Program Note

I first heard David Tudor’s Rainforest over a decade ago in a sound art class with Paul DeMarinis. It stuck with me, this image of a forest of objects, each sounding its own individual voice in a larger ecosystem, vibrating slightly out of control. The idea of a simple action that transforms my relationship to the everyday has been central to my work since.

Initially the idea of putting on a piece called Rainforest here in L.A., amidst the worst drought in state history, seemed slightly ironic. The sound of rain is in itself a little exotic, here. I wanted to honor the elegance of Tudor’s set-up, as well as the specific context of this performance. Other Forests started with the idea of using string instruments as transduced objects as well as instruments played in a musical tradition. I assembled sounds from the local environment, real and fictional rainfall, ensemble rehearsals, and friends’ explanations of imaginary trees.