Tag Archives: Austin

Comes and Goes Returns

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comes-and-goes

On Thursday I’ll be performing my work Comes and Goes with Andrew Dewar, Wendy Richman and Geni Skendo during the opening concert of the third Birmingham New Music Festival. Andrew and I will perform with electronics (modular synth and Max, respectively) while Wendy plays viola and Geni performs on various flutes. We worked up a wonderful blend of sounds during rehearsal last weekend; I think this is going to be a special performance.

Comes and Goes was written for Gates Ensemble and first performed in Austin, TX in 2007. My memory of the performance is a bit hazy. On the day of the show I was packing for a move from Austin to Albany, NY and gashed open the bottom of my foot. After stitches and pain meds, I somehow joined the other musicians on stage to perform with my foot elevated on a nearby chair. The piece is for four or more musicians performing on electronic and/or acoustic instruments. Each movement explores a specific set of sounds  derived from the technique of amplitude modulation. Download the score for Comes and Goes.

I’ll also be performing on banjo and electronics with Geni Skendo for two of his compositions.

Thursday 9/22 7:30pm
Birmingham New Music Festival
UAB Hulsey Recital Hall
950 13th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35294
Free

Weekend Waltz Through Texas

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I’m playing two shows in Texas this weekend: Austin on Sunday and Houston on Monday. I can’t wait to reconnect with friends in both places, hear some great music, eat some great food.

Sunday, September 2 8pm
Austin Museum of Digital Art (AMODA) Performance Series
Bill Thompson, Holland Hopson, Rick Reed
Gates Ensemble
Waller Creek School
4100 Red River Street
Austin TX

This will be a treat. A reunion of the Gates Ensemble along with solo sets by Bill Thompson, myself and Rick Reed. Yowzer! It’s been 6 years since I last played an AMODA show and I have some great memories of the series: Stephen Vitiello, Phill Niblock, Olivia Block, Keith Fullerton Whitman. I’m happy to be part of the series again.

Monday, September 3 7pm
They, Who Sound
Holland Hopson
Sonia Flores
Avant Garden
411 Westheimer
Houston TX

Then on to Houston for the next installment of They, Who Sound with Sonia Flores.

I’ll be performing music for banjo and electronics in both places–my Redneck Tech schtick. Come on out; I’d love to see you there.

Austin’s New Music Co-op Turns 10

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The Austin New Music Co-op celebrates their tenth anniversary with concerts tonight and tomorrow. Details here; Preview articles in the Austinist and Austin 360. I joined the co-op shortly after it began and enjoyed participating in many memorable events while in Austin.

In honor of 10 years of great co-op concerts, here’s a recording from the September 8, 2006 event featuring Fred Lonberg-Holm. This was the premiere of We Would Like to Take This Opportunity, a work for cello soloist with any three string instruments. The performers here are Fred Lonberg-Holm, cello solo; James Alexander, viola; Steve Bernal, cello; Travis Weller, violin.

[audio:we_would_like_to_take_this_opportunity.mp3]
We Would Like to Take This Opportunity.mp3

Here’s the score of the cello part. It includes the other instruments’ parts for most movements.

ASAC Presents Lucre and Jonathan Chen

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ASAC Presents Lucre & Jonathan Chen

Albany Sonic Arts Presents Lucre and Jonathan Chen

Sunday March 14 @ 8pm
Upstate Artists Guild
247 Lark St.
Albany NY
$5 suggested donation

  • Lucre is the improvising trio of Chris Cogburn , Bryan Eubanks, and Vic Rawlings who perform with exposed circuits, extended ampli?ed cello, low-? modular synthesis, and stripped down percussion.
  • Jonathan Chen will perform a solo set of music for electronics, viola and violin.

Chris is a good friend from my Austin days and does great work with the No Idea Festival. I’m very excited he’ll be playing in Albany. And I’m equally excited that local artist Jonathan Chen is finally getting a chance to present his work.

More information about the artists after the break…

Continue reading →

Weeping Willow Street Improvisations

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Last November I spent a memorable, rainy afternoon at Travis Weller’s place performing a house concert as part of his Willow Street Concert Series. Nick Hennies wowed us with music for solo percussion including an entrancing performance of Alvin Lucier’s Silver Streetcar. I played music for fretless banjo, bent electronics and computer. Then Travis and I improvised two pieces with Travis playing his Owl, a custom-built piano wire lyre with electronics. Nick joined in for the last piece of the afternoon. The rain kept us company all along.

[audio:091108_willow_street_improvisation1.mp3]

091108 Willow Street Improvisation 1.mp3

[audio:091108_willow_street_improvisation2.mp3]

091108 Willow Street Improvisation 2.mp3

[audio:091108_willow_street_improvisation3.mp3]

091108 Willow Street Improvisation 3.mp3

New Music Co-op: Immersive and in the dark

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Austin American-Statesman Arts Critic Jeanne Claire van Ryzin reviews the latest New Music Co-op concert, Sound in Time, featuring guest cellisst Charles Curtis performing music by Alvin Lucier. This article is another entry in the “Austin’s Other Live Music Scene” series remarked on here

Austin’s other live music scene

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The Austin American-Statesman is running a month-long series on Austin’s other live music scene: classical music. The first installment mentions the usual establishment players (who, I should point out, do a better-than-usual job with adventurous programming than their national counterparts…).  Also mentioned are some of my much-missed colleagues who are busy

“pushing the boundaries of what classical music can be and how it can be presented in the 21st century. Austin has a tribe of adventurous musicians – composer-performers like Graham Reynolds, Peter Stopschinski, P. Kellach Waddle and Travis Weller; ensemble leaders such as Michelle Schumann and Aurélien Petillot and groups such as the Tosca String Quartet, Audio Inversions and the Invincible Czars – that lead the charge, taking their newly composed classical music to nightclubs, collaborating with filmmakers, dancers and theater companies and otherwise finding ways to challenge the status quo of classical music performance.”

I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Universal Instrument Videos

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Here are some videos from the Austin New Music Co-op‘s recent Universal Instrument concert. The Behind the Scenes segment is especially nice.

Austin New Music Co-op: Six Bagatelles

Austin New Music Co-op: Behind the Scenes

Austin New Music Co-op: The Becoming Machine IV

Nine Tas

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I recently heard a recording of the premiere performance of Nine Tas by the Austin New Music Co-op and thought I’d share it here. The singers are Ashley Gaar, Kathy Hatch, Wendi Olinger and Brandon Young

[audio:http://www.hollandhopson.com/music/various/nine_tas.mp3]

Nine Tas

The rest of the concert is knockout good. Let’s hope the Co-op makes it available soon.