October 28, 2010 / 7pm reception / 8pm concert
224 Washington Avenue / Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Brownstone
What would a house sound like if it could sing?
Andrew Cyr, Artistic Director
Kristin Lee, Violin
Sean Lee, Violin
Emily Smith, Violin
Ashley Bathgate, Cello
Bridget Kibbey, Harp
Britton Matthews, Percussion
Luke Rinderknecht, Percussion
Lance Suzuki, Flute
James Austin Smith, Oboe
Brad Balliett, Electric Bassoon
About the Concert
Join Metropolis Ensemble and Artistic Director Andrew Cyr for a one-of-a-kind, season opening concert-event. Brownstone is a site-specific electro-acoustic composition/installation by Jakub Ciupinski and will be performed throughout an entire three-story Brooklyn brownstone.
Musicians will be scattered throughout all three floors while audience members freely wander, explore, and chose their own experience of the piece. An electronic soundscape will fill halls and stairways creating a rhythmic and colorful sonic tapestry, blending with the various instruments in different ways depending on your location.
Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served throughout the evening, with many opportunities to interact with Metropolis Ensemble artists and other audience members. A selection of contemporary art will be also installed throughout the house, curated by the gallery On Stellar Rays. Brownstone promises to be a musical experience like no other.
Mr. Ciupinski, whose own musical styles range from traditional classical forms to nontraditional genres and live electronics, will use a technique that enables the composer to introduce randomness and freedom into synchronized elements.
The Soundscape
The source material for the electronic music layer will be derived from the BBC Nature Sound Effects Library provided by Pro Sound Effects. There are no synthesizers or other samples, only original recorded animal sounds, transformed into music by pitch shifting, time stretching, and other audio effects. Listen to samples of this transformation technique:
The Production
Brownstone is the inaugural production of Friends of Metropolis and is a true collaboration between Friends members and Metropolis artists. The concept and its execution was conceived by members of the Friends group, including Jenny Salomon, and produced by artistic director Andrew Cyr, composer Jakub Ciupinski, and the gallery On Stellar Rays.
Brownstone is collaborative production of Metropolis Ensemble, On Stellar Rays, and Friends of Metropolis. Select sound effects from the BBC Nature Sound Effects Library provided by Pro Sound Effects.
