“I find it fascinating how sound descriptions underscore the subjectivity of sound while opening up accessibility practices to audiences that may not be familiar with them.”
(Molly Joyce)
About the Album
Released May 17, 2024 on Metropolis Ensemble Records
Loud and Soft is a percussion quartet exploring transitions from non-pitched to pitched instruments and written for Sandbox Percussion.
Composer Molly Joyce and Sandbox Percussion collaborated with Metropolis Ensemble to create an interactive web presentation with three video experiences, sound descriptions, audio clips, and still images. Taken together, these multimedia elements describe the aural content for artistic and accessibility purposes.
“The work starts in timbral unity for the four percussion parts and eventually becomes a diversified texture. I sought to explore the effects of timbral transitions occurring among various instrumental bodies, when it switches, breaks down, and leads to new possibilities.” (Molly Joyce)
Recent Updates
“This project was a dream come true. I have longed to incorporate sound descriptions by two different writers (Slater and Honisch), in order to highlight the inherent subjectivity of sound, and am grateful to Sandbox Percussion, Metropolis Ensemble, and New Music USA for their support in this journey.”
Molly Joyce
Both behind-the-scenes and on stage, Molly Joyce is an instrumental force behind many of our Rivington and digital projects, as well as forthcoming commissions for the deaf community.
WATCH: One of three examples of the multimedia presentation for Loud and Soft, which combines two audiovisual perspectives in a side-by-side experience.
Project In-Depth
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Molly Joyce: Loud and Soft (2022) for percussion quartet
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Sandbox Percussion, percussion quartet
Andrew Cyr, Producer
Mike Tierney, audio production and mixing
Stefan Sunandan Honshu and Andy Slater, sound descriptions
Loud and Soft is commissioned by Sandbox Percussion and New Music USA, with support from New Music USA's Creator Development Fund and Metropolis Ensemble
Recorded at Metropolis Ensemble’s event space, One Rivington / Candice Madey Gallery
Filmed by Kenneth Swartout and Joshua Weinfeld from Continuous Motion Productions
Armistead Booker, album cover layout
Anonymous, album cover art
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Notes by Molly Joyce
Loud and Soft is a percussion quartet exploring transitions from non-pitched to pitched instruments and written for Sandbox Percussion. The work starts in timbral unity for the four percussion parts and eventually becomes a diversified texture. I sought to explore the effects of timbral transitions occurring among various instrumental bodies, when it switches, breaks down, and leads to new possibilities.
To highlight this process, we commissioned sound descriptions to detail the musical developments and, ultimately, the subjectivity of sound. Sound descriptions depict aural content for accessibility and artistic purposes and are an important aspect of my practice as a disabled artist. I have included them in past artistic works, from dance to video to music, and written by myself and with collegial disabled artists.
I find it fascinating how sound descriptions underscore the subjectivity of sound while opening up accessibility practices to audiences that may not be familiar with them. Therefore, I sought to highlight various interpretations of sound available for this work. Instead of only having one sound description, we commissioned disabled artists Stefan Sunandan Honisch and Andy Slater to write synchronous descriptions that line up with moments in the piece they find important. This approach aligns with the multifaceted timbres and colors of percussion instruments. The descriptions are included in the videos created and on this webpage and ultimately highlight the inherent subjectivity of sound.
Molly Joyce
Composer
Molly Joyce has been deemed one of the “most versatile, prolific and intriguing composers working under the vast new-music dome” by The Washington Post. Her work is concerned with disability as a creative source. Molly’s creative projects have been presented and commissioned by Carnegie Hall, TEDxMidAtlantic, SXSW:EDU, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Bang on a Can Marathon, Danspace Project, Americans for the Arts, National Sawdust, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, National Gallery of Art, Classical:NEXT, and in Pitchfork, Red Bull Radio, and WNYC’s New Sounds. She is a graduate of Juilliard, Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Yale, and alumnus of the YoungArts Foundation. She holds an Advanced Certificate and Master of Arts in Disability Studies from City University of New York, and is a Dean’s Doctoral Fellow at the University of Virginia in Composition and Computer Technologies. More »