Culver City, CA - Erik Ruin,The Brightwork Ensemble, Spacepants, and Synchromy team up to present a musical and visual showcase of the twelve signs of the Zodiac on January 8 and 9 in Culver City.The event will feature the
world-premiere performance of twelve newly commissioned Zodiac-inspired works by local composers as well as Stockhausen’s popular Tierkreis melodies.The cost is $25 for general admission, and $15 for seniors, students, and artists financially impacted by COVID-19. All tickets are available online at http://www.synchromy.org.
While COVID has taught us many things, one lesson that arts promoters have learned is that you can’t predict the future. Or can you? For millennia, humanity has looked to the stars as an attempt to do just that.The Zodiac has inspired humanity to take precautions, look for signs, and create art. In the early 1970s, German composer Stockhausen completed twelve music boxes, each playing a tune that represented a sign of the Zodiac (or Tierkreis in his native tongue).These became so popular that, even now, each day at noon the current sign’s melody is performed on the carillon of Cologne’s Town Hall tower. Tierkreis LA is Synchromy’s re-imagining of Stockhausen’s Zodiac compositions for The Brightwork Ensemble.This performance also features twelve new Zodiac-inspired works by local composers.These composers include: Jason Barabba, Adam Borecki, Ethan Braun, Carolyn Chen, Dante De Silva, Sean Heim,Vera Ivanova, Molly Pease,Vicki Ray, Gabrielle Rosse, David Garcia Saldana, and
Derek Tywoniuk.
This tapestry of musical invention will be accompanied by artist Erik Ruin’s cut paper projections. His work oscillates between apocalyptic anxieties and utopian yearnings. Erik’s visions will meld with the music, creating a live performance embracing the mortal and ethereal.
From Erik Ruin:“The challenge I’ve set for myself in creating this project is to craft ambitious projections that are complex, challenging and immersive while remaining meaningful, accessible, and socially engaged.When approached for this project, I began thinking about the persistent yet resurgent attraction of the zodiac. I feel that contemporary popular opinion is that astrology offers certainty in uncertain times; its mysticism is resistant to deep scrutiny. Its longevity - ‘ancient wisdom’ - is a nice counter-current to the ‘new newer newest’ mentality we're all carried along by. I think a big part of the attraction is the somewhat-universally-understood and remarkably durable set of archetypes by which to reckon ourselves with. In attempting to bring these archetypes into the modern day, it's important to not lose sight of their nature as cyphers, symbols by which we reckon - and thus I hit upon the idea of returning to the mythological sources of the zodiac imagery, approaching them in a newly modernized way. Aquarius, "the water bearer," is often linked to the myth of Deucalion, Pyrrha, and the great flood.The idea of rebirth after transformation is appealing, while simultaneously parallel to survival/rebuilding after climactic catastrophe. Gemini parallels the duality of humanity; polarized political, fiscal, gendered, and industrial/natural worlds.The Aries of “The Golden Fleece” has deep connections to our global power structures and how people obtain and hold power. All Zodiac mythology acknowledges the potential of the human attributes they encapsulate for either creation or destruction, and I will use this to hold a mirror to human nature. I will create shadow-sequences that reflect this without losing the thing-ness of the mythic archetype.”
Prior to the concert, Spacepants, an ensemble so tongue-in-cheek that they reach truths that can otherwise be inaccessible, will perform parodies on 1970s Zodiac poetry as the audience is seated.We will also have tarot readings available before, during intermission, and after the performance.
Fact Sheet for Tierkreis
PIvy Substation Theater 9070 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Credits
Presented by: Synchromy
Musicians:The Brightwork Ensemble, Spacepants
Program
A musical preamble by Spacepants
Karlheinz Stockhausen:Tierkreis, Arr. Jason V. Barabba Sean Heim: there is no such thing as time
Derek Tywoniuk: water’s edge Dante De Silva: Nameless Ethan Braun: Read Me
Vicki Ray: Perpendicular Twins Gabrielle Rosse: Signs
Jason V. Barabba: Let Your Road Be Heard or Do Aliens Have Astrology? Molly Pease: Lost-Searching
David Garcia Saldana: Libra by Section Adam Borecki :S¢ø®¶πº
Vera Ivanova: Sagittarius Carolyn Chen: Birria*
This performance is made possible in part by the City of Culver City and its Cultural Affairs Commission, with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment and the Culver City Arts Foundation.
* This commission has been made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by The Andrew W Mellon Foundation.
Ticket Information
$25 General Admission
$15 Seniors/Students/Artists financially impacted by COVID-19 Visit http://www.synchromy.org/tierkreis-la to purchase tickets
Calendar Listing (+/- 100 words)
Synchromy presents two evenings of new music, shadow puppetry, and interstellar space. Built around Stockhausen’s Tierkreis, Synchromy has commissioned twelve composers to musically re-imagine the twelve signs of the Zodiac with a modern context. These will be accompanied by dazzling projections by artist Erik Ruin and a musical preamble by satirical musical group Spacepants. Join us for a meditative journey through sonority, performed by the Brightwork Ensemble.
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To request photos, interviews, and more information please contact:
Elizabeth Huston | synchromy@synchromy.org
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