Sonic Generator at the High

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Robbie

I was so happy when, earlier in the week, I got an email from the High about their First Friday event for September that said that Sonic Generator would be performing. Their website was taken down from the GA Tech servers some time ago, the FB group for them was renamed to “Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology,” and they’ve only performed a few times since the Sherwoods left for Cleveland, so I figured that they were no more. But, yes, they are still more! I didn’t see Jason Freeman there, so I’m assuming that they’re continuing with just the remainder of the ensemble and are no longer affiliated with Tech, but I’m perfectly happy with that as long as I get to hear them play now and then. I do hope that they develop some kind of way to let people know of their concerts, though: I very nearly missed this one.
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Chamber Cartel: Simulcast with Guest Artist Margot Rood

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Robbie

This evening was the fourth of seven shows in a series by Chamber Cartel called “Don’t Look Back: Beyond the Zero” that Orpheus Brewing Company has been presenting at their brewery off of Monroe Drive near Piedmont Park. The program opened with a solo percussion piece by Anthony Donofrio entitled “Meditation on Italo Calvino’s Castle of Crossed Destinies”. It was contemplative and lovely and Caleb Herron brought a sweetness out of it that made it a wonderful way to start the show.
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Bang on a Can All-Stars: Field Recordings

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Robbie

Upon parking on Georgia Tech’s campus, I was greeted with the sound of dance music being blasted from a nearby quad so loudly that the sound was distorted until I was nearly in front of the Ferst Center. When I finally took my seat, I could hear the bass from it very clearly inside the auditorium. It was so loud that I actually went back outside and asked the person in charge of whatever the event was if they could turn it down. He merely said that he had police permission and I could file a complaint if I want. I spoke with someone in admin at the Ferst Center and she said that they’d already tried but that the police wouldn’t do anything and that there really wasn’t anyone else whom she could contact. The whole this is absurd because, as I said, the music was too loud for the event itself and it would not have harmed a thing to turn it down enough that it wouldn’t have penetrated the Ferst Center’s auditorium. Since he told me to file a complaint, though, I probably will and I recommend anyone else who was there to do the same. It’s not the Ferst’s fault, so I’d reach out to the university’s division of administration and finance.
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Bent Frequency and Michael Fowler: Sound Worlds – The Sonification of the Japanese Garden

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Robbie

At work today, I was told that I should have worn red and black instead of purple and black. Apparently, this was to signify support for some local falcons who might get to go to the superb owl. Apparently ornithophilia¹ is pretty wide spread in Atlanta because the performers at this evening’s concert at Kopleff Recital Hall got the memo and wore red and black, as well. I’m not sure if this owl is like the one from Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH or more like Wol from Winnie the Pooh – both are superb in their own, distinct ways – but it must be impressive to have so many people excited about local birds visiting it.
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Chamber Cartel with Margot Rood: Living in Light

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Robbie

One of the sad truths that I have had to face in life is that if any organization were to market directly to my tastes then they’d go under very quickly. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that I’d eventually find myself in the audience for a Chamber Cartel concert that didn’t really suit me. I am not of the opinion that “Living in Light” was poorly programmed — I think that a lot of people would really like it — but it just wasn’t for me.
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Chamber Cartel: Wonderblock

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Robbie

I will probably never go to the Mammal Gallery again if it has been over 90°F during the day, but I’m glad that I suffered the heat for this evening’s Chamber Cartel concert. Titled “Wonderblock,” the program was fairly eclectic, with works by George Crumb, John Luther Adams, Franco Donatoni, Helmut Lachenmann, and Hans Thomalla. Overall, the performance was enjoyable, though the heat took its toll on my attention span by the end.
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Sonic Generator at MOCA GA

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Robbie

This evening’s Sonic Generator concert at Museum of Contemporary Art GA focused pretty heavily on solo work. Each of the five musicians present performed by themselves — albeit accompanied by recorded soundtracks or, in one case, a computer — and only came together to play as an ensemble in the last piece. Noticeable was the lack of percussion, with Tom Sherwood absent. Even though I have been to contemporary music concerts without it, Sonic Generator and Chamber Cartel have been the two most prolific producers of contemporary and experimental music in town and they have both programmed heavily for percussion, which seems to have caused me to associate the instrument group with the subgenre.
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Category Archives: Contemporary/Experimental Music