Music(in)Galleries (2006-10)
Music(in)Galleries was performed annually on a Saturday afternoon in the summer from 2006 to 2010 in the store-front art galleries along Queen St. West between Trinity Bellwoods Park and Gladstone Ave., Toronto.
This was my first cartographic composition and features groups of creative musicians in these art galleries for twenty minutes each. The players play once in a designated group in a designated gallery, in which audience members are invited to circulate to view art as well as hear music. The first group would begin in the easternmost gallery, with subsequent groups starting in galleries to the west at ten-minute intervals, so that there is virtually always more than one group playing. This was originally a practical device, since some of the galleries are very small and could not accommodate the entire audience, which was thus split up by this method. However, the strategy proved to have interesting ramifications, since it impelled audience members to choose between simultaneous musics, activating an agency that is uncommon for a creative music audience. The outcome has been a linear, gallery-crawl momentum that culminates at the Gladstone Hotel, where the last group plays and, following that, all participants, performers and audience members alike, are invited to have a drink together.
The five versions, all told, featured:
Ken Aldcroft (guitar), Jonathan Adjemian (synth), Lina Allemano (trumpet), Parmela Attariwala (violin), Jim Bailey (curio), Jonnie Bakan (saxophone), Victor Bateman (bass), Ali Berkok (harmonium), Anne Bourne (cello), DB Boyko (voice), Kyle Brenders (saxophone), Matt Brubeck (cello), Robin Buckley (drums), Nicolas Buligan (trumpet), Allison Cameron (curio), Rod Campbell (trumpet), Christopher Cauley (saxophone), Eric Chenaux (guitar, bric-a-brac), Dave Clark (drums, etc.), Rob Clutton (bass), Ryan Driver (synth), Christine Duncan (voice), Paul Dutton (oralizations), John Kameel Farah (keyboards), Colin Fisher (saxophone), Nick Fraser (drums), David French (clarinet), Tania Gill (melodica), Ben Grossman (hurdy-gurdy), Geordie Haley (guitar), Julia Hambleton (clarinet), Jason Hammer (bass), Justin Haynes (guitar, melodica), Michelangelo Iaffaldano (curio), Michael Herring (bass), Blake Howard (drums), Mike Hansen (turntables), Michael Keith (guitar), Jason Kenemy (keyboard), Tiina Kiik (accordion), Abdoulaye Koné (n’goni), Tomasz Krakowiak (percussion), Robin Jessome (trombone), Pete Johnston (bass), Corey Latkovitch (cello), Renée Lear (projections), Jim Lewis (trumpet), Tilman Lewis (cello), Alex Lukashevsky (guitar), Aaron Lumley (bass), Wes Neal (bass), Paul Newman (saxophone), Jean Martin (drums, trumophone), Lewis Melville (guitar), Charlotte Mundy (voice), Jake Oelrichs (drums), Gregory Oh (harpsichord), Dani Oore (saxophone), John Oswald (saxophone), Sarah Peebles (sho), Nilan Perera (guitar), Rob Piilonen (flute), Tim Posgate (banjo), Marcus Quin (clarinet), Nicole Rampersaud (trumpet), Ronda Rindone (clarinet), Nichol Robertson (banjo), David Sait (guzheng), Alex Samaras (voice), Holger Schoorl (guitar), Heather Segger (trombone), Mark Segger (drums), Mike Smith (bass), Hollie Stevenett (bass), Jeremy Strachan (saxophone), Evan Shaw (saxophone), Joe Sorbara (drums), Nick Storring (cello), Kristen Theriault (harp), Scott Thomson (trombone), Doug Tielli (trombone, guitar, etc.), Brandon Valdivia (drums), Steve Ward (trombone), Ellen Waterman (flute), Andrew Wedman (keyboards), Gus Weinkauf (buckets), Brodie West (saxophone), Christopher Willes (saxophone), Jah Youssouf (kamel n’goni), Mitch Yolevsky (clarinet), Andy Yue (synth), Mark Zurawinski (drums), and two versions of The Element Choir
The galleries that hosted aspects of Music(in)Galleries over the years are listed below. Of course, these galleries also hosted visual art by dozens of artists, whose work was implicated in the various manifestations of this piece as well:
Lausberg Contemporary Art, Jamie Angell Gallery, New Gallery, Clint Roenisch Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Edward Day Gallery, Paul Petro Small Gallery, Propeller Centre for the Arts, Ontario Craft Council, Interaccess Media Art Centre, Lennox Contemporary Art, Gallery TPW, Xpace, Stephen Bulger Gallery, Camera Cinema Bar, Lens Factory, Katharine Mulherin Art Projects, David Kaye Gallery, Spin Gallery, Twist Gallery, Engine Gallery The Beverly Owens Project, Median Contemporary, The Drake Hotel, Elaine Fleck Gallery, Loop Gallery, Akau Gallery, Gladstone Art Bar, and Gladstone Melody Bar
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