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31 July 2020 Comments Off on Jack Van Zandt ‘Aether’ Video Premiere & Other Projects in the Pipeline Views: 923 CE News

Jack Van Zandt ‘Aether’ Video Premiere & Other Projects in the Pipeline

It is with great pleasure that we hear the news from Jack Van Zandt about his projects – including a fascinating online premiere on Wednesday 5 August

“After instituting the phased reopening of business and relaxing of outdoor and indoor social contact rules in Los Angeles and California, the rapidly worsening Covid situation has made it necessary to take a few steps back. All of us in the music community here are facing the prospect of having to continue to find ways to practice our art by working from home studios and by long distance partnerships. 

I have been affected in ways both good and bad by the situation. Studio recording sessions for my song cycle A Chaos of Light and Motion and for my miniature Borges song cycle El Oro de los Tigres will be further delayed until the end of October at the earliest. 

On the other hand, my ongoing projects with the UK Villers Quartet resident at Oxford University continue to develop, and there is some news on that front. Violist Carmen Flores and I have recorded Aether from my set of etudes for solo viola, Stoicheia, and worked with UK videographer Tim Bassford to create a film for the 8-minute piece.

Aether is for viola with an electronic effects chain that is designed for live performance. Carmen recorded the viola part dry in her home studio in Nottingham, UK, and sent the file to me for processing, which I did in one Cubase effects chain setup, in Los Angeles. So for all practical purposes, it is a live recording. 

The Aether video premieres on my You Tube channel on 5 August,
9:30 pm UK time, 1:30 pm in LA.

I am continuing to work with Carmen Flores and Villiers violinist Tamaki Higashi on the video recording of my set of pieces, Ceól na hÉireann, inspired by Irish traditional music, and the first of those videos, with the Immigrant’s Hymn movement will be released shortly. I am also planning to work with the Villiers in a new project to record my 35-minute Lessness for string quartet, double bass, piano and electronics in 2021. 

I have also reimagined my operatic monodramedy in progress, The New Frontier, as a video project for internet streaming, and production is planned to begin in January. We have assembled a team of performers, a director and several theater professionals, and a film crew to work on the project according to a plan of social distancing. 

On a personal note, I have retired after 8 ½ years as a member of board of directors of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Composers Forum, of which I was honoured to be president for three years from 2014-2017. The American Composers Forum (ACF), headquartered in Minneapolis, is the largest and most important composer advocacy organization in the USA. ACF has gone to a free membership model and is centralizing its efforts in the national office. This is good news as anyone anywhere in the world can now take advantage of its resources, opportunities listings and information. No matter where you are on Earth, I encourage all my colleagues to become a free member, study the ACF website and sign up for the newsletters.

Stay safe and well out there and keep on making music!”

Jack Van Zandt

Composers Edition is proud to publish Jack Van Zandt’ music, which is available for perusal and purchase through our website.

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