Sunday 27 May 2018
CONCERT 1 (2pm) explores Pauline Oliveros’ approach to ‘deep listening’ wth drone-based improvised music performed by Rhodri Davies, Phil Durrant, Bill Thompson and Mark Wastell
The ‘DEEP LISTENING' WORKSHOP (4pm) will be led by Viv Corringham, who has worked with oliveros and is certified to teach ‘deep listening’. This is open to musicians and non-musicians.
CONCERT 2 (7:30pm) will feature pieces by Pauline Oliveros and a structured improvisation from the afternoon workshop. There will also be new pieces by Kerry Andrews, Deborah Edwards, Derek Foster, Janet Oates and Margrit Schenker. The concert will be performed by Rhodri Davies, THE VOCAL CONSTRUCTIVISTS and members of Contakt.
Curated by Contakt
Supported by PRS Foundation, Arts Council of England and Ambache Charitable Trust.
PAULINE OLIVEROS (1932 – 2016) was an American composer and accordionist. She was a central figure in the development of experimental and post-war electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Centre in the 1960s, and served as its director. She taught music at Mills College, the University of California San Diego, Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Oliveros authored books, formulated new music theories, and investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of "deep listening" and "sonic awareness”. In 1988, as a result of descending 14 feet into an underground cistern to make a recording, Oliveros coined the term "deep listening”, a pun that has blossomed into an aesthetic based upon principles of improvisation, electronic music, ritual, teaching and meditation. This aesthetic is designed to inspire both trained and untrained performers to practice the art of listening and responding to environmental conditions in solo and ensemble situations.
CONTAKT is a group of composers/performers created as an ensemble for experimentation and performance. The existing group is seen as a core with a fluid approach to collaboration with other composers, performers and artists in both sounds and images. The members have a wide background in music composition, performance and other art forms, and aim to bring these together in concerts and events. Contakt performs at venues that enable experimentation and the concerts/events are intended to be informal, welcoming and inclusive.
Current members are:
Kerry Andrews - composer/cello
Phil Durrant - improviser/synthesizer
Deborah Edwards - composer-improviser/piano
Derek Foster - composer/piano
Janet Oates - composer-improviser/flute/voice
