FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1 February 2018

Vancouver New Music presents

Spectralism Plastic Acid Orchestra Saturday, February 24, 2018; 8PM Free pre-show chat 7:15PM Annex (823 Seymour Street, 2nd Floor) Advance single tickets: $29 general / $21 senior / $12 student At the door: $35 general / $25 senior / $15 student (includes taxes and venue surcharges; ticket vendor surcharges extra) newmusic.org/spectralism-feb24 Vancouver, BC – On February 24, join Vancouver’s Plastic Acid Orchestra for an evening of rarely performed music by spectralist composers Gérard Grisey, György Ligeti, and Giacinto Scelsi. Also on the program is the world premiere of Ilix, a new piece by Vancouver-based emerging composer Mariah Mennie, commissioned by Vancouver New Music. A technique that emerged in the 1970’s, pioneered by composers like Grisey and Tristan Murail, spectralist music takes sonographic representations of sound as a compositional starting point to inspire music that explores timbre, tempo, and other qualities of sound over time. The result is a sonically rich, immersive musical experience.

If you play a sound for a very long time, it grows. It becomes so big that you start to hear many more harmonies, and it becomes bigger inside. The sound envelops you. [...] The sound fills the room you are in, it surrounds you, you swim in it. – Giacinto Scelsi

PROGRAM

Giacinto Scelsi, Natura Renovatur (1967) Mariah Mennie, Ilinx (2018)* Györgi Ligeti, Ramifications (1968/69) Giacinto Scelsi, Quattro pezzi su una nota sola (1959) Gérard Grisey, Partiels (1975) * World premiere. Commissioned by Vancouver New Music.

ABOUT PLASTIC ACID ORCHESTRA Plastic Acid Orchestra is a modern full symphony orchestra that creates an exciting new musical experience by combining original Plastic Acid compositions, bold compositions from some of the most accomplished young Canadian composers and modern symphonic arrangements of popular music. Founded by Music Director, Bryan Deans, PAO brings a symphonic sound with a modern edge that tears down both genres and generations.

ABOUT MARIAH MENNIE Mariah Mennie is an emerging composer based in Vancouver BC. Her creative explorations include composinh, piano, vocals, arranging, drumming, fire dancing, travelling and teaching piano music. She is currently majoring in music composition at UBC. Other collaborations include Plastic Acid Orchestra, Plastic Acid Band, Redshift, Hard Rubber Orchestra, VEE, Aventa, The End Tree, The Living, Maria in the Shower and many others.

VANCOUVER NEW MUSIC – SPECTRALISM – 24 FEBRUARY 2018 PAGE 2 OF 2

ABOUT VANCOUVER NEW MUSIC Vancouver New Music engages communities in the exploration, creation, and experience of progressive and outstanding new music. VNM regularly commissions and premieres new works by Canadian composers, presents leading and emerging electroacoustic and electronic music artists, international composers and performers, sound installations and music theatre. VNM presents an annual festival that focuses each year on a theme within the new music landscape, and explores the interaction of contemporary music with other disciplines such as theatre, installation and media arts. Other activities include lectures and workshops with visiting artists, ensemble workshops and presentations open to the community, and other sound art and new music related community events. newmusic.org

MEDIA CONTACT Heather McDermid, heather@newmusic.org | Tel: 604.633.0861 Cell: 778.885.9443 Vancouver New Music gratefully acknowledges the support of The Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage through Arts Presentation Canada, The Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, The City of Vancouver, Tom Lee Music, Holiday Inn Downtown and The Georgia Straight.

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