SPLICE Festival V 2023 Concert 3 Program
Friday November 3, 2023
7:00pm EDT
David Friend Recital Hall, Berklee College of Music
921 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02115
Anonymous (arranged by Rakel Saranga) : Durme Durme
Rakel Saranga, Cristina Aramayo, Michal Nissimoff, and Viktoria Stachova -
voice, electronics, Oud, and frame drum
Dana Jessen and Ted Moore : (un) Wired: Improvisation with DJII
Dana Jessen, bassoon
Ted Moore, electronics
Luciano Berio : Altra Voce
SydeBoob Duo:
Anna Elder, voice
Sara Steranka, flute
Brian Riordan, live electronics
Stacy Busch : She Breathes Fire
newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble:
Stacy Busch, voice
Zsolt Eder, violin
Boris Vayner, viola
Sascha Groschang, cello
intermission
Zouning (Anne) Liao : hypothetical particles
Zouning (Anne) Liao, light.void~
Brian Ellis and Erin Landers : We Grow Together
Erin Landers, dancer
Sophie Delphis, dancer
Brian Ellis, dance
Notes
Anonymous (arranged by Rakel Saranga) : Durme DurmeDurme Durme is a traditional Sephardic Jewish lullaby, sung primarily throughout regions in Turkey. The objective of this project was to take monophonic, melody based middle eastern music, and introduce it to the world of granular synthesis and processing; connecting old melodies with an electronic sound, playing with the dynamics of old and new. The idea is to have percussion and singers live, whilst recordings of the voice are being synthesized within Ableton Lives Granular II, creating a mass of auditive textures that will eventually turn into what electronic musicians like to call, “wall of sound”.
back to program
Dana Jessen and Ted Moore : (un) Wired: Improvisation with DJII
Dana Jessen's (un) Wired is a solo electroacoustic and improvisatory work that incorporates sonic environments and live processing through DJII. DJII is a software designed by Ted Moore and Dana Jessen to be used by an improvising performer as live electronics accompaniment and interaction. Their collaborative process began in 2021 with open discussions about what a performance with DJII would sound like to an audience and feel like to a performer, and how one might develop an ongoing performance practice with the software. This performance will showcase the interface in conversation with Jessen's unique improvisatory language.
back to program
Luciano Berio : Altra Voce
In one episode, namely Il Campo (The Field), from my azione musicale Cronaca del Luogo, there is a virtual love duet. Two voices and several instruments 'fall in love' and follow one another in a constantly renewing relationship. As we all know, in true polyphony each voice contributes to the whole yet retains its own identity, if not complete autonomy. In Altra voce I have liberated one voice (mezzo-soprano) and one instrument (alto flute) from the whole and developed their respective autonomies and harmonic premises by, among other means, using live electronics.
- Luciano Berio
back to program
Stacy Busch : She Breathes Fire
The piece explores the fantasy world of Shey- a land and history of my own imagination. The world is currently divided by the ruling Kingdom of Men who have oppressed and silenced women for centuries. Now, the women have gathered their strength with an all powerful weapon and march to defeat the Kingdom of Men. However, they find that power and fear causes corruption even with the best of intentions.
I think of this piece as a prologue that recounts the history of Shey as it introduces us to the world and it's major players. It is an epic that expresses the deepest human struggles while also commenting on the similarities and differences with our world today.
This is the first piece in a large series of works to be written from the world of Shey.
back to program
Zouning (Anne) Liao : hypothetical particles
Hypothetical particles in physicals are particles that have not yet been proven to exist by observation. However, these phenomena are necessary for consistency within a given physical theory. In this piece, I explore the phenomenon through the interaction between light and sound particles. Amplitudes of the lights trigger changes in music, which reveal connections between the natural and synthetic sound worlds.
The light instrument is a handmade digital photo controller consisting of 16 light-dependent resistors. This is a replication of light.void~, designed by recent IU alumnus Felipe Tovar-Henao based on Leafcutter John’s light thing.
This piece is dedicated to Felipe Tovar- Henao, who is a good friend, an important mentor, and a crucial source of inspiration that motivated me to pursue music composition.
back to program
Brian Ellis and Erin Landers: We Grow Together
We Grow Together is a community-based ritual performance. Grounded fully in the idea that every person can be expressive through movement and music, we aim to create a playful space where the audience is invited to collaborate with us in creating our sonic and spatial environment.
back to program
Bios
Rakel Saranga is a Boston based vocalist, arranger, composer. She is born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. Her music draws inspiration from the multiple countries/regions that she has lived in, such as the Middle East, Eastern Europe, US and Turkey. She maintains a unique sound that’s an amalgamation of multiple musical genres/worlds. She creates a unique playful sound writing haunting melodies using tensions and unexpected chords. Her main goal is to deliver heartfelt music that takes people on a journey.back to program
Cristina Aramayo is a 22 year old guitarist, producer and sound designer who uses her cross cultural background to fuse as many genres as possible. She was born in the UK and spent her formative years there, developing an early interest in British rock bands who are still an influence on her today. When she was 8, she moved to Mexico City where the rest of her family is from, which is when she began to discover a joy for all types of genres ranging from EDM, to hip hop, to reggaetón, amongst others. She largely attributes her current interest in music to the cultural richness of CDMX. In 2021, she moved to Boston to start her music career in Berklee, and is currently an EPD student with a burning passion for granular synthesis and sound design.
back to program
Hailed as a “bassoon virtuoso” (Chicago Reader), Dana Jessen tirelessly seeks to expand the boundaries of her instrument through original compositions, improvisations, and collaborative work with innovative artists. Over the past decade, she has presented dozens of world premiere performances throughout North America and Europe while maintaining equal footing in the creative music community as an improviser. Her solo performances are almost entirely grounded in electroacoustic composition that highlight her distinct musical language. As a chamber musician, Dana is the co-founder of the contemporary reed quintet Splinter Reeds, and has performed with Alarm Will Sound, Amsterdam’s DOEK Collective, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and the Tri-Centric Ensemble, among many others. A dedicated educator, Dana teaches at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and has presented masterclasses and workshops to a range of students from across the globe. More at: www.danajessen.com
back to program
Ted Moore (he / him) is a composer, improviser, intermedia artist, and educator. He holds a PhD in Music Composition from the University of Chicago and recently served as a Research Fellow in Creative Coding at the University of Huddersfield (AY 2021-22), investigating the creative affordances of machine learning and data science algorithms as part of the FluCoMa project. His work focuses on fusing the sonic, visual, physical, and acoustic aspects of performance and sound, often through the integration of technology. Ted’s work has been described as “frankly unsafe” (icareifyoulisten.com), an impressive achievement both artistically and technically” (VitaMN), and “epic” (Pioneer Press). Ted’s work has been presented by the International Contemporary Ensemble, Jack Quartet, Talea Ensemble, Spektral Quartet, Yarn/Wire, Splinter Reeds, Quince Vocal Ensemble, HOCKET, Imani Winds, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Line Upon Line, The Dream Songs Project, AVIDduo, and has been performed around the world including at South by Southwest (Austin, TX), National Sawdust (NYC), The Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), STEIM (Amsterdam), Whatever Works nykymusiikkifestivaali (Finland), Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (Germany), City University (London), Hochschule für Musik (Freiburg), Center for New Music (San Francisco), ESS (Chicago), World Saxophone Congress (Croatia), New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, CubeFest (Blacksburg, VA), MASS MoCA (Massachusetts), Omaha Under the Radar (Nebraska), Electric Spring (UK), Pittsburgh Festival of New Music, Electroacoustic Barn Dance, Root Signals Electronic Music Festival (Georgia), SEAMUS, Punk Ass Classical (Minneapolis), MOXsonic (MO), New Horizons Music Festival (MO), and the SPLICE Festival (Bowling Green, OH).
back to program
SydeBoob Duo is a female-fronted experimental music collective located in Brooklyn, NY and composed of soprano vocalist Anna Elder and flutist Sarah Steranka. We are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of contemporary performance, amplifying the voices of female artists, and using alternative performance mediums to invite listeners into a more unique and challenging listening space. We are creators, improvisers, and performers of contemporary sounds actively commissioning and performing contemporary classical music for soprano voice, flute(s), and electronics.
back to program
Brian Riordan is a composer, performer, improviser, producer, and sound artist originally from Chicago, IL. He completed his PhD in Music Composition and Theory at University of Pittsburgh, where he teaches a class he designed called “Programming Environments in Music: An Introduction to Max/MSP”. His research interests are in temporal discontinuity, delay-based performance, real-time digital signal processing, and laptop performance aesthetics. As an avid collaborator, he has performed in numerous ensembles ranging from rock, jazz, classical, and experimental throughout North American, Europe, and Asia. His compositions have been performed by The JACK Quartet, The Callithumpian Consort, Wet Ink Ensemble, andPlay, The Meridian Arts Ensemble, Kamraton, Untwelve, The H2 Quartet, Alia Musica, Wolftrap, and his compositions have been featured at STEIM, SEAMUS, SICPP, New Music On The Point, SPLICE, and The Walden Creative Musicians Retreat. As a member of the Pittsburgh ensemble “How Things Are Made,” he produced and performed on over 70 recordings for the group and have commissioned 52 compositions.
back to program
Stacy Busch is a composer/performer who utilizes her voice with electronics to build unique sound worlds. Her work is a meeting point between art pop, avant-classical and singer-songwriter. Stacy's work has been performed nationally and internationally. It has been performed by ensembles including: loadbang, Bent Frequency, Beo String Quartet and newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. Performances at international residencies include Listhus Artist Residency in Iceland and ArtHouse Holland in The Netherlands. Stacy is a 2022 OneBeat Virtual Fellow for Global Music Leaders (a program of Bang on a Can) and she received the 2020 Charlotte Street Foundation Generative Performing Artist Award. Stacy has received grants from ArtsKC, ArtSounds, Charlotte Street Foundation and the UMKC Women's Council. Stacy received her MM in composition from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her BM in composition from Western Michigan University.
back to program
Hungarian violinist Zsolt Eder has established himself as a versatile and engaging performer and teacher. Zsolt has performed extensively in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Highlights include performing in the first Canadian Ring Cycle (Wagner) with the Canadian Opera Company, at the Beijing Modern Music Festival in China, IMS Prussia Cove in England, and at the International Classical and Folk Music Festival in Kyrgyzstan. He has performed as a soloist with the Cleveland Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Topeka Symphony, the City of Asuncion Symphony Orchestra (OSCA) in Paraguay, the Parlando Chamber Orchestra (Hungary), the Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra (Toronto, Canada) and the Midwest Chamber Ensemble (Kansas City). He has appeared live on Hungarian National Radio and ABC Australia.
back to program
Originally from Novosibirsk, Russia, Boris Vayner has been enjoying a diverse career in music as a violist, educator and conductor. As a member of the Grammy nominated St. Petersburg String Quartet since 2005, he has been intensively touring throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. The highlights of his career include performances at Lincoln Center, Library of Congress, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Manchester Bridgewater Hall, Dublin National Concert Hall, London King’s Place, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Great Hall, and appearances at such festivals as Schleswig-Holstein (Germany), MIMO (Brazil), Buxton (England), Fishguard (Wales), Music Mountain, Newport, Rockport, and Mainly Mozart in San Diego, among others. Boris Vayner has collaborated with such internationally renowned artists as Leon Fleisher, Michael Tree, Peter Donohoe, David Shifrin, Misha Dichter, and Stephanie Chase. He has also been a member of the St. Petersburg Piano Quartet that debuted in New York in May 2014.
back to program
Sascha Groschang, cellist, has performed extensively across the United States and Asia. She has appeared at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall numerous times, and gave her solo debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2009. She has been a soloist and lecturer at the Thailand International Composition Festival, performed for the King of Malaysia with the Kuala Lumpur International Festival Orchestra, and traveled all across China on two tours with the Mantovani Pops Orchestra. She has shared the stage with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, The Eagles, Vince Gill, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Michael Bublé, Peter Gabriel, Josh Groban, Sarah Mclachlan, Idina Menzel, Amy Grant and her recording credits include NBC, Atlantic, and Rhino Records.
back to program
Born in Guangdong, China, Zouning’s music draws inspiration from her fascination with nature and technology, blended with a constant curiosity about the playing capacity of instruments. She endeavors to incorporate unexpected and everyday sounds into her music.
Her music has been performed in the United States, France, China, and England. In 2023, her work was featured in the Musicacoustica Hangzhou Electronic Music Festival, Electronic Music Midwest, CampGround23, Turn Up 2023, SPLICE Festival, and Everyday is Spatial 2023. She was honored to also be featured in New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (2022), SEAMUS national conference in (2021, 2022), National Student Electronic Music Event (2021), and the Society of Composers Inc. (2021). Zouning was named a finalist in the ASCAP/ SEAMUS Student Composer Commission Competition in 2021.
Zouning is currently pursuing a master’s degree with double majors in electronic music composition and music theory at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She also serves as an Associate Instructor of Music Theory and teaches written and aural theory at undergraduate level. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the same institution where she studies with David Dzubay, John Gibson, and Chi Wang among other notable mentors. In summer 2023, Zouning earned a certification from the CIEE Paris Contemporary Music Creation and Critique Program, ManiFeste & I’Académie at IRCAM- Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.
back to program
Brian Ellis is a creative coder, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. His artistic practice centers around using code to democratize creative expression. He founded the Brooklyn Motion Capture Dance Ensemble to explore this via the medium of dance, and to expand the possibilities of movement-based musical interfaces. Brian additionally maintains many performance practices. He incorporates classical guitar, mountain dulcimer, live electronics, and no-input-mixing into his solo practice, and is an active ensemble member in Echo Ensemble and SANS; duo.
back to program
Erin Landers, Movement Director of Brooklyn Motion Capture Dance Ensemble, (she/her) is a Brooklyn based choreographer, teacher, and performer. She is a founding member of ECHOensemble, an improvising group of musicians and dancers, a dancer with dNaga Dance Company, an internationally-touring, intergenerational dance company directed by Claudine Naganuma, and was a co-founder of A-Y/dancers, a Hudson-Valley based repertory company. Erin is influenced by her upbringing in a musical household and study of a variety of dance forms including modern, contemporary, ballet, Zimbabwean (Shona), Irish (step), and Balkan folk dance, as well as mime. Erin recently produced her second evening-length performance, entitled of body of body of, a piece of horizontal movement theater. She has presented work at Palace of Fine Arts (San Francisco), the Trust Performing Arts Center (Lancaster, PA), Alchemical Studios (New York City), ChaShaMa (New York City), and the Neuberger Museum of Art (Purchase, NY).
back to program
Franco-American mezzo-soprano Sophie Delphis’ operatic roles include: Félicie/Adélaïde (La Belle et la Bête, Glass), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Giunone (La Calisto), Carmen and Mercédès (Carmen), Flora (La Traviata), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Cenerentola and Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Concepción (L’heure espagnole), Hansel, (Hansel and Gretel) and Elle (La voix humaine). An avid recitalist, Sophie regularly produces programs for musical and cultural organizations in the United States and China. Recent and upcoming works include: Ravel's Chansons madécasses and Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé, Bolcom's Cabaret Songs, Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire and Das Buch der Hängenden Gärten and Messiaen's Harawi. Along with classical repertoire, she enjoys collaborating with composers, improvisers and theater artists on new works. She is a soloist on the Grammy Award-nominated Naxos recording of Milhaud’s Oresteia trilogy. She currently resides in New York City, where she is pursuing a doctoral degree in voice performance at the Graduate Center CUNY. back to program