Seattle New Music Concerts: January 2016

Posted on January 7, 2016 by maestrobeats

Second Inversion and the Live Music Project have teamed up to create a monthly, curated concert program insert featuring a list of upcoming contemporary classical, cross-genre, and experimental performances in the Seattle area.

We’ve rallied Seattle-area musicians and presenters to include the sheet below (double-sided when printed) in their concert programs to raise awareness and support of other new music events. We hope this initiative will grow the audiences and create a more centralized network of support for contemporary classical music performed in the Northwest!

Keep an eye out for the inaugural insert in concert programs around Seattle this month. Big thanks to On the Boards, Seattle Pro Musica, The Esoterics, Inverted Space Ensemble, Racer Sessions, and many more for paying it forward last month in December to spread the word about these events taking place in January:

Are you interested in being a part of this initiative? Drop us a line! Full info below with links:

Seattle Composers’ Salon
Informal presentations of finished works, previews, and works in progress by regional composers and performers in a casual setting that allows for experimentation and discussion.
January 8, 8pm, Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center | $5-$15

whateverandeveramen: Burns Night and Drinking Songs
An evening celebrating the poetry of Robert Burns. We will also raise a glass and raise our voices with the singing of traditional drinking songs. Tickets include a free beer.
January 13, 8pm, Naked City Brewery | $10

Inverted Space Ensemble: Earle Brown – A Retrospective
A concert featuring works by American composer Earle Brown, each from each decade of his career including graphic score commissions.
January 19, 7:30pm, Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center | $5-$15

Universal Language Project: The Way West
An event with music, words, and smoke inspired by the optimism and grandeur of the West. Works by Brian Cobb, Karen Thomas, & a commissioned premiere by Tim Carey with guest performers from Inverted Space Ensemble.
Januay 22, 8pm, Resonance at SOMA Towers (Bellevue) | $10-$25
January 23, 8pm, Velocity Dance Center | $10-25

Racer Sessions: CRY & Roar VI
The 6th anniversary festival of the Racer Sessions, a weekly (Sundays, 8-10pm) experimental and improvised music showcase featuring a different artist or group performing original work, followed by a jam session based on the concepts in their opening presentation.
8-10pm, Cafe Racer | FREE

Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra: Four Great Composer-Conductors
Music by Leonard Bernstein and the Northwest premiere of the Symphony No. 1 by Antal Doráti bookend this program of music by composers who were also influential conductors.
2pm, Benaroya Hall

UW Modern Music Ensemble
A performance featuring the “classics” of the modern era and hot-off-the-presses works from the best of today’s composers, including UW faculty and students.
7:30pm, Meany Studio Theatre | $10

Auburn Symphony: A World-Premiere Tribute to Auburn
Hear a world premiere, commissioned by the Seattle Commissioning Club, by Daniel Ott, along with Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (Christina Siemens, piano).
1/30 at 7:30pm & 1/31 at 2:30pm
Auburn Performing Arts Center (Auburn) | $10-$35

Wayward Music Series
Each month, Nonsequitur and like-minded organizations and artists present 10 concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electronic/electroacoustic music, and sound art. Visit waywardmusic.org for dates, times, and artist info.
7:30 or 8pm, Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center | $5-$15

Second Inversion at New Music Gathering

Posted on January 6, 2016 by maestrobeats

Second Inversion’s Maggie Stapleton will be at the 2nd annual New Music Gathering in Baltimore (January 7-9) and can’t wait to shake physical hands with those of you who are going. Tweets and likes are great and all, but… real high fives, hugs, applause, and glass clinks? Even better!

She’ll be distributing snazzy, swaggy SI pins & magnets… and…

Bring your CDs! (1)

…because we thrive on the new music community participating in our content creation, you can:

1) Be a guest DJ! How? Record some 30-60 second bites about your favorite pieces of new music. Maggie will be armed with this SONY recorder at all times and would love to capture your voice!

2) Bring your recordings (CDs, Dropbox links, etc) to Maggie for airplay consideration on Second Inversion.

Are you going to #NMG2016? Leave us a comment below to let us know!

2015: Expansion and Anxiety

Posted on January 5, 2016 by maestrobeats

by Joshua Roman

What a year! As I write this (a little late) looking back on 2015, I can’t help but be glad it’s over. It was, to be sure, a big year. Artistically, professionally, and personally. The ups and downs of previous years seemed somehow magnified as I stretched myself to create and participate in endeavors beyond my previous experience. Along with the pressure that I felt to be excellent (both from outside forces and, naturally, myself) in all of these undertakings, I also felt a pervading sense of anxiety around me as our world seemed to unravel in the headlines and at home.

On the artistic side, I wrote a !@#$ing cello concerto.

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Flying high on the way to premiere my first cello concerto!

That’s big for me! Never having taken on something of that magnitude, there were many pitfalls and logistical nuisances I hadn’t expected. Coupled with my ignorance of the process, this made every little decision seem that much more dire and potentially confusing. The lessons I’d learned from writing three other, smaller pieces were little help when it came to writing a large form piece, and then I had to orchestrate it. It wasn’t a bad process, just an intimidating project that I am super happy to have in the past. Now, I can take on the next project with more understanding of what it will be like. And, boy oh boy, the good feeling associated with this creativity is definitely worth it!

In terms of collaborations, I was lucky enough to work with many artists in new settings or formats for me:

Third Coast Percussion
Vosges Haut Chocolate
Saskia Fernando Art Gallery in Sri Lanka
Bill T. Jones and Somi at TED
You – my online friends who voted for the Bach Suites I ended up performing at Town Hall Seattle
Seattle Youth Symphony and Mentors
Enso String Quartet filling in for their wonderful cellist Richard Belcher
Lisa Bielawa and the cast/crew of her Video Opera “Vireo”
Vijay Gupta and the Street Symphony
Daniel Bernard Roumain and Rafael Bejarano at Summit
Abigail Washburn, Andrew Mendelson, Andrew Nemr, Bora Yoon, Somi, and Non-Musicians Composing For The First Time at the TED Fellows Retreat

Then, of course, there were the many wonderful classical musicians, orchestras, and composers that I worked with in more traditional settings. Playing the new Mason Bates Concerto multiple times, and also tackling the inimitable Dvorak Concerto more than usual, were great experiences! I love the mix of familiar and new as I travel around the United States playing awesome cello music with our large classical music family.

With Mason Bates and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla after the premiere of his exciting new cello concerto in Seattle.

Professionally, I joined this lovely organization, Second Inversion as Artistic Advisor Which means I started blogging again! I also joined the Advisory Board for Street Symphony, and became a TED Senior Fellow. Early in 2016, I’ll be announcing another small but exciting series for the summer in a stunning area of the country. And last and maybe actually also least, I opened an Instagram account.

Testing the microphones at KING FM/Second Inversion – first day on the job!

Personally, sheesh. I went from literally living on the road with no home address to a temporary rental in Cliffside Park, New Jersey – a great room and roommate but too far from my daily life activities – to renting a small one bedroom with a fireplace (!) in the neighborhood of Chelsea, back in NYC on the small island of Manhattan. I went from fairly sedentary to working out with weights every day, to just running and doing push-ups, to swimming, to yoga… quite a cornucopia. And dating? Rough. I divorced a couple of years ago, and this year was fraught with wild tension from beginning to end. 2015 began with the end of a short but intense relationship, and later became dominated by an undefined and ultimately ill-fated relationship with a formerly close friend.

On top of all of this, I read the news every day. Enough said.

My father rockin’ a sweet Fender Mustang electric bass on Christmas Eve.

Again, though, I won’t say it was a bad year. I know a lot more about myself now, and the people around me. There have been some beautiful things to come out of the chaos. And music has become even more personal and important to me, especially as I learn how to connect and engage on a creative level. The last performance of 2015 was Christmas Eve with my mom, my dad, and one of my brothers (photos above and below). The first performance of 2016 will be at my grandmother’s funeral, and I’ll be playing string quartets with my two brothers and my sister. I was able to start confronting pent-up feelings through writing music, and both receive and give comfort through sound at various times.

My brother and mother waiting for the next Christmas tune.

Does this post seem a bit rambly? A bit distracted, disorganized, unfocused? Ambitious in breadth, but scattered at the same time? That’s me, in 2015. Riding the edge, and shooting from the hip. I’ve not yet catalyzed my goals for 2016, but at the center is refocusing. I will continue to do all of the things I began this year, but I will not be seeking out any new kinds of projects. If 2015 was the year of expansion and anxiety, 2016 will be the year of focus and care.

I’ve been asking a lot of friends about their year, and most of my circle is ready for this one to end. I’m always ready to take an excuse, in this case a random day we decided long ago is the First Day of the New Year, and rethink in a more positive way how we can go about things. I think we could all use some of that, and if your 2015 was nothing but up, up, up, please do share and inspire the rest of us!

Today’s playlist will be nothing but the Beatles, in honor of finally being able to stream one of the greatest musical acts of the 20th Century.

Playlist:
The Beatles: A Hard Day’s Night
The Beatles: The Beatles (White Album)
The Beatles: Revolver

ALBUM REVIEW: Madeleine Cocolas’ Cascadia

Posted on January 4, 2016 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

Creating and recording a new musical composition in just one week is no easy feat. But that’s precisely what Seattle-based composer and sound artist Madeleine Cocolas did—every week for an entire year.

Week+29+photo The “Fifty-Two Weeks” project began when the Australian musician first moved to Seattle with her husband a few years ago. After settling into her new home, Cocolas challenged herself to write a new piece of music every week for 52 weeks and post it to her SoundCloud.

The result was a series of 52 pieces wrapped up into a year-long blog chronicling her artwork, her travels, her successes, her struggles, and above all, her music. To call it ambitious would be an understatement—the project is downright massive in scope. It’s got minimalist piano musings, dreamy and ethereal vocal soundscapes, melodicas and found sounds, glitches and glitter. It’s got recorded kitchen clatter, toy accordions, and tape cassettes. It’s got vintage radio clips, Capitol Hill street art, a dash of Christmas whimsy and yes, even a healthy dose of cat photos.

But perhaps what’s most inspiring about Cocolas’s project is the authenticity behind each composition. There are good weeks, bad weeks, silly weeks, serious weeks, and even a few delirious weeks. There are some missed deadlines, a couple of do-overs, and the occasional rut—but that’s what makes the project honest and relatable. Her willingness to experiment, to push herself creatively, and to get outside her comfort zone are what makes the series so candid, authentic, and genuine. Each piece is a part of the journey—warts and all.

Last year Cocolas took over the Second Inversion airwaves to share a bit more about her 52-week process and some of her favorite pieces—and this year, she’s revisited the project with her new debut album titled “Cascadia.”

“A big part of ‘Fifty-Two Weeks’ was to explore and better define my compositional style,” Cocolas said. “And to me, ‘Cascadia’ best represents my ‘Fifty-Two Weeks’ project and current compositional style.”

The album is a refinement of material produced for her “Fifty-Two Weeks” project, along with a couple of brand new tracks. The result is a beautifully amorphous blend of ambient, experimental, electronic, and contemporary classical sound worlds with plenty of Pacific Northwest whimsy.

“Living in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest for the past three and a half years has influenced my music immeasurably,” Cocolas said, “And I feel like the music on ‘Cascadia’ and my ‘Fifty-Two Weeks’ project is a direct response and reaction to my surroundings here.”

The album begins with an oceanic dream: “The Sea Beneath Me.” Composed after the completion of her “Fifty-Two Weeks” project, this piece was the result of a collaboration with Australian textile artist Monique Van Nieuwland on her exhibition “Ocean Forest.” Van Nieuwland recorded herself weaving, and Cocolas reworked the recordings into an entire oceanscape of sounds which went on to become the basis for “The Sea Beneath Me.” Ethereal vocals float along the waves to create a shimmering seascape, immersing the listener in its vast expanse and its softly pulsing echoes. Nostalgic and melancholy, each wave is a work of art.

“Moments of Distraction” takes the listener out of the ocean and into the clouds with its whimsical and weightless piano melodies circling above a minimalist electronic backdrop. “I Can See You Whisper” layers twinkling piano melodies atop ambient textures and subtle strings, while “Sometimes I Can’t Hear You” crafts its own minimalist sound world out of layered piano motives and textured echoes.

A warm and ethereal new realm comes to life in “When I Knew I Loved You,” with airy vocals floating above ambient piano and toy accordion—it’s like the aural equivalent of having butterflies in your stomach.

Accordian
Cocolas takes her electronic exploration to new sonic spaces in “Echoes,” an ethereal sound sculpture of vibration and reverb. Then her dreamy, washed-out vocals float through “If Wisdom Fails,” a lullaby brimming with tenderness and warmth.

“Static” shifts through dissonant piano melodies atop a textured drone, and the album comes to a close with a sweet and sincere solo piano piece: “If You Hear Me, I Hear You Back.” Cocolas’s tender piano melodies drift gracefully through the surrounding silence, accompanied by nothing but the vintage sounds of a tape recorder.

Simple yet powerfully poignant, it serves as a reminder of the humble beginnings from which this panoramic album was born. After all, with just “Fifty-Two Weeks” and a little imagination, Cocolas was able to create a musical map of Cascadia in all it’s sparkling and mystical splendor.