Music for String Percussion Electronics

HCL is poised and pleased to host an evening of sound and installation curated by Ryan Packard of Fonema Consort (Sponsored Artists, Fall 2014.) Packard will share his own compositions as well as that of Jessie Downs and Douglas Ferrand, composers currently based in Buffalo, NY. The installation showing will take place from 4 to 7 PM, and the concert will begin at 8 PM.

Composers Jessie Downs, Doug Farrand, and Ryan Packard will present works that focus on the subtleties of duration, silence, frequency, and timbre, exposing detailed beauty in every grain of sound.

PROGRAM

4 to 7 PM Sound Installation by Doug Farrand

resonant titles on light / seascapes too colors tones resonances / use of particulars Maine
Performed with video, light objects, percussion, and electronics by Ryan Packard

8 PM Concert

BELLS AT SEA Doug Farrand

Myra Hinrichs, bowed string instrument
Zachary Good, winds
Jessie Downs, voice
Ryan Packard, percussion
Doug Farrand, electronics

epiphyllum oxypetalum Ryan Packard

Min Park, violin
Myra Hinrichs, viola
Lia Kohl, cello
Zachary Good, clarinet

For Good Ryan Packard

Zachary Good, recorder
Ryan Packard, percussion and electronics

Streetlights for string trio Jessie Downs

Min Park, violin
Myra Hinrichs, viola
Lia Kohl, cello

I did not see it to the end Jessie Downs

Jade Conlee, piano
Ryan Packard, percussion
Doug Farrand, electronics

About the composers:

Ryan Packard is a percussionist, composer and sound artist based in Chicago, IL. His sound installations have been featured at the MCA Chicago with Eighth Blackbird; Defibrillator with performance artist, Victoria Bradford; and has had solo shows at High Concept Labs, Constellation Chicago, the Experimental Sound Studio, and with the Fulton Street Collective Dancers. As a composer, Ryan’s works have been performed by the Bodø Sinfonietta, Fonema Consort, The Morton Feldman Chamber Players, AndPlay Duo, The Wiseacre String Quartet, and has upcoming performances of new works written for Ensemble Chartreuse and Kara-Lis Coverdale. As an improviser, Ryan is deeply indebted to each and every sonic experience and musical conversation he has had with improvisers in the Chicago scene and abroad. He performs regularly with Hal Rammel, Peter Maunu, Dave Rempis, Albert Wildeman, ZRL (Zach Good and Lia Kohl), Nestle (Cyrus Pireh and Rob Lundberg), and Daniel Wyche. As a percussionist, he’s worked closely with composers Gerhard Stäbler, Kunsu Shim, Julio Estrada, James Dillon, Vinko Globokar, Tristan Perich, David Lang, Josh Levine, Per Bloland, Lewis Nielson. He’s a member of Fonema Consort and has performed with Dal Niente Ensemble, MOCREP, Fifth House Ensemble, Architek Percussion Ensemble, Chicago Composer’s Orchestra, Nate Kinsella’s Birthmark, Kong Must Dead, Opera Cabal and Oracle Hysterical. He also has recordings on Kohlenstoff Records and New Focus Records.

Jessie Downs (b. 1991) is a composer, vocalist, and teaching artist who holds a BMus from Oberlin Conservatory and is currently pursuing a PhD in Composition at the University at Bualo. In both composing and singing, Jessie most enjoys creating delicate and wild sonic spaces that arise from experiencing some impetus through an alternative lens. In her piece “I did not see it to the end…” for instance, a short story by Vladimir Nabokov is reconstructed through the sounds of found objects. As a vocalist, she applies both her classical training and her own love of simply sounding to the interpretation of other living composers’ work. Over the past few years, she has taught her own “Creative Musicianship” curriculum to students ages 6-18, and is now enjoying applying lessons learned in this context to her Aural Skills TA at UB.

Douglas Farrand is a composer, musician, and educator. Having lived in and around Nottinghamshire (UK), Cork (Ireland), Singapore, and Ohio (US), he currently resides in Bualo NY with his partner, Jessie Downs, and works in Orange NJ where he is coordinator and teaching artist with “Sonic Explorations” – a daily, free music program for Kindergarten-4th grade students at Oakwood Avenue Community School. Douglas’ primary interests are in music and teaching that invite us to explore our myriad processes of listening. His work has been performed in the USA, Canada, and Switzerland, and involves close collaborative work with fellow composers, performers, and artists. Douglas has studied privately with Craig Shepard, and at Oberlin Conservatory with Josh Levine and Ashley Fure. He has received additional mentorship from Reiko Füting, Christopher Fox, Tim Feeney, and Vic Rawlings.