In March 2019, composer and visual artist Raven Chacon and The Living Earth Show will travel to University of Michigan to workshop their new piece Tremble Staves: a wordless water opera synthesizing mixed media installation, manipulation of natural and artificial light and sound, and theatrical performance depicting the urgent but approaching crisis of water shortage burdening the region from California to the Navajo deserts. The full piece will be premiered in June 2019 in the flooded ruins of Sutro Baths, an early 20th century outdoor pool complex whose concrete remains are now a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This "workshop performance" in Ann Arbor, taking place in the lush setting of hte Matthaei Botanical Gardens Conservatory, will feature one movement of Tremble Staves and will feature members of the U-M Percussion Ensemble.
Chacon’s opera connects narratives of the San Francisco Bay Area’s relationship with water to overlapping Navajo creation stories in which water figures prominently. The work will be performed, from memory, by the virtuosic musicians of The Living Earth Show, utilizing amplified antlers, tape reels, effected guitars, and water as a dynamic percussion instrument. With this palette, Chacon combines electro-acoustic noises, traditional Navajo music, field recordings, and extended techniques rooted in the musical lineage of classical chamber music to craft a vital sonic and visual landscape.
The opera presents the sacred element of water as a struck, manipulated, and amplified instrument–in reverence while simultaneously creating a sonic violence representative of continuing scarcity of this natural resource. The audience joins the performers in the environment, turning a public space into a sonic ecosystem in which all participants are surrounded by the element discussed and interrogated by the music. The intention is immersion; the opera immerses a congregation of audience members anchored in a pond of resonance; communally engaging in the work yet aware of their own complicity in the draining of the water.
Each unique iteration of the piece will last approximately 15 minutes, starting at 6:00pm, 6:30pm and 7:30pm, with an Artist Q&A from 7:00-7:30pm. Attendees are invited to explore the conservatory during and between performances.
There will be limited seating available on a first come, first serve basis. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Center for World Performance Studies, at 734-936-2777, at least one week in advance of this event. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the University to arrange.
Reservations are encouraged: https://bit.ly/2NeMrLs
Chacon’s opera connects narratives of the San Francisco Bay Area’s relationship with water to overlapping Navajo creation stories in which water figures prominently. The work will be performed, from memory, by the virtuosic musicians of The Living Earth Show, utilizing amplified antlers, tape reels, effected guitars, and water as a dynamic percussion instrument. With this palette, Chacon combines electro-acoustic noises, traditional Navajo music, field recordings, and extended techniques rooted in the musical lineage of classical chamber music to craft a vital sonic and visual landscape.
The opera presents the sacred element of water as a struck, manipulated, and amplified instrument–in reverence while simultaneously creating a sonic violence representative of continuing scarcity of this natural resource. The audience joins the performers in the environment, turning a public space into a sonic ecosystem in which all participants are surrounded by the element discussed and interrogated by the music. The intention is immersion; the opera immerses a congregation of audience members anchored in a pond of resonance; communally engaging in the work yet aware of their own complicity in the draining of the water.
Each unique iteration of the piece will last approximately 15 minutes, starting at 6:00pm, 6:30pm and 7:30pm, with an Artist Q&A from 7:00-7:30pm. Attendees are invited to explore the conservatory during and between performances.
There will be limited seating available on a first come, first serve basis. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Center for World Performance Studies, at 734-936-2777, at least one week in advance of this event. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the University to arrange.
Reservations are encouraged: https://bit.ly/2NeMrLs
| Building: | Matthaei Botanical Gardens |
|---|---|
| Event Type: | Performance |
| Tags: | Concert, Environment, Free, Interdisciplinary, Music, Native American |
| Source: | Happening @ Michigan from Center for World Performance Studies, Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum |
The Center for World Performance Studies sponsors and cosponsors several special events throughout the year, including performances, public lectures, demonstrations, and roundtables. Our events are announced on our website, and through email and flyer distribution. Please contact us at CWPS.Information@umich.edu if you would like to be on our mailing list or if you would like more information on any of the following events.
