Sounding Ground Showcase
|
March 27 7:00 p.m.
MetroNOME Brewery 385 Broadway Ave; St. Paul, MN 55101 Tickets for this show HERE March 28 4:00 p.m. The Anderson Center 163 Tower View Drive; Red Wing, MN 55066 March 29 2:00 p.m. Hastings Arts Center 216 4th St East Hastings, MN 55066 |
|
Join Zeitgeist and Sounding Ground artists astrid hubbard flynn, Isaac Mayhew, and Yan Pang for a performance of the new works they have developed through Sounding Ground.
The SOUNDING GROUND composer residency program provides commissioning, development, and production support for Minnesota composers in the early stages of their careers. SOUNDING GROUND awardees work closely with Zeitgeist over an extended period on the development and production of a significant new work created for Zeitgeist.
The SOUNDING GROUND composer residency program provides commissioning, development, and production support for Minnesota composers in the early stages of their careers. SOUNDING GROUND awardees work closely with Zeitgeist over an extended period on the development and production of a significant new work created for Zeitgeist.
astrid hubbard flynn b. 1999, they/them) is an autistic living on Dakota land in so-called Minneapolis. Originally trained as a classical musician, astrid studied composition at Brown University with Wang Lu, Kristina Warren and Eric Nathan, and their notated work has been performed by Bent Frequency, the Kukuruz Quartet and YarnWire. They now make solo harsh noise music as Asteroid, ambient music with Aros E-V and NYMPHS, and synth-punk with Musicians for Birds and Related Animals, with past and upcoming releases on Bumpy Recordings. astrid also co-facilitates Handmade Noise Fun Club with Winona Vetsch at Seward Cafe, and works at a public library. They have been referred to as “the sonic destroyer of souls themself” (Xochi de la Luna) and their music has been likened to “a cough that never stops” (Ivan Cunningham).
Photo credit: Jess Morgan
25 Holds comes from my longtime interest in open scores which leave many key elements up to the performers. I like working with open scores because they give me an opportunity to compose other things about the situation besides what exact sounds are produced. This score is a grid of squares, some of them blank and some of them filled with intersecting diagonal lines of various densities. What the rows and lines represent is up to each performer, but how performers move between squares is subject to strict rules. The result is a sequence of events that each performer decided on without knowledge of how they would overlap with other performers' material. In my recent work with objects and gadgets making noises, I've often found myself strictly committing to actions that were decided spontaneously a few minutes in advance, and this score is an effort to translate that process from electronic solo work to a largely-acoustic ensemble piece. I'm very grateful to the members of Zeitgeist for their willingness to meet me at this strange place in my mind, and their help shepherding this piece from its cryptic first-draft state to its current iteration.
Photo credit: Jess Morgan
25 Holds comes from my longtime interest in open scores which leave many key elements up to the performers. I like working with open scores because they give me an opportunity to compose other things about the situation besides what exact sounds are produced. This score is a grid of squares, some of them blank and some of them filled with intersecting diagonal lines of various densities. What the rows and lines represent is up to each performer, but how performers move between squares is subject to strict rules. The result is a sequence of events that each performer decided on without knowledge of how they would overlap with other performers' material. In my recent work with objects and gadgets making noises, I've often found myself strictly committing to actions that were decided spontaneously a few minutes in advance, and this score is an effort to translate that process from electronic solo work to a largely-acoustic ensemble piece. I'm very grateful to the members of Zeitgeist for their willingness to meet me at this strange place in my mind, and their help shepherding this piece from its cryptic first-draft state to its current iteration.
Isaac Mayhew is a composer and trumpet player based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He has collaborated with performers across the country including Zeitgeist, the Rochester New Music Ensemble, the Lawrence University Symphonic Band, the Beltline Bones, The _____ Experiment, Sputter Box, Front Porch, and the Zenith Saxophone Quartet, and more. In addition to his work as a composer, Isaac is an active performer and advocate for new music. He performs with Lemonbrass, a Twin Cities-based brass quintet dedicated to music by living Minnesota composers. As a trumpet player, he has commissioned, premiered, or recorded works by Anat Spiegel, Daniel Whitworth, Nebal Maysaud, Evan Williams, Jonathan Posthuma, Emily Boyajian, Thomas Myrmel, and Conner Leigh Shaw. Isaac holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Lawrence University, where he studied with Asha Srinivasan, Joanne Metcalf, and Benjamin Klein. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Millennium Composers Initiative and is on the boards of RenegadeEnsemble and the Minneapolis Choir Collective.
we grow accustomed to the dark
I first came upon the poem of the same name by Emily Dickinson in early 2021, during a period between the presidential election of the previous November and the inauguration of Joe Biden and when the COVID-19 pandemic seemed almost manageable for the first time due to the increasing availability of vaccines. The historical trajectory of the United States since that point have cast not only those tentative feelings of optimism but also Dickinson's words in a completely new light.
Her message that, in times of trial, humans find ways to survive—either by learning to stand up or by growing accustomed to the dark—feels more relevant now than ever.
we grow accustomed to the dark
I first came upon the poem of the same name by Emily Dickinson in early 2021, during a period between the presidential election of the previous November and the inauguration of Joe Biden and when the COVID-19 pandemic seemed almost manageable for the first time due to the increasing availability of vaccines. The historical trajectory of the United States since that point have cast not only those tentative feelings of optimism but also Dickinson's words in a completely new light.
Her message that, in times of trial, humans find ways to survive—either by learning to stand up or by growing accustomed to the dark—feels more relevant now than ever.
Yan Pang Yan Pang (she/they) is a composer, performer, and scholar whose work centers on intercultural music creation. As a composer, her creative practice blends Chinese folk traditions with Western operatic and music-theater forms to explore themes of resilience, solidarity, and immigration. Her compositions have been featured in international collections and competitions, including For Archie, Nowhere Home, and The Others (Contemporary Music Score Collection, UCLA). She is also the songwriter and music director of the album Glory Times (China Science & Cultural Audio-Video Publishing House).As a performer, Pang frequently realizes her compositional work through performance-based and collaborative contexts. Since 2019, she has been composing and performing original music for MIXTAPE Dance in collaboration with choreographer Jason “J-Sun” Noer and music director Stefon “Bionik” Taylor.
As a scholar, Pang holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition with a minor in Theater Arts & Dance from the University of Minnesota and an Ed.D. in Leadership and Administration from Point Park University. Her publications include the peer-reviewed article “Scene of Sichuan Opera” (with Mingzhu Song) and co-authored textbooks such as Cool Math for Hot Music, All About Music, and The Future of Music (Springer). More at www.yanpangcreate.com.
Photo credit: Alice Gebura
The Swallow Bird reflects the immigrant experience: two languages speaking at once within a single mind. Between departure and return, memory and longing overlap like echoes.
Movement I – 游子吟 Song of the Wanderer
Leaving mother and homeland. The text draws from the Chinese poem:
“慈母手中线，游子身上衣。临行密密缝，意恐迟迟归。谁言寸草心、报得三春晖。”
A mother threads her needle, stitching clothes for her wandering child—each stitch holding love, and the unspoken fear of a delayed return. No tender heart could ever replay the spring the mother gave.
Movement II – 何时重逢 When Will I See You
A single question repeats across oceans: When will I see you?
Addressed to all who remain behind, the question lingers without answer.
Movement III – 小燕子 The Swallow Bird
Text from a Chinese lullaby:
“小燕子，穿花衣，年年春天来这里。”
The swallow, dressed in flowers, returns each spring—carrying memory, migration, and hope.
As a scholar, Pang holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition with a minor in Theater Arts & Dance from the University of Minnesota and an Ed.D. in Leadership and Administration from Point Park University. Her publications include the peer-reviewed article “Scene of Sichuan Opera” (with Mingzhu Song) and co-authored textbooks such as Cool Math for Hot Music, All About Music, and The Future of Music (Springer). More at www.yanpangcreate.com.
Photo credit: Alice Gebura
The Swallow Bird reflects the immigrant experience: two languages speaking at once within a single mind. Between departure and return, memory and longing overlap like echoes.
Movement I – 游子吟 Song of the Wanderer
Leaving mother and homeland. The text draws from the Chinese poem:
“慈母手中线，游子身上衣。临行密密缝，意恐迟迟归。谁言寸草心、报得三春晖。”
A mother threads her needle, stitching clothes for her wandering child—each stitch holding love, and the unspoken fear of a delayed return. No tender heart could ever replay the spring the mother gave.
Movement II – 何时重逢 When Will I See You
A single question repeats across oceans: When will I see you?
Addressed to all who remain behind, the question lingers without answer.
Movement III – 小燕子 The Swallow Bird
Text from a Chinese lullaby:
“小燕子，穿花衣，年年春天来这里。”
The swallow, dressed in flowers, returns each spring—carrying memory, migration, and hope.
Dr. Alyssa Anderson, mezzo-soprano, is a specialist in chamber music, both as a soloist and as part of small vocal ensembles. She has been a frequent guest and collaborator with Zeitgeist as a soloist and as part of other Twin Cities-based new music ensembles. In 2010 Alyssa co-founded a voice and guitar duo, The Dream Songs Project, and performs lots of new and a little bit of old music nationally with the ensemble. She also performs experimental music as part of a saxophone-voice duo, The Poem is Done. In addition to singing, Alyssa can also be seen and heard playing all sorts of instruments in usual and unexpected settings.
Jiayi Qi is a soprano whose work spans opera, contemporary music, and Chinese repertoire. Her operatic appearances include Rose Maurrant in Street Scene and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro with the University of Minnesota Opera Theatre. In addition to her operatic work, she is actively engaged in collaborative and new music projects. She is delighted to collaborate with the Zeitgeist ensemble, offering an exciting new artistic experience.
Wendy Matsutani Kellogg is a Japanese-American singer and actor based in the Twin Cities. Most recently, she had the honor of participating in the premiere musical showcase of Shelter in both Pittsburgh, PA, and Minneapolis, MN, alongside Dr. Yan Pang and Dr. Andrew Swenson.
Wendy holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Music from the University of Minnesota (UMN). As a proud UMN alum, she performed the role of Aunt Xue in the world premiere of the chamber version of the opera Dream of the Red Chamber. Her additional credits include the world premiere of The Song Poet with Minnesota Opera and the Minnesota premiere of Proving Up with Journey North Opera Company. She has also performed with a variety of Twin Cities-based companies, including Full Circle Theater Company, Theater Mu, and the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company.
Wendy holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Music from the University of Minnesota (UMN). As a proud UMN alum, she performed the role of Aunt Xue in the world premiere of the chamber version of the opera Dream of the Red Chamber. Her additional credits include the world premiere of The Song Poet with Minnesota Opera and the Minnesota premiere of Proving Up with Journey North Opera Company. She has also performed with a variety of Twin Cities-based companies, including Full Circle Theater Company, Theater Mu, and the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company.
|
SOUNDING GROUND is made possible by the Jerome Foundation.
|
|
