GAMES AND SYSTEMS
FINAL CONCERT
Thursdsay, Dec. 10th 2020 @ 8pm ET
An evening of indeterminate music, performed by members of the MEME ensemble at Brown University. The concert will include new original works by Liam Ferris, David Jung and Miranda Luiz and a performance of Pamela Z’s Twenty Answers by memeber of the MEME Ensemble.
CONCERT PROGRAM
feedback
Miranda Luiz
feedback is a piece that navigates the liminal space between the live and the digital, a space we all find ourselves in as our lives become increasingly virtual. It explores the dynamics of interactivity, connection and disconnection, and the digital reproduction of our non-digital selves.
All Four One
David Jung
All Four One details a tale of four tails partaking in urban betrayal, as well as the anxiety that accompanies staying in the countryside for too long. Loosely inspired by Aesop's fables.
Ritual IX: Manifestation
Liam Ferris
Inspired by fragments recovered from Ada Hemlock's Compiled Ritual Compositions grimoire, the piece blends modern magic ritual techniques with guided musical improvisation. The power of group improvisation, even in telematic settings, is more than an adequate medium for ritual empowerment.
Twenty Answers
Pamela Z
Twenty Answers is a work for 8 or more (or less) players and a magic oracle. As it was commissioned by the Empyrean Ensemble, its parts were created with their instrumentation in mind (flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano and percussion) combined with the instrument of the composer (voice and electronics), but it can easily be adapted to any group of instruments. A work of ever-shifting melodic and rhythmic fragments– the piece nods to the memory of Cage with its heavy reliance on “chance operations” and its employment of silence and listening. Each player’s part consists of twenty events– the order and content of which are determined by answers generated by a fortune-telling device (the "Magic 8 Ball"). The idea for the piece came as an outgrowth of Ms. Z’s work exploring the binaries of “Yes and No” and the intriguing methods people have devised for divining answers to “Yes and No” questions. This piece recieved its premiere by the Empyrean Ensemble at UC Davis in January of 2008. It has also been performed by Canyonlands Ensemble at the University of Utah at SLC, the Maverick Ensemble in Chicago, and the Elmhurst College New Music Ensemble in Elmhurst, IL. In 2017, an adaptation for laptop ensemble was created by Paula Matthussen, and was performed by Toneburst Laptop & Electronic Arts Ensemble at Wesleyan University.
FALL 2020 MEME ENSEMBLE
Liam Ferris
Liam Ferris is a musician, producer, and multimedia artist in the Modern Culture and Media program at Brown University. He plays electric bass and guitar coming from a rock and pop background but has branched out into producing ambient, electronic music, and experimental pop.
David Jung
David Jung is a sophomore composer and violinist. While mostly experienced in more classical avenues of music-making, working with these new formats has been enjoyable, and he believes that this class has been creatively refreshing. David has taken an interest in mashing together narrative elements with the unique inputs of musicians in order to create a unique story for every playthrough.
Miranda Luiz
Miranda is a junior at Brown studying philosophy, music, and lots of other things. She’s interested in exploring this new domain of togetherness –– the zoomspace –– and its sonic, interpersonal, and theoretical implications.
Martim Galvão
Martim S. Galvão is a Brazilian-American composer, percussionist and multimedia artist. Much of his work is concerned with interfaces and how we interact with them. He is especially interested in exploring ideas related to consumer-facing technologies and the web.