I met pianist Robert Fleitz through our work as teaching artists for the New York Philharmonic. Once the pandemic hit, Robert and I were placed in a team to work as collaborators for a large-scale and intense online project teaching the basics of music and composition to children. Magic started on day 1.
Back in April, I was invited by curator Ezequiel Fanego to be part of the Literature and Sound Series at Casa Victoria Ocampo in Argentina. Ezequiel Fanego envisioned a series of sound presentations inspired by a work of an Argentinean writer of our choice. My muse was writer Silvina Ocampo with her short story “Los grifos”, an impressive dreamlike description of the sound of dripping faucets.
Next stop, South Africa! Looking forward to be part of the 2018 Decolonial AestheSis Creative Lab at Rhodes University together with esteemed colleagues: Sharlene Khan (South African visual artist and scholar), Jon Alpert (American journalist and documentary filmmaker), Fouad Asfour (art writer and editor), Vibha Galhotra (Indian visual artist), Bhekizizwe Peterson (South African literature scholar and screen writer), and myself as the Argentine composer and educator.
What is the Sound of the World Today? This question was asked to composers Jordan Millar (10), Mondriana Villegas (13), and Mia Micic (14) before getting to compose their commissioned works for the Young People’s Concert to premiere at the New York Philharmonic on March 11, 2017. The last of the “Ages of Music” concert series featured the “Modern Age of Music”, which featured American composer John Adams as well as these very new young generation of women composers.
The New York Philharmonic offers very young composers an opportunity to compose their own music! Students with or without musical background create, notate, and hear their very own music performed by Philharmonic musicians —often the full Orchestra— with the help of Philharmonic Teaching Artists serving as mentors and scribes. I am honored to be working as one of the Teaching Artists for the Composer’s Bridge program at Lincoln Center.
The Museum of Art and Design (MAD Museum) has opened Atmosphere for Enjoyment: Harry Bertoia’s Environment for Sound, a new exhibition featuring Harry Bertoia‘s sounding sculptures known as Sonambient. I have known his work for years, but to be able to touch and play these sculptures was a unique opportunity.
During my visit to MAD Museum, I was able to do an impromptu recording session with sound engineer Kevin DeYoe. The recorded sounds and live compositions will be featured in the “From Clay to Sound” project!
Progress has been made on the “From Clay to Sound” project! Last Thursday, March 24th, I recorded new sounds for upcoming interdisciplinary works at Elliott Sharp’s zOaR studio in downtown Manhattan. Featured instruments included not only clay trumpets, but also wooden and tin flutes! Stay tuned for more updates.
“As a music composer, and especially as someone who has never worked with clay, modeling an instrument with my own hands adds one more layer to the concept of searching for a personal sound. There is also a sense of continuity from the process of working with clay to model an instrument to the sound that results from it. In a way, it feels like modeling sound.”
