Ringmasters: Nomi Epstein

I met Nomi Epstein while she was curating Chicago's John Cage festival in the spring of 2012.  At the end of each day's events, she somehow still had the energy to indulge me on all things Cage (try putting on Variations V, I dare you).  Our mutual admiration for the composer seems to find its way in nearly ever conversation we've had since the festival, whether it's talking about the most recent Cage conference she attended or geeking out over the latest staging of HPSCHD that we heard about that is obviously in New York and why is it not in Chicago HEY WE SHOULD BRING THIS TO CHICAGO.

I have a feeling Nomi thinks about Cage just as much when she's composing.  Her works run the notational gamut, from traditional scores to interpreted spatial scenarios, yet each set of means searches for the same ideal: to let sounds be themselves.  There is an objectivity in her music that can be comforting to an audience; there's nothing to "get," there's only something to listen to.  And that's okay.

Ringmasters: Nathan Davis

My first introduction to Nathan Davis' music was ICE's performance of his piece Bells at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art.  Performers, dispersed around the museum's lobby and atrium, played material that was manipulated electronically while the audience processed around, cell phones in hand.  We were asked to call various numbers which would receive those same electronic manipulations being sent from a ring modulator that Nathan was operating in the museum, creating a sort of ambulatory speaker system.  The hazy textures from wandering phones superimposed onto the live instruments was fascinating.

Nathan's penchant for electronics is undeniable; I think I've yet to see a work of his that was strictly acoustic.  Yet he does such an amazing job of tricking the listener into believing there are no computers present; instruments are electronically processed only to highlight their idiosyncrasies, to accentuate themselves with themselves.  Nathan is able to find the little quirks that define an instrument and develop them organically through digital means.  The result is at times corporeal and human, at other times meditative and spiritual.  His work for bassoonist Rebekah Heller, On Speaking One Hundred Names, seems to demonstrate both: 

Ringmasters: Jenna Lyle

Jenna Lyle's inventiveness never ceases to stun me.  The last time she collaborated with Spektral, she strapped a mic'ed stethoscope to Austin's chest, using his heartbeat as an amplified guide for the quartet.  The result was her strange and visceral miniature Inkblot.

Not only does Jenna have a knack for intriguing musical gestures, she's aware of how those gestures will be embodied by a player.  It's what makes the realization of her compositions so enthralling; you don't know exactly what you're hearing and you can't stop watching.

She's also really good at making diagrams in Microsoft Paint:

Ringmasters: Ben Hjertmann

Ben Hjertmann is no newcomer to writing for Spektral.  In fact, his electrifying second String Quartet No. 2, "Étude" will be featured on the quartet's debut album! The composer also  just released an epic album of his own, howling his fair share of angular melodies and doling out some unexpected rhythmic jabs.  You can listen to the whole thing below:

Ben is in a variety of "avant-pop" projects which no doubt contribute to his intriguing voice as a composer of chamber music.  He continues to find ways to merge his craft of composition and songwriting, creating unusual results both on the record and in the concert hall.

Ringmasters: Augusta Read Thomas

Augusta Read Thomas' latest works have been gargantuan, to say the least.  Last year, she composed 30 minutes of music for Third Coast Percussion consisting of nothing but bells (300 of them, BTW).  What's even more impressive is that she was writing another half hour-long work at the same time, her Mahler-inspired Earth Echoes for solo vocalists and chamber orchestra.

Thomas seems to have maximized the Mahlerian spirit, incorporating in both of these works a conglomeration of cultures from around the world, be it instruments or poetry for the libretto.  But out of that plethora of material comes extreme conceptual and compositional precision and cohesion.  Take, for example, the beautifully interwoven timbres from the second movement of her Resounding Earth.

Ringmasters: Jonathon Kirk

Chicago-based Jonathon Kirk traverses a variety of mediums for his musical output.  Whether it's a chamber ensemble with live electronics or a rock outfit with a brass section, he finds a way to discover intriguing sound worlds through myriad formats.  Discover seems like an appropriate word for his music, implying less of an acting upon of the sounds he uses and more of an observation of them.  His awe-inspiring Lost Bird Environment, for instance, comes off as a natural sonic phenomenon that we happen to be witness to rather than a thoroughly composed piece of music.

This spirit of observation plays perfectly into Kirk's work as an installation artist.  Check out his stunning collaboration with Lee Weisert in which the composer placed a series of microphones into bowls of frozen water, capturing the slow, solemn sound of ice melting:

Cryoacoustic Orb from PAML on Vimeo.