Thursday, December 3, 2020

Last-Minute Bleeding Edge: 12/3/2020

After about three weeks of inactivity out on the “bleeding edge,” my morning mail brought news of two instances of adventurous programming, both of which will take place later today. Indeed, the timing is such that those with the necessary stamina will have no trouble experiencing both of them, since both will be streamed for on-line viewing and listening. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, both of these events will be offered free of charge.

The first of these will be the premiere performance of “Simultaneous” by Pamela Z. The piece was conceived for radio broadcast, and it will be presented by Deutschlandradio as part of the program series Deutschlandfunk Kultur. The composition was developed, in large part, during Z’s fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. Working, as she usually does, with both speech sounds and singing, Z created this piece to explore many facets of the concept of simultaneity. The composition is scheduled to be incorporated as part of an intermedia performance work, scheduled for presentation next year at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The broadcast will begin this afternoon at 3 p.m. (Pacific time) and will last for about 45 minutes. Those wishing to listen should visit the Deutschlandfunk Kultur home page at this time and click the “Live” button. This will launch the Deutschlandradio real-time player.

Jim Nollman experimenting with interspecies communication by playing guitar for an orca (courtesy of Other Minds)

The second offering will mark the live-streaming debut of Other Minds. The program will feature Jim Nollman, who has dedicated his life to the art and science of interspecies communication and music. Nollman will share his thoughts about his work in conversation with Charles Amirkhanian, Executive and Artistic Director of Other Minds. This conversation will be implemented as a virtual interview, which will be supplemented with selected recordings of live performances with orcas, macaws, and turkeys. The program will also present never-before-heard electroacoustic compositions by Nollman. Other topics will include efforts by the United States Navy to combat whale deaths through sonar, Nollman’s activism to protect dolphins from Japanese fishing activities, and the intersection of technology and intuition involved in collaborating musically with animals.

Other Minds has set up this event to facilitate joining Amirkhanian’s conversation with Nollman. To this end, a viewer has been created with a chat window on the Other Minds home page. Similarly, a YouTube Web page has been created, which also has a chat window. The other reliable connection will be provided through the Facebook home page for Other Minds. The event will begin this afternoon at 5 p.m.

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