Program: 

• Qasim Naqvi | Sine 1 & 2  
• Jesse Broekman | We walk by threads of light  
• Kara-Lis Coverdale | Endocrine  
• Abul Mogard & KMRU | Drawing Water on Matching Teal Surfaces Arr. René van Munster  
• Caterina Barbieri | Scratches on the Readable Surface (Cello Octet) Arr. Alistair Sung 

>> More about the program  

Qasim Naqvi – Sine 1 & 2  
“Lately I’ve been interested in a technique that is loosely defined as “reverse composition,” where I write a work, perform it on the modular, and then transcribe the machine’s performance for acoustic instruments to interpret. Essentially, I take these alien sounds and use extended techniques and notational systems to re-create the aura of a machine’s behavior. For the Cello Octet commission, I’ll be using this idea of an organism’s transcription further. Incorporating the movement of Nick Verstand's kinetic cocoons and applying his light sculptures' visual properties to the way voltage moves through the modular synthesizer will affect its sonic choices. In a way, both the synthesizer and light sculpture feel related, like distant cousins – two machines that are unfolding and going through a state of metamorphosis with the power of electricity.” – Qasim Naqvi 

Jesse Broekman – We Walk by the Threads of Light  
In his work, Jesse Broekman explores a fascination with sound that feels unstable and unpredictable. He began this composition for the Octet with an improvisation, which he then fed into a machine that continuously replayed it in fragments of uneven length, significantly slowed down from the original recording. The result is a space that reassembles itself differently each time. Like a limited set of words that can be endlessly recombined, or a place that is constantly explored by shifting voices. 

Kara-Lis Coverdale – Endocrine  
“Temperature and emotion are metaphorically intertwined in music. There is a vast timbral vocabulary that invokes these sensations and can be used to describe both our state as well as environment. This new work for cello octet integrates place and state through the harmonic language of temperature to explore the effects of environmental sympathetics and mimicry with spiritual sensitivity. This work is a continuation of my exploration of climate-based music systems began in Oslo in 2018, but will be the first time I explore these concepts through the resonant potential of string instruments, and moreover, translate the ideas directly to the acoustic realm.” – Kara-Lis Coverdale 

Abul Mogard & KMRU – Drawing Water on Matching Teal Surfaces, arr. René van Munster  
The Octet worked closely with Abul Mogard and KMRU to adapt this breathtaking piece for eight cellos. The otherworldly colors and textures of the electro-acoustic Drawing Water are translated into an acoustic ensemble. 

Caterina Barbieri – Scratches on the Readable Surface (Cello Octet), arr. Alistair Sung  
“For the concept of the score, I was inspired by ideas of nonlinear time, fractal rhythms, self-generative structures, clocks, spiderwebs and cosmic networks. I often use the spider web as a metaphor for music weaving and the very connective tissue of the universe. Spiderwebs, like galaxies, suggest the entanglement of humankind's existence in ecosystems both non-human and otherworldly. For Scratches on the Readable Surface, I started imagining the score as a spider web or cosmic web that works like a clock or sequencer. Every circle of the web is a basic pattern (made of five steps or notes) spiraling from the center to the outer. The full basic arpeggio of the piece is formed by 4 patterns or circles (for a total of 20 notes/steps). Like variations on the matrix, higher notes appear on the web like more distant planets or preys.” Catharina Barbieri.