Cosmic Tones: Mapping the Musical Multiverse in Documentary
Cosmic Tones is a semester-long arc of public programming organized by MDOCS in collaboration
with campus partners to be presented throughout Spring 2019.
The season presents nonfiction works in an array of genres and media to explore connections
between music, scientific and non-scientific belief systems, and the idea of “the
cosmic.” Together, these works suggest a wide range of ways in which cosmic musical
sounds traffic between the phenomenal and the spiritual worlds, and bring the natural,
scientifically observed world into dialogue with affective, humanistic expressions.
In resonance with musician-philosopher-futurist Sun Ra (from whose Cosmic Tones for
Mental Therapy LP we take our series title), the series explores visions of where
humans fit into this cosmic harmony -- how sound is connected to human health and wellness
and how it might play a role in harmonizing our relationships with and across the
planet. Curated by Adam Tinkle, MDOCS Director.
Cosmic Tones: oyster
Sat, Feb.2 @ 7pm - Filene Auditorium
A biographical multimedia opera on the life of renowned ethnomusicologist and folksong collector Alan Lomax. Lomax’s “cantometric” system proposed to locate deep truths about human cultures through the computer analysis of their songs--analyses which the audience hears interpreted in video, dance, and live singing alongside an imagined lecture by Lomax.
In partnership with the Skidmore Theatre Dept
SoundMind #15 FEAT. Ensemble Connect
Wed, Feb.13 @ 5-7pm - Tang Teaching Museum
SoundMind is a workshop that combines meditation, sensory awareness, and aesthetic activation of the breath, body, and voice. Guests from Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect will lead workshop attendees in a participatory realization of The Witness, a score for untrained voices and bodies, composed by Pauline Oliveros.
Cosmic Tones: Milford Graves Full Mantis
Wed, Feb.27 @ 6pm - Tang Teaching Museum
A feature film portrait of the legendary percussionist, herbalist, martial artist, and Black Arts Movement icon, in which the integration of his varied life practice leads him to work in the emerging science of heartbeat rhythms.
Presented in coordination with the Tang’s Whole Grain film series
Luminous Ragas by Steve Gorn
Wed, Mar.20 @ 7pm - Falstaff's
A master of sound-magic, bansuri flutist Gorn will trasport listeners beyond the music and into a timelessness where breath, body and sound become one. Accompanied by Rob Morrison on Tabla.
Hosted by Skidmore Mindfulness - FREE for Students | $20 Community
SoundMind #16 feat. Lisa Schonberg
Thu, Mar.28 @ 4-6pm - Tang Teaching Museum
Lisa Schonberg is a scientist and composer whose projects bridge environmental awareness, natural history documentation, and experimental sound. Join us for a participatory workshop: sounding science, recording nature.
Cosmic Tones: Secret Drum Band
Thu, Mar.28 @ 9pm - Falstaffs
Lisa Schonberg is a scientist and composer whose projects bridge environmental awareness, natural history documentation, and experimental sound. She records the sounds of endangered taxa as a way of learning from them and raising awareness about their plight, abstracting and incorporating her recordings into performances by the ferocious Secret Drum Band.
Presented in collaboration with Lively Lucy's
Celestial Sound Healing with Laraaji & Arji
Wed, Apr.24 @ 7pm, Falstaffs
Laraaji will improvise a performance featuring his distinctive electric zither and vocal sounds, inviting audiences to experience moments of quiet and silence in a listening session that explores access to inner stillness.
Hosted by Skidmore Mindfulness - FREE for Students | $20 Community
Cosmic Tones: David Dunn's PLACE
Fri, Apr.26 @ 2-7pm - Tang Teaching Museum & environs
An early work by composer and bioacoustician David Dunn, PLACE is an extended interactive performance that utilizes voices, instruments, electronics, bodies, and materials found on site to build a dialogue with a particular place’s soundscape, ecosystem, and topography. Participatory performance, facilitated and led by Null Point Ensemble (Buffalo, NY). In coordination with TangWaves IV, a daylong low-power broadcast.
In coordination with WSPN FM and Tang, to be presented outdoors on south lawn in coordination with the Tang Art Party April 26, as part of TangWaves IV. For more information, visit the Tang website.
Thank you to all of our partners!
Tang Teaching Museum, Lively Lucy’s, Skidmore Mindfulness, Special Programs, and Departments of Theatre, Music, and Biology.
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