Nov. 8-9: Emerald City Music Season 09 Continues with Composer in Focus: Pauline Oliveros’s Sound Meditations Curated by Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
High resolution photo available here.
Emerald City Music Season 09 Continues with
Composer in Focus: Pauline Oliveros’s Sound Meditations
Curated by Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
Friday, November 8, 2024 at 8pm
415 Westlake | 415 Westlake Avenue N | Seattle, WA
Tickets: https://bit.ly/EmeraldNov2024Seattle
Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 7:30pm
Capital High School Performing Arts Center | 2707 Conger Ave NW | Olympia, WA
Tickets: https://bit.ly/EmeraldNov2024Olympia
“[Artistic Director Kristin Lee] wants to show you, through Emerald City Music’s concert series, just how varied and innovative chamber music can be.” – The Seattle Times
Seattle & Olympia, WA – Emerald City Music (ECM), led by founding Artistic Director Kristin Lee, continues its Season 09 on a theme of Global Resonance with two performances celebrating the life and music of pioneer of “deep listening” and “sonic awareness,” Pauline Oliveros. The performances, curated and hosted by cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, take place on Friday, November 8, 2024 at 8pm in Seattle at 415 Westlake (415 Westlake Avenue N) and Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 7:30pm in Olympia at Capital High School Performing Arts Center (2707 Conger Ave NW). During the concert at 415 Westlake, audiences can enjoy ECM’s flagship “date-night experience,” which combines vibrant classical performance with an open bar, and a “wander-around” concert setting with no stage dividing the audience from the musicians.
These meditative evenings will combine live performance, film, and an interactive audience experience. Pauline Oliveros' life was about opening her own and others' sensibilities to the universe, influencing American music profoundly through improvisation, meditation, and technological exploration. She was one of the original members of The San Francisco Tape Center – a significant resource for electronic music in the 1960s – and a founding member of the Deep Listening Band, which was formed in 1988 in Port Townsend, Washington.
Together with Thorsteinsdóttir and Lee, violist Melia Watras, and percussionist Bonnie Whiting will perform .music by Oliveros, spanning several decades throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Featured works include Pauline’s Solo (1992), String-utopia for violin and cello (2005), Triskaidekaphonia for soloist (2005), and Buffalo Jams (1982). A film by Oliveros titled on listening will be interspersed with the music, in addition to several segments of Oliveros speaking about community, which will involve audience participation, improvisation, and communal exercise in creating sound meditation: “Teach yourself to fly,” “Breathe in/breathe out,” and “The new sound meditation.”
Of Pauline Oliveros’ impact on music and collaborating with Emerald City Music, Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir says, "I am thrilled to return to Emerald City Music with such a special composer spotlight on the iconic composer and thought-leader Pauline Oliveros. In embracing her steadfast focus on listening to ourselves, each other and our surroundings, I couldn't think of a more meaningful way to experience her music than in this immersive concert with some of the most creative and compelling musicians I know."
Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed “a welcoming and more inclusive environment for intimate music-making” (The Seattle Times), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences. Founded in 2015, Emerald City Music produces and tours seven productions annually, with each tour visiting venues including Seattle’s South Lake Union (415 Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), Olympia’s Minnaert Center (a 495 seat modern concert hall), a once annual concert at the Bellingham Music Festival, and an annual concert in New York City.
About the Artists: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season-artists
About Kristin Lee, ECM Artistic Director: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/team/kristin-lee
About ECM: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/about
Follow ECM on Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emeraldcitymusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emeraldcitymusic