posted May 8, 2012 9:15 PM by Spencer Topel
The results for SMC 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark are now public. I was asked by the directors of the conference/festival to curate the electroacoustic concert. I agreed to do so only if I could incorporate input from other members in the music committee. The goal with these selections was to include a diversity of works and styles from around the world, and I believe that we have done so with this group. I should also note that while there were many good tape pieces sent to us, we explicitly asked for live-electronic pieces. Anyhow, here is the list (not concert order):
Alex Harker (U.K.): Fluence for clarinet and electronics (Heather Roche, clarinet)
Panayiotis Kokoras(Greece): T-totum for percussion and electronics (Figura Ensemble)
Joao Pedro Oliveira(Portugal): Vox Sum Vitae for percussion and electronics (Figura Ensemble)
Akira Takaoka(Japan): Responsorium for voice and electronics (Figura Ensemble)
Pierre Alexandre Tremblay(U.K.): La Rupture Inéluctable for bass clarinet and electronics (Heather Roche, bass clarinet)
Judith Shatin(U.S.): Grito del Corazon for ensemble and electronics (Figura Ensemble)
Judith Shatin(U.S.): Cherry Blossom and a Wrapped Thing; After Hokusai for clarinet and electronics (Figura Ensemble)
and a new work by moi for solo contrabass and live-processing. Looking forward to meeting all of these fantastic composers!
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posted May 2, 2012 6:58 AM by Spencer Topel
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updated May 2, 2012 7:30 AM
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Reflecting on last night's performance of Vox Nihili by the Callithumpian Consort, one nagging question remains. Why are audiences still disturbed by silence? This piece does, in fact, have a lot of silence in it; but it seems that after fifty years---when Cage's 4'33" debuted---we would somehow have culturally reconciled with silence. Instead, silence bothers most of us. More so for people who attend concerts casually or infrequently. It makes me wonder if it is wrapped up in our desire to be constantly entertained, (at least in the U.S., mentioned by Christopher McMullen-Laird who gave a presentation at Dartmouth College on contemporary German opera). If our collective problem with silence comes down to our motivation to be entertained, then why does advertising inundate us with images of meditation, stillness, and peacefulness? 
Perhaps it is attributable to the simple fact that, like green vegetables, we don't actually like silence and meditation, but we know it's good for us. Instead of creating spaces at home where there is no T.V. , no internet, no distractions, we do something that is more like: so that we can be simultaneously distracted and entertained, allowing us to avoid confronting real choices in our life, and to continue piddling along without any sense of confronting BOREDOM. Maybe this helps explain where contemporary music IS going right now, and why so much of it is busy-sounding, distracting, loud, and brief. Art imitating life, perhaps? |
posted Apr 23, 2012 11:29 AM by Spencer Topel
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updated Apr 23, 2012 5:25 PM
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This week and next week feature two performances of my work. The first is my work Three Preludes for Violin and Cello tomorrow night, April 24th at in Dallas, TX, presented by the Bridge the Gap Chamber Players, with Sercan Danis, violin and Zach Reaves, cello. Bridge the Gap is an inspiring project started last year by Zach Reaves and Maura Bellmio who wanted to expand the contemporary chamber music scene in Dallas. You can see an earlier performance of the Preludes by Zach and Maura from 2010, (right,) and there's also a Skype interview with Zach about this piece and my work also floating around out there. Full info about this event:
April 24, 2012 – The “White” Concert
8:00pm – McKinney Avenue Contemporary (aka, The Mac), Heldt Hall
Address: 3120 McKinney Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75204
The second concert in will feature musicians from the Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera, and Plano Symphony in addition to current Meadows students and alums. The program includes works by Part, Bach, Ysaye, John Luther Adams, and Spencer Topel.
The second performance happens next week, with a premiere of a new work Vox Nihili, written for and performed by the Callithumpian Consort, led by Stephen Drury, the Boston-based pianist and new music impresario. Here is an example of a past performance of Le Marteau by Pierre Boulez. I am eager to hear how everything comes together, since it is a bit of an experiment. Keen listeners will notice the recording posted is not a live recording, but I am hoping that through collaboration with the ensemble, we can reverse-engineer the sounds in the recording to live performance. I will let you know how it goes! Details on the event next Tuesday:
A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC AT DARTMOUTH: SONG AND SOUND
Performers and composers from Dartmouth.
Tues | MAY 1 | 7 PM |
Spaulding Auditorium |
posted Apr 20, 2012 8:38 PM by Spencer Topel
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updated Apr 23, 2012 11:32 AM
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It would happen that every now and again life starts to make sense again, and we find ourselves in a better place than we were just months or weeks before. This is where I find myself at present, in what I can only hope is more than just a moment of clarity, but a steadfast motion toward a reliable artistic process. After a few days with So Percussion, I have found in their efforts a renewed sense of ambition to present what is "authentic" about me, my relationship with technology, and with my audience.
For now this manifests itself with the cobbling together of this new website, devoid of much of the old content, and hopefully with clearer ways of understanding what I do in music. Under "selected works" you can find a few profiles of recent pieces, along with clips and scores. My goal is to have the hand notated scores engraved by the end of the year, allowing for easier sharing and performance.
above - the original cross-fader turntable, circa 1920 something. |
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