News
Let’s Get Weird. A Dada Experience With ‘Entr’Acte’
It’s 1924. You have tickets to the Ballets Suédois production of Relâche at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. It’s a new ballet by avant-garde artist Francis Picabia, with choreography by Jean Börlin. It’s shocking and bawdy. Erik Satie’s musical score adds to the irreverence, pulling from popular tunes and “raunchy army songs.”
I’ll Think About Sound A Little Differently After This
By Katie Thompson I’ll preface by saying that I’m not a musician. I pride myself on knowing how to play the Star Wars theme song on the piano as a party trick, but that is pretty much the extent. I’ll also admit that I knew very little of the Sound Symposium until recently, even though […]
From The Sublime To The Ridiculous, And Back Again
By Sarah Gordon My favourite forms of experimental art are those that walk the line between the sublime and the ridiculous, that make me laugh or squint or cringe in the moment but have me reflecting on them after the fact, taking note of the nuances too subtle to register in the moment. With that […]
A Business Partnership Worth Celebrating
What started as a business relationship with Rod Zdebiak of Stewart McKelvey 25 years ago has turned into something closer to a friendship. In fact, you may see Rod pulling shifts at the Sound Symposium merch table! Thanks to Business & Arts NL for highlighting this invaluable partnership.
A United Tapestry Of Sound
By Reinhard Reitzenstein The Atlantic String Quartet began the evening offerings with a work by Andrew Staniland. For these two listeners it was a vibrant and virtuosic development of Kepler’s music of the spheres. Lots of fast lines and fast string acrobatics with some humorous staging. It was European through and through.
Greg Locke Sees More Than He Hears
By Greg Locke I barely hear the performance unless it’s particularly captivating and makes me put my camera down.
Everything From Yacking To Yoiking
By Gloria Hickey Last night was another jam packed evening of talent and good camaraderie at the Sound Symposium. Even before the opening act there was a tangible good vibe that filled the LSPU Hall. To me, this is one reason that makes the Symposium so extraordinary. Not only do you get to experience astonishing […]
The Pedal Steel Guitar Became A Sentient Being
By Annie Corrigan It’s been two days since I saw Susan Alcorn and Amy Brandon perform at D.F. Cook Recital Hall. The music was still in my bones, but I had no words to describe it. That’s not exactly right. I had a whole slew of words, but none of them did the performance justice. […]
It Was Uncomfortable And It Was Beautiful
By Rebecca Nolan I come from a world of classical music. Of Opera and musical theater. A strict, almost rigid view of the musical world. Don’t get me wrong, there was still a whole lot of passion and heart that went into my music, but it definitely strived to meet certain goals. I felt constrained […]
Lithophones, By Gayle Young
Courtesy of Gayle Young Instruments where stones vibrate to create music have been played all over the world since ancient times. Sometimes the stones are carved and tuned, organized like a marimba, sometimes they are suspended as chimes. Gayle Young prefers stones that are rugged and plucked directly from their natural environment.