AGOrienteering (2011)
Performed 7 December, 2011, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
AGOrienteering is composed for the eight members of the Radiant Brass Ensemble (Lina Allemano, Nick Buligan, Rebecca Hennessy, Jim Lewis, Nicole Rampersaud, Tom Richards, Heather Segger, Doug Tielli) following separate-but-intersecting routes through the galleries and corridors of the second floor of the Art Gallery of Ontario, playing as they move. The forty-minute piece is related conceptually to Acoustic Orienteering, but features well-defined parameters for the musical material to be played. As the brass players move independently according to their route-parts, they play held- and pulsed-tone material in various harmonic series that blends with that of other players nearby. As players converge in intriguing acoustic and architectural spaces, they are invited to improvise together (according to pre-established roles) before continuing separately along their trajectories. The gestalt experience of the piece is a fairly static but subtly shifting field of harmonic sound punctuated by little improvisatory events.
Nicholas Loess made this video of AGOrienteering.
Gloria Lipski interviewed me about AGOrienteering for Musicworks Magazine.
AGOrienteering is dedicated to Lawren Harris.
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