4/30/2022

A reminiscence sing.

Tailored to the unique space at Burning Coal Theatre, earspace performed Per Nørgård's Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking interspersed amidst works by modern innovators Kate Moore and Carolyn Chen and 20th-century master, Alberto Ginastera.

The highlight of the performance will be the newly-commissioned multimedia work se consume by Luis Fernando Amaya, a rising star of a composer and percussionist from Aguascalientes, México. The work is inspired by a viral video of a young boy in Mexico engaged in a rap battle who, instead of attacking his opponent, raps that “The world is being consumed by money…” Amaya says “this piece is an homage to MC Dinero, [the rapper in the viral video], and his very particular way of voicing the collective imaginary—even if inadvertently.” Carolina Vélez Muñiz is designing the video elements of the work.Carolina described herself as "a weaver, collager, dancer, creator processing her surroundings, family histories, traditions, and experiences. She plays with what scares her."

4/25/2021

e-Commissions

In the spring of 2021, earspace is presented the world premiere of four newly commissioned pieces as part of our “e-Commissions” livestream on April 25, 2021. From the beginning of the season, we sought to engage with artists and audiences in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic; we commissioned four composers to write new works specifically designed to embrace the artistic challenges of making music together in our present moment.

We encouraged the composers to imagine ways in which we might amplify their work through the development of visual components and/or collaboration with visual artists;  inti figgis-vizeuta, Maria Kaoutzani, and Elijah Daniel Smith have been collaborating with video artist Alex Van Gils, filmmaker Diego Armando Aparicio, and designer Tim Kwasny respectively. Michal Massoud chose to incorporate the visual elements into his compositional process and developed the video component for his work.

2020

earspace at Home

During quarantine, each member of the ensemble was invited to curate and create a solo/chamber performance from their residence. The result was a wide-ranging display of creativity and ingenuity from each of our ensemble member.

2/19-20/2020

As One

We were thrilled to be working with Carolina Performing Arts to produce As One by Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed. As One is a chamber opera in which two voices—Hannah after (soprano Melina Jaharis) and Hannah before (baritone and UNC-Chapel Hill faculty member Marc Callahan)—share the role of a sole transgender protagonist as she endeavors to resolve the discord between herself and the outside world. Described by the New York Times as an opera that "...forces you to think, simultaneously challenging preconceptions and inspiring empathy,” earspace felt honored to bring this work to the communities of central North Carolina.

1/5/2020

Schnee

Described as “fragile and beautiful, tender and rugged, simple and complex at the same time” (BR Klassik), the work of Hans Abrahamsen is captivating beyond belief, and earspace was excited to present his intimate masterwork Schnee. Abrahamsen writes, “In my own work, an ongoing idea has persisted, of at somepoint writing a work consisting of a number of canonical movements that would explore this universe of time… In Schnee, a few simple and fundamental musical questions are explored. What is a Vorsatz [resolution]? And what is a Nachsatz [afterthought]? Can a phrase be answering? Or questioning?” earspace also performed the North Carolina premiere of “Dream Logic” by composer Pierce Gradone, who was selected as the winner of our 2019-2020 call for scores.

11/3/2018

…air I shall not forget the sound of

In fall of 2018, earspace returned to UNC for a four-day residency, including two performances. The ensemble designed a performance experience featuring an exploration of interactions between live performance, spatialized sound, and light structures. This free performance was presented as part of the Conversations in Modern Music Series. During the second performance, the ensemble collaborated with UNC student composers to workshop and perform their compositions.

earspace presents its flutist, Philip Snyder, performing "instill" a sounding meditation space created by D. Edward Davis. Visitors to the outdoor labyrinth path will be invited to walk the maze while creating and interacting with sounds. Seating will be provided for those who wish to experience the event that way. Visitors are welcome to come and go as they wish.

In our first ever residency, earspace collaborated with student musicians at UNC to present the contemporary oratorio Shelter by David Lang, Michael Gordon, and Julia Wolfe with films by Bill Morrison. During the week members of earspace gave workshops and read new pieces by student composers. We closed out the week with a concert featuring music by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Simon Holt, Ted Hearne, and Donnacha Dennehy.