuesday September 9th at Human Resources!! From tape pieces to a duel for Double Basses (with referee), these are some very beautiful and odd pieces by the wonderful Pauline Oliveros.

Ticket price: $12

Sonic Rorschach
Thirteen Changes
Double Basses at Twenty Paces
Rock Piece
Bye Bye Butterfly
Song for Margrit

http://humanresourcesla.com/calendar-events/
http://southlandensemble.com/upcoming.html


Thursday, 9/11

Earth @ Hollywood Forever Cemetary

For those of you who like your metal drone-y and minimal, these guys are not to be missed.

$20


Friday, 9/12

Synchromy – re:Launch

Synchromy returns in 2014 with re: Launch, a concert of 21st Century chamber music at Occidental College’s historic Bird Studio in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles. The program includes the works of Jason Barabba, Tom Flaherty, John Frantzen, Vera Ivanova, Shaun Naidoo, Nick Norton, Ben Phelps and Mark Robson.

Synchromy is proud to be partnering with Brightwork newmusic, a recently-formed sextet of world class instrumentalists on reLaunch. Brightwork will be bringing Shaun Naidoo’s Ararat to the program, as well as participating in several other works, marking the beginning of a long-term collaboration between the two organizations. Brightwork newmusic is Sara Andon, Aron Kallay, Roger Lebow, Tereza Stanislav, Nick Terry and Brian Walsh.

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/793348

Free parking is available in the structure, entrance on Campus Road, one half block up the hill from Bird Road on Campus Road.


Saturday, 9/13

Ezralow Dance/wild Up

Following his success choreographing for the 2014 Sochi Olympics opening ceremonies, Daniel Ezralow brings his LA based Ezralow Dance to the Ford, featuring a commissioned premiere with live music by contemporary music collective wild Up. “Unforgettably gutsy” (NY Times) and hailed as “One of the best American dancer-choreographers now working on an international scale” (Chicago Tribune), Ezralow has created choreography and aerial choreography for theatre, film, opera and television around the world. He choreographed The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil, Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, the film Across the Universe and for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Batsheva Dance Company and Paris Opera Ballet among others. Ezralow is a co-founder of ISO Dance and an original dancer/choreographer of MOMIX.

Tickets: http://fordtheatres.org/en/events/details/id/779

LA, I Have Missed You SO Much

You might remember a couple of years ago, when New Classic LA was posting a few items a week, keeping totally up-to-date concert listings, and generally being an active website about our town’s scene. It was great. There was a lot going on to cover. So why did we stop?

In short, I moved out of town. I had to for the first couple of years of my PhD in composition. Going back to school was a great decision for me, and I’m glad I did it, but man did I miss what was going on here. I tried to keep active with our scene from Santa Barbara (a mere two hours North), but getting into town on weeknights was really challenging, as was finding time to write for the site with classes and projects and such taking priority.

By the end of the second year there, being away from Los Angeles was driving me nuts. There was SO MUCH going on here. The LA Phil had an LA composers’ concert, and wild Up got onstage at Disney Hall. What’s Next? Ensemble brought Jacob TV over from the Netherlands for a weeklong residency. Gnarwhallaby played Carnegie Hall. The Industry blew everyone’s collective mind with their interactive staging of Chris Cerrone’s Invisible Cities at Union Station. Nick Deyoe, Matt Barbier, Brian Griffeath-Loeb, and Scott Worthington founded WasteLAnd (which is quickly becoming my favorite concert series). Populist records has been putting out amazing records left and right. Aron Kallay founded Brightwork newmusic. People Inside Electronics partnered with the Hear Now Festival for their largest festival yet. Julia Adolphe got a piece played by the New York Phil. Synchromy – which I’m now a part of – reconfigured themselves for a fantastic upcoming season. Oh, and Alex Ross said we had the best orchestra in the US. Not that this is a competition.

Why am I saying all this? Because I want to say thanks, and let everyone know that New Classic LA is back. Thanks for keeping the seat warm while we were gone. I moved back to LA last week, and intend to get the site going full steam again in short order. We’ll have a new, easier-to-navigate concert listing. We’ll post sounds way, way more often. We’ll plug your shows, and interview composers and musicians who are doing interesting things.

I was sitting at Intelligentsia in Pasadena today and thinking that, while this is the most-hyped coffee in the US, it entirely deserves and lives up to the hype. So does LA’s new music scene. It’s great to be back. See you at the Southland Ensemble’s all Pauline Oliveros show on Tuesday.

Go see Julia Holter and wild Up! tonight

Julia Holter is back in town tonight, and our hometown underground orchestra heroes wild Up! are opening. They’re playing at First Unitarian Church in a show presented by Spaceland and Dublab. Nedelle Torrisi, Anenon, and Dublab DJs are also on the bill.

All the info (and tickets) are up here: http://www.theecho.com/event/326705-church-sessions-julia-holter-los-angeles/

Julia’s most recent record, Loud City Song, came out on Domino less than a month ago, and she’s been on tour pretty much nonstop.

Here’s a video:

LA Composers Project 2013: Richard Valitutto

Today we’ve got composer and pianist Richard Valitutto discussing the piece he’s featured on What’s Next? Ensemble‘s fifth annual Los Angeles Composers Project on April 26 at Boston Court.

Valitutto headshotThe name of your piece being performed at LACP 2013 is:

frammenti notturni

[Click the title to listen]

Tell us about it.

For most of my life as a composer (which is, relatively speaking, not all that long), I’ve kept various notebooks or scraps of paper with little musical ideas jotted down on them. Sometimes, I’ll not write down anything for weeks at a time, and then it will only be one measure of music – just a few pitches, harmonies, or basic gestures. At times when I have a specific project in mind, these ideas are more plentiful or involved. Two similarities I noticed about all these collected scraps is that I have a ton of seemingly disconnected, completely unused ideas, and a majority of them came to mind and were recorded at night (like many people, I simply work better and more freely when it’s dark and quiet).

In November 2012, my good friend and colleague Mark Menzies and I performed a recital at the Hammer Museum which focused on Morton Feldman’s epic 80-minute duo for violin and piano, For John Cage. We also performed a substantial first half of shorter compositions for violin or viola and piano by Cage, Feldman, Anton von Webern, and – with mutual coercion – one each by Mark and I. Although slightly absurd in retrospect (the concert was about 3 hours long!), this first half allowed the audience to really attune the senses to Feldman’s lengthy (and quiet!) journey. It also afforded Mark and I each the opportunity to write pieces for one other, and more abstractly – though no less meaningfully – for John, Morton, and Anton as well.

This duo for violin and piano, frammenti notturni, was my contribution to that event, and in it I have included a wide array of some of the aforementioned compositional fragments from over two years of random jottings: many of which were primarily influenced by Cage, Feldman, Webern, and Menzies; their techniques, philosophies, playing styles, distinguishing characteristics, formal structures, etc. Basically, everything in this piece – from its formal plan to very specific harmonic and melodic gestures – comes from and points back to these four people. And it is to the four of them that I owe a great deal of my development as a musician, composer, thinker, and human being. This small compositional offering is dedicated to Morton, John, Anton, and Mark.

Favorite X : Y

Breakfast :: two eggs sunny-side up, link sausage, home fries, sourdough toast, some good cheese, grapefruit juice, and coffee.

LA Composers Project 2013: Dante De Silva

DeSilva HeadshotIt’s getting a little tricky to keep the “Next up in our series of interviews with composers featured on What’s Next? Ensemble‘s fifth annual Los Angeles Composers Project” line fresh, so feel free to leave a comment suggesting how I should introduce whoever is next. In any case, today we’ve got Dante De Silva.

The name of your piece being performed at LACP 2013 is:

Mr. Distinguished

[Scroll down for audio]

Tell us about it.

The idea for Mr. Distinguished came from a simple idea—I missed writing fun music. I had been knee-deep in my opera about Gesualdo, and I felt I needed to write something that wasn’t emotionally draining.

Inspired by the works of Jacob Ter Veldhuis, I set upon finding a recording of a Dickens story or some poetry. I came across a website, LibriVox.org, an online project that gets volunteers to record themselves reciting books and poetry in the public domain. After days of searching, I found the text for Mr. Distinguished from a chapter of Emily Post’s book of etiquette—the chapter titled “Introductions.”

Much like a kid (me) entering phonetic combinations of letters into a Speak & Spell to hear dirty words, I wanted to manipulate the text into something much more playful than the ridiculously snobbish original text. I manipulated the spoken text to create a character, Mr. Distinguished, who is despicable and goes against many of the rituals Emily Post suggests. He is “always abrupt and unflattering, rude, preposterous, [and] inelastic”—he is almost exactly the way I was described by my etiquette teacher.

Favorite X : Y

My favorite car from the Pixar Cars movies is Fillmore.

Here’s the piece:

LA Composers Project 2013: John Eagle

johnwp1-e1304190327686Next in line to answer some questions about his piece featured on What’s Next? Ensemble‘s fifth annual Los Angeles Composers Project is John Eagle. Let’s do this thing.

The name of your piece being performed at LACP 2013 is:

Asperges Me 

Tell us about it.

Asperges Me is based on the Latin antiphon of the same name, which is a part of the Roman Catholic Mass. Taken from Psalm 51, my piece uses the first two lines, “Thou shalt purge me, with hyssop and I shall be clean: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” I wrote the piece following the birth of my nephew (the piece is dedicated to his parents) while thinking about the transformative possibilities that lie dormant in every relationship. One can view the piece as a kind of deconstruction of the chant. The melody itself has a beautiful rise and fall, invoking a sense of striving as it ascends and release as it falls and returns to the tonic. I took the melody and broke it down into 1-3 note fragments which are played in each voice and harmonized according to a range of overtone ratios. I prefer to look at the piece as a kind of translation, or opening-up. Each voice plays every part of the entire melody, but each with its own harmonization. As a collective, the ensemble plays the entire set of ratios and the audience gets to hear each note of the melody cast in a slightly different way, giving the piece a sense of multi-dimensionality. Duration, dynamics, and even the choice of one instrument are decided upon by the players, granting a wide range of expressive potential and making each performance specific to the ensemble.

Favorite X : Y

I’m gonna go with favorite childhood breakfast cereal: peanut butter Captain Crunch.

How about a recording?
While I do have a live recording of Asperges Me, I’d prefer to share a better quality recording of a recent piece which was composed at the same time as Asperges Me. The piece is rhythm color #2—resembling, suggesting. It was premiered by New Century Players in November 2012. The piece was constructed according to a similar process as the one in Asperges Me, organizing harmonies according to a limited range of overtone ratios which translate and shift over time.