315 Ensemble: intangible landscapes

intangible landscapes

The Music

intangible landscapes (2019-2020) Yaz Lancaster

Curved Form (St. Endellion)**(2019) Alex Groves

Flowering Dandelion (2020) Kyong Mee Choi

Song and Variant* (2022) Ed Ruchalski

Lost Art of Losing Sleep (2018) Chris Cresswell feeling less and less (2020) Andrew M. Rodriguez

I find I have less to say** (2017) Chris Cresswell *World Premiere ** US Premiere

The Music

intangible landscapes (2020) - Yaz Lancaster

intangible landscapes deals with the growing feelings of ennui and isolation I encounter[ed] living in New York over the past six years, and how perceived landscapes of memory shift, breathe and transform over periods of time Many people I love no longer live here I question whether a home is a tangible, real place, or if it exists in the intangibility and quiet intimacy of created and/or remembered landscapes that can only exist ephemerally - YL

Curved Form (St. Endellion)** (2019) - Alex Groves

Curved Form (St Endellion) is a sonic landscape of ever-changing shades and subtleties Inspired by the vivid colours of the Cornish coastline, the piece occupies a single harmonic world - an unchanging vista - in which the features remain the same but their appearance is constantly changing.

Points on the horizon move in and out of focus as rain clouds obscure them from view Colours are muted by shadows or brought into stark relief by sunlight No two moments are ever quite the same and yet everything has a comforting familiarity to it - AG

Flowering Dandelion (2020) - Kyong Mee Choi

The piece paraphrases an intriguing part of J S Bach’s Violin Sonata in B minor, Adagio, and showcases the evolution of musical expression incorporating timbral and textural evolution The gestures of musical ideas portray the images of a flowering dandelion. - KMC

Song and Variant* (2022) - Ed Ruchalski

Song and Variant is a three movement work written for 315 Ensemble The titular outer movements take lyrical, song like material and fragment it throughout the ensemble, with the piano leading the way These outer movements frame the middle movement, titled Interruption, which finds the performers improvising with a fixed media track, fragmenting the written material in a new sonic landscape This work was written for, and is dedicated to 315 Ensemble This is the world premiere performance

Lost Art of Losing Sleep (2018) - Chris Cresswell

I began writing this work in December 2016 The work premiered in an early version in 2017, but wasn't truly finished until I mixed the studio recording and re-wrote the ending of the piece in the summer of 2018 This work is accompanied by a short poem that reflects the origin of the work:

woven fragments wash over him as he rediscovers the lost art of losing sleep

TheMusic

feeling less and less (2020) - Andrew M. Rodriguez

feeling less and less is designed to give performers the limitations of structure and coincidental techniques/ sounds, while leaving the freedom of expression and duration The duration of all sections of this piece are up to interpretation I encourage any performers to enjoy the worlds they are creating, and to use the repetition inherent in the piece as a way to explore new means of expression with limited materials

I find I have less to say** (2017) - Chris Cresswell

This work was originally written for, and recorded by, my teacher Ed Bennett's ensemble Decibel. The original version was recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studio in Bath, England in February 2017 I arranged the work for 315 Ensemble and it premiered later that same year at the Frontiers Festival in Birmingham, England This performance is the US premiere

ComposerBios

Yaz Lancaster (they/them) is a Black transdisciplinary artist. They are most interested in practices aligned with relational aesthetics & the everyday; fragments & collage; and liberatory politics

Yaz performs as a violinist, vocalist & steel-pannist in a wide variety of settings; and their work is presented in many mediums & collaborative projects It often reckons with specific influences ranging from politics of liberation & identity to natural phenomena & poetics Their ongoing independent studies navigates prison-industrial-complex abolition, Marxist theory, and internet/social media cultures Their writing appears in various online & in-print publications including I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, Afternoon Visitor, the tiny, and Underblong, where their poem “Ratios” was awarded the 2021 Blongprize, as well as a Pushcart nomination

Yaz has had the privilege & opportunity to build community & create with artists like A Far Cry, Andy Akiho, Beth Morrison Projects, ContaQt (with Evan Ziporyn), Contemporaneous, JACK Quartet, Jacolby Satterwhite, Leilehua Lanzilotti, and Wadada Leo Smith Most recently they have been developing post-genre duo laydøwn with Canadian guitarist-producer Andrew Noseworthy; and working on new music with BlackBox Ensemble, Bearthoven, and the National Sawdust Ensemble Yaz has recording credits on recent/upcoming projects with BAKUDI SCREAM, Massa Nera, Miss Grit, & Nyokabi Kariũki Their debut album of commissioned music for violin/voice & electronics with video AmethYst is forthcoming on people | places | records

Yaz holds degrees in violin and poetry from New York University where they studied with Cyrus Beroukhim, Robert Honstein, Joan La Barbara & Terrance Hayes (among others) They currently live in Lenapehoking (NYC) with their little dog Nori; and they enjoy chess, horror movies, and jalapeños

ComposerBios

Alex Groves is an Ivor Novello-nominated composer and curator working across contemporary classical and electronic music His work blends classical instruments, ambient textures and live-processed electronics to create uncanny soundworlds which blur the line between acoustic and electronic.

Current projects include commissions for soloists Kate Ellis, Zubin Kanga and Benjamin Goldscheider, collaborations with the National Gallery and MONOM, and performances with EXAUDI and Plus Minus Ensemble Other recent work includes commissions for Rakhi Singh, Manchester Collective and London Contemporary Dance School, and a new music theatre work for English Touring Opera

Alongside composing, Alex runs SOLO - a unique performance platform for leading contemporary classical soloists such as Rakhi Singh, Eliza McCarthy and Joby Burgess to explore the music they love in an intimate setting Each gig features an eclectic setlist packed with formative influences, dream collaborations and new adventures, and gives audiences the chance to engage with the performers on a more personal level

His music has been presented at the Southbank Centre, Barbican Centre, Sage Gateshead, Britten Pears Arts, Royal Opera House, V&A, Union Chapel, St George's Bristol and King's Place, broadcast on NTS Radio, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6 Music, and released on Nonclassical and Bedroom Community.

Alex is supported by Arts Council England and PRS Foundation's The Open Fund

Kyong Mee Choi, composer, visual artist, painter, organist and poet, received several prestigious awards and grants including John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, Robert Helps Prize, Aaron Copland Award, John Donald Robb Musical Trust Fund Commission, Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, First prize of ASCAP/SEAMUS Award, Second prize at VI Concurso Internacional de Música Eletroacústica de São Paulo, Honorary Mentions from Musique et d’Art Sonore Electroacoustiques de Bourges, Musica Nova, Society of Electroacoustic Music of Czech Republic, Luigi Russolo International Competition, and Destellos Competition

Choi was a Finalist of the Contest for the International Contemporary Music Contest "Citta' di Udine and Concurso Internacional de Composicai eletroacoustica in Brazil among others Her music was published at CIMESP (São Paulo, Brazil), SCI, EMS, ERM

media, SEAMUS, and Détonants Voyages (Studio Forum, France) Ravello records published her multimedia opera, THE ETERNAL TAO, which was supported by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and Roosevelt University Aucourant Records published her CD, SORI, featuring her eight compositions for solo instrument and electronics The project was supported by the IAS Artist Project Grant from the Illinois Arts Council She is a Professor of Music Composition and the Head of Music Composition at Roosevelt University in Chicago where she teaches composition and electro-acoustic music

Choi received a D M A at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a M M in Music Composition at Georgia State University and a B S in chemistry and science education at Ewha Womans University and studied Korean literature in a master’s program at Seoul National University in South Korea

ComposerBios

Edward Ruchalski is a composer, sound artist, field recordist, and maker of his own instruments Ruchalski has been commissioned by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Helen Boatwright, Syracuse's Society for New Music, and dG Studios, among others Ruchalski’s work has been chosen for performance by the Buffalo Guitar Quartet, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Robert Black, Shiau-uen Ding, Stephen Porter, and others His compositions have been performed at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, Mass MOCA, Miller Theatre, Symphony Space on Broadway, the Festival of Miami, Harvard University, Yale University, Kirk in the Hills in Detroit, the Everson Museum of Art, and elsewhere

Ruchalski’s work has been widely reviewed including by Paul Griffiths in The New York Times, by Thurston Moore in Arthur Magazine, by François Couture in AllMusic, and by Ed Pinsent in London’s The Sound Projector Ruchalski's composition "For Carrie Mae Weems" has been performed at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D C as part of MacArthur Genius Fellow Carrie Mae Weems' new production, Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, a gift for Barack and Michelle Obama

As a soloist, Ruchalski has performed his ambient laptop works at The Quiet Village Festival in New Paltz, NY and during the National Water Dance in Syracuse, NY Ruchalski was awarded a two-year artist residency at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park (Fall 2016 – Fall 2018) The residency culminated in a multimedia solo show, Pond Songs: Recordings and Photographs of Green Frogs and Aquatic Insects Ruchalski has been the recipient of two Artist Grants from Syracuse's Cultural Resources Council for his compositions using motorized string and percussion sculptures of his own design, and the recipient of a NYSCA AIE Grant for his work with students at Meachem Elementary School.

For the past 15 years, Ruchalski has taught private lessons in guitar and composition at his home studio in Syracuse, NY

A composer, songwriter, educator, guitarist, and sound artist, Chris Cresswell is a curious musician whose work betrays his affection for sonic wanderlust. With an ear that incorporates all sorts of sounds, from field recordings to a singer/songwriter at an open mic night, Cresswell’s music “ blurs the boundaries between industrial and organic, soothing and suspenseful, and introspective and anxious” (International Clarinet Association) Cresswell performs as a singer/songwriter, a solo electric guitarist exploring contemporary classical and ambient worlds, and as a member of his chamber group, 315 Ensemble He has shared the stage with a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and a Top 40 country star (two different occasions) and his music has been heard in coffee shops, concert halls, and venues around the world, from chic Brooklyn spots like Areté Venue and Gallery and The Firehouse Space, to Birmingham, Englands’s renown Symphony Hall and the Paleis voor Schone Kunsten in Brussels

Recent and upcoming highlights include a 2021/2022 tour of his 2009 string quartet, The Ruby Sunrise, the world premiere of his 2014 work, Impressions for clarinet and piano, and the world premiere of his 2022 work for trumpet and electronics, Convenient bits of unupholstered furniture in December 2022 by Andy Kozar. Upcoming projects include the world premiere of in search of distant, guiding suns for classical guitar and electronics, commissioned by Benjamin Ellis He has upcoming performances with Society for New Music's Vision of Sound program in February 2023 and at the CAMPGround Music Festival in Tampa Bay in March 2023 Anne H Goldberg-Baldwin's recording of this is where I am right now, a work for piano and electronics will be released on February 10th, 2023 on Ravello Records and his own 2022 EP, when you awaken in the morning's hush can be found on Bandcamp He currently teaches at Onondaga Community College, is a fill in host on WCNY-FM, and has a private composition studio in Central New York When not doing music things, he's either training for a couple of upcoming half marathons, or snuggling his new kitten, Ella.

ComposerBios

Andrew Rodriguez’s (b. 1989) interest in music began with stints as the guitarist for various metal/hardcore bands as a teenager This path culminated with three fulllength albums as one of the main songwriters for the hardcore/punk band Close Your Eyes on Chicago-based label, Victory Records Rodriguez’s history as a performer sculpts the core of his musical identity Having spent over three years touring the country, Andrew’s passion for the DIY scene continues to guide his creativity The embedded experiences of performing intense and passionate music night after Andrew also regularly works collaboratively on projects as a music producer Having been familiar with the techniques and processes of a studio production during his time in Close Your Eyes, he began offering collaborative guidance to other artists as they prepared to record their own studio projects As a producer, Andrew’s primary goal is to help the artist achieve their ideal vision for their project Andrew’s inspirations vary widely, ranging from jazz, hip hop, and rock to contemporary and traditional classical genres. This wide spectrum of influences pushes him to explore truly unique and engaging approaches to songwriting and production

Having built his career on writing and performing music with close friends and collaborators, Andrew intends to continue this practice by developing long-lasting relationships with artists and musicians that share the same vision of collaboration He is an alum of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and a former Bouman Fellow for Kinds of Kings’ 2019-20 residency at National Sawdust. Andrew holds degrees from Hardin-Simmons University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. night have led to a musical language that is both raw and dramatically expressive His music combines a personal history and love of indie rock with a traditional education in composition, and is often expanded upon with the use of live electronics

315Ensemble

Formed in Birmingham, England in 2016, 315 Ensemble is led by composer/guitarist Chris Cresswell and is dedicated to performing electro-acoustic music Revived in 2021 in its namesake community, 315 Ensemble features some of the top players from Central New York’s classical, jazz, and experimental scenes and “ blurs the boundaries between industrial and organic, soothing and suspenseful, introspective and anxious” (International Clarinet Association)

Committed to performing new music that embraces contemporary classical, ambient, and electronic musical worlds, 315 Ensemble has commissioned and championed exciting composers from around the world, including Ed Ruchalski, Joshua Dowling, Emily Levy, Kevin Baldwin, Patrick Ellis, and Jamie Elless It also serves as the primary vehicle for Chris Cresswell’s work as a composer and sound artist They have performed at the Frontiers Festival in Birmingham, England, have been featured on the International Music Council’s Window on the World radio program, and released their debut EP on Ravello Records in 2018

A chamber sextet, 315 Ensemble features Diane Jones on flutes, Mark Olesh on clarinets, Edgar Tumajyan on violin, Kristen Kopf on cello, Nick Abelgore on piano, and Chris Cresswell on electric guitar They champion work “with electronics” providing composers a platform to expand and experiment with compositional and sonic possibilities

315 's CNY

315 Ensemble is invested in, and supported by the Central New York arts community

We thank you for attending tonight's performance and can't wait to share more of our music with you.

We would also like to thank:

Amber Cresswell Arjun Jethwa Luke Newby Laurie McGee Laetitia Van Wyk