Craig Taborn + Vicky Chow Program

Home , Adam Rogers (musician), Chris Lightcap, Craig Taborn, Drew Gress

UPCOMING SPRING 2014 EVENTS

An updated schedule for the 2014 Spring season will be available online at empac.rpi.edu. Check back often for more information

JANUARY 21 7:30pm JANUARY 25 8pm JANUARY 30 7:30pm

PERFORMANCE

Futuro: A New Stance Peradam eXistenZ For Tomorrow CRAIG TABORN + Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe + Directed by David Mike Taanila Sabrina Ratté Cronenberg SCREENING PERFORMANCE SCREENING VICKY CHOW

FEBRUARY 01 8pm FEBRUARY 05 7pm FEBRUARY 12 7:30pm FRIDAY DECEMBER 06 2013 | 7:30PM

Allege Seth Lloyd Roberts/Wooley Clément Lyes Programming the Universe Mariel Roberts + Nate Wooley

PERFORMANCE TALK PERFORMANCE

OLEG KOSLOV EMPAC PERFORMANCE CRAIG TABORN + VICKY CHOW FRIDAY DECEMBER 06 2013 | 7:30PM

Craig Taborn, piano

Avenging Angel Solos and Improvisations

Interval

Vicky Chow, piano

Surface Image for piano and 40-channel 1-bit electronics Tristan Perich

Surface Image was commissioned by Vicky Chow BIOS Tristan Perich’s (New York) work is inspired by the aesthetic simplicity of math, physics and code. The WIRE Magazine describes his compositions as “an austere Craig Taborn studied music theory and composition, and while at the University meeting of electronic and organic.” 1-Bit Music, his 2004 release, was the first of Michigan, he became a member of saxophonist James Carter’s band, album ever released as a microchip, programmed to synthesize his electronic contributing to a series of albums, beginning with JC on the Set, in 1993. Taborn composition live. His latest circuit album, 1-Bit Symphony (Cantaloupe, 2010) cut his first recording as leader in 1994 with the Craig Taborn Trio, and during the has received critical acclaim, called “sublime” (New York Press), and The Wall 1990s he worked with Mat Maneri, Roscoe Mitchell, Nate Smith, Lotte Anker, Street Journal said “its oscillations have an intense, hypnotic force and a Dave Binney, Wayne Krantz, and Adam Rogers, among others. surprising emotional depth.” His award winning work coupling 1-bit electronics with traditional forms in both music (Active Field, Observations) and visual art In 2001, Taborn began to record with the Susie Ibarra Trio. In the same year, he (Machine Drawings, Microtonal Wall) has been presented around the world, from made the recording Light Made Lighter with Chris Lightcap on bass and Gerald Sonar and Ars Electronica to the Museum of Modern Art and bitforms gallery. Cleaver on drums. “On the strength of this recording,” wrote the Los Angeles www.tristanperich.com Times, “Taborn emerges as one of the most exciting pianists to lead a band since the ascent of Matthew Shipp.” Since 2002, he has worked with many musicians, including Dave Douglas, Hugh Ragin, Eivind Opsvik, Marty Ehrlich, Drew Gress, Chris Potter, David Torn, Michael Formanek, and Tomasz Stanko, as well as with TRISTAN PERICH members of The Bad Plus. His first solo album, Avenging Angel, was released in COMPOSITION STATEMENT 2011 on ECM Records. In 2012, Taborn toured internationally with Dave Holland’s FOR WORKS WITH 1-BIT ELECTRONICS quartet, Prism. I am interested in the threshold between the abstract world of computation and the physical world around us. My compositions for acoustic instruments with Canadian pianist Vicky Chow has performed extensively as a classical and 1-bit electronic music explore a sonic and conceptual space I began exploring contemporary soloist, chamber musician, and ensemble member, and has with 1-Bit Music in 2004: the foundations of electronic sound. The simplest been described as “brilliant” (New York Times), “a monster pianist” (Time Out electronic tones can be created by sending on and off pulses of electricity to a New York), and “one of the new stars of new music” (Los Angeles Times). speaker, effecting an oscillation at the desired pitch. These pulses are represented digitally in binary as 1-bit information, where a 1 or 0 signifies the corresponding She has worked with leading composers and musicians such as John Adams, electrical state. When working with 1-bit waveforms, data is equivalent to sound; Louis Andriessen, Bryce Dessner (The National) Philip Glass, Glenn Kotche (Wilco), no higher-level translation is needed. David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors), Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth). In addition to performing, she also produces and curates The 1-bit tones are generated by microchips that I program, which become Contagious Sounds, a music series focusing on adventurous contemporary instruments in these duets between human musicians and code. Here the most artists and composers in New York City. basic method of electronic sound production couples with similarly basic methods of acoustic sound production in classical instruments: vibrating strings, resonating Originally from Vancouver, Chow studied at the Juilliard School with Yoheved wind chambers, oscillating percussive objects, etc. While 1-bit sound is also the Kaplinsky and Julian Martin before continuing her studies at the Manhattan School palette of aggressive electric alarm clocks, I find its primitive timbre inspiringly of Music with Christopher Oldfather. Starting the piano at age 5, she was invited to fresh and mysteriously organic when combined with these traditional instruments. perform at the age of 9 at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. She made These works are about these relationships between simple sonic systems and the her orchestral debut at age 10 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and her point found at their intersection. New York orchestral debut at Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Symphony performing Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 1. STAFF Johannes Goebel / Director

Geoff Abbas / Director for Stage Technologies Eric Ameres / Senior Research Engineer S. Argeo Ascani / Associate Curator, Music Eileen Baumgartner / Graphic Designer David Bebb / Senior System Administrator Peter Bellamy / Senior Systems Programmer Michael Bello / Video Engineer Victoria Brooks / Curator, Time-Based Visual Arts Eric Brucker / Lead Video Engineer Ash Bulayev / Curator, Dance + Theater Michele Cassaro / Guest Services Coordinator John Cook / Box Office Manager David DeLaRosa / Production Technician Zhenelle Falk / Artist Services Administrator William Fritz / Master Carpenter Kimberly Gardner / Manager, Administrative Operations Ian Hamelin / Project Manager Katie Hammon / Administrative Specialist Ryan Jenkins / Event Technician Shannon Johnson / Design Director Pamela Keenan / Production Technician CathyJo Kile / Business Manager Carl Lewandowski / Production Technician Eric Chi-Yeh Lin / Lead Stage Technician Stephen McLaughlin / Event Technician Candice Sherman / Business Coordinator Avery Stempel / Front of House Manager Kim Strosahl / Acting Production Administrative Coordinator Jeffrey Svatek / Audio Engineer Dan Swalec / Master Electrician Todd Vos / Lead Audio Engineer Pete Wargo / Manager, Information Systems Michael Wells / Production Technician Emily Zimmerman / Assistant Curator

EMPAC 2013-2014 presentations, residencies, and commissions are supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts (with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation, and the Boeing Company Charitable Trust), and the New York State Council for the Arts. Special thanks to the Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and Performing Arts for support of artist commissions. Argeo Ascani STAFF Johannes Goebel / Director