Hear It NOW 2009: L.E.D. by the Light
posted by Nou Dadoun
| After decades at the heart of Vancouver's creative music scene, the NOW Orchestra continues to evolve - this year transforming into Orkestra Futura to be launched this week in a special global performance, anchored at the newly refurbished Vancouver East Cultural Centre. This Saturday November 28, Orkestra Futura (formerly the NOW Orchestra) performs the Mad Scientist Machine, a major new work by composer Stefan Smulovitz. The Mad Scientist Machine is built around a software program of Smulovitz's creation that enables conductors from around the world to collaborate with live musicians performing in Vancouver. The Machine converts the conductors’ ideas into specifically coloured LED lights, which are then used as cues for musicians in Orkestra Futura to follow. Each color has a different meaning: red - melody, orange - imitate, yellow - open, green - noise, blue - drops, purple - loops, white - long tones, and black - silence. From the description, it sounds like a technologically-enhanced cross between a John Zorn game piece and a Butch Morris conduction. With four remote conductors - Pauline Oliveros (Oslo), Lisle Ellis (New York), John Oswald (Toronto), Paul Cram (Halifax) – and Stefan Smulovitz in Vancouver, the improv machine allows them to layer sounds using different cues. “What you are doing, and what we were all witnessing, is a very important step toward the future of how we will communicate our individual and collective artistic visions on a global scale. I felt like I was assisting Marconi on his first transatlantic radio signal” - conductor Lisle Ellis on an experimental run of the Machine. The concert will also include improvised conductions and new work by Coat Cooke. Video artist Krista Lomax will provide live video mixing. Orkestra Futura is a musician ensemble that includes strings, voices, horns, percussion and electronics under the direction of Coat Cooke. The ensemble includes: Vocals: Viviane Houle, DB Boyko, Peter Hurst; Strings: Jesse Zubot, Dave Chokroun, Tommy Babin, Chad MacQuarrie; Percussion: Joseph Pepe Danza, Kenton Loewen; Horns: JP Carter, Brad Muirhead, Coat Cooke; Electronics: Stefan Smulovitz Keyboards: Chris Gestrin For this concert, the ensemble will feature two very special out-of-town guests: Toronto vocalist Christine Duncan and American violist Eyvind Kang. This show has been two years in the planning and promises to be unique and absolutely stunning. Hear It NOW generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council, the City of Vancouver and The Vancouver Foundation. Hear It NOW 2009: L.E.D. by the Light Saturday, November 28 at 8pm The Historic Theatre at the Cultch - 1895 Venables Street (at Victoria Drive) Tickets: $25 (regular) / $20 (members) / $8 (students) More Information: Call Allyson McGrane at 604.873.6373 extension 112 or visit www.noworchestra.com |
