News

This coming Saturday, September 7, 2019 I will be one of 20 percussionists to play a piece by Hisham Akira Bharoocha called "Sonic Mountain" on a musical sculpture of the same name situated at the Donum Estate in Sonoma, CA. The sculpture, by artist Doug Aitken, consists of a 45 foot steel frame that holds 365 mirrored metal chimes in three concentric circles. Aitkins explains the work "I started thinking about this idea of, could we really make an artwork that's living? Can we really make something that’s changing continuously? At times there are these sounds that are like frequencies. You can't really make out where they're coming from because they're not really coming from one place. They're coming from all around you. In a sense it creates this kind of sonic field."

For the performance, we 20 percussionists will be placed in circles through the sculpture, and will perform three movements of music composed to pay homage to the elements of nature. The piece is described by the composer thus: "Humans can live in harmony with the power of nature, but humans can also be nature's worst enemy. We can live within it in peace, or try to control it, which sometimes results in large scale catastrophes. I would like to convey this musically in a few movements which are based on the notes and number of chimes existing in this sculpture. I will also be referencing the immediate environment surrounding the sculpture."

I am really looking forward to participating in this most unique event! I can't wait to see and hear how it plays out.