C4NM to Host Next SSSS Concert

This has been a very quiet month at the Center for New Music (C4NM). Until this morning it seemed as if the only concert to take place would be Below the Surface: Music by Women Composers, presented by the Ensemble for These Times. That program is still “on the books;” but C4NM has announced that there will be a second offering taking place the following afternoon. That offering will be the fourth installment in the Surround Sound Salon Series (SSSS), the third having taken place almost exactly a month ago. Three compositions will be presented utilizing the eight-channel surround system provided by Meyer Sound.

The program will begin with John Bischoff’s “Bitplicity.” This involves an imaginative blend of analog circuity with the more predictable qualities of digital synthesis. The work was composed for twelve electronic sources, and performance involves the real-time projection of those individual parts into the spatial dimensions defined by the surrounding speakers of the Meyer system. Those parts are conceived as interruptions, each involving either silence or a disturbance in a continuous tone.

The second offering will be “All Vessels,” a new work created jointly by Sally Decker and Brendan Glasson. An earlier composition, “An Opening,” was based on a rethinking of the concept of harmony. Instead of pitches, that concept involved opposing forces, such as weak/strong, energetic/subdue, and steady/chaotic. Their performances usually involve a combination of acoustic and electronic instruments.

The final work will be Chris Brown’s “Vav.” This was a sound installation that Brown created on a commission by the Contemporary Jewish Museum. The installation was realized by The Hub, which calls itself a “computer network music band.” Vav is the sixth letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and the installation consisted of sound emanating from six “spatial pillars of three-dimensional space.” Performance then involves projecting sounds to those pillars, which are then played through six loudspeakers. That performance requires six players. On this occasion Brown will be joined by Bischoff, as well as Tim Perkis, Mark Trayle, Phil Stone, and Scot Gresham-Lancaster.

[updated: 1/25, 5:55 a.m.: This concert has been rescheduled to Sunday, February 20, at 4 p.m.:

This performance will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, January 30. C4NM is located at 55 Taylor Street, half a block north of the Golden Gate Theater, which is where Golden Gate Avenue meets Market Street. All tickets may be purchased in advance through the C4NM Events page. General admission will be $15 with a $10 rate for C4NM members.]

Given the physical nature of the performance, it will not be live-streamed to a YouTube Web page. Masks will be required for all in attendance, and all attendees must show proof of full vaccination. Audience capacity will be reduced, so early purchase of tickets is recommended.