THE ANNUAL TWO-DAY CHIME FESTIVAL OF ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC WELCOMES THREE GUEST PERFORMERS THIS FEBRUARY
Dana Jessen, Liz Pearse, and Ning Yu perform at 2023 CHIMEFest: “Site/Space”
The University of Chicago CHIME (Chicago Integrated Media Experimental) Studio hosts the annual CHIMEFest on Friday, February 3, and Saturday, February 4, 2023, at the Logan Center for the Arts. The annual electroacoustic festival presents four concerts over the two days, featuring guest artists bassoonist Dana Jessen, vocalist Liz Pearse, and pianist Ning Yu.
CHIME Studio Director and Visiting Assistant Professor of Composition in the Department of Music, David Bird, has curated the 2023 festival. Bird is a composer, producer, and multimedia artist whose work explores the dramatic potential of electroacoustic and multimedia environments, often highlighting the relationships between technology and the individual.
CHIMEFest 2023 is titled “Site/Space” and will feature works that explore site or space in technical, conceptual, or poetic ways. The festival will highlight University of Chicago composers and leading figures in electronic and electroacoustic music. Composers’ use of electronics ranges from amplification and live processing to tape playback, spatial audio, multimedia work, and much more.
The festival comprises two concerts on each day. The opening concert is held on Friday, February 3, at 4:30 p.m., with a program of works by UChicago student composers and local musicians, with music by Hunter Brown, Ania Vu, Jack Cramer, Ryan Garvey, and more.
The second concert will be held that evening at 7:30 p.m. featuring works for bassoon and electronics performed by Dana Jessen. Jessen will perform music by George Lewis, Kari Watson, Eli Stine, and Ryan Garvey. Praised for her diverse talents, bassoonist Dana Jessen is in high demand as a soloist, chamber musician, improviser, and new music specialist. Jessen is co-founder of Splinter Reeds, a San Francisco-based reed quintet, and has performed with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Alarm Will Sound, Ensemble Dal Niente, and the Amsterdam Contemporary Ensemble, among others. Jessen's tireless commitment to expanding the modern bassoon repertoire through collaborations with composers from around the globe has led to dozens of new solo, chamber, and electroacoustic works.
The second day of CHIMEFest begins with a concert at 4:30 p.m. featuring vocalist Liz Pearse. The program includes music for voice and electronics by Milton Babbitt, Darlene Castro Ortiz, David Bird, Kari Watson, Elise Roy, and Blaise Ubaldini. Pearse is a vocalist who has spent her career exploring the infinite possibilities of the human voice. Her uniquely colorful and versatile instrument has led to performances of wide-ranging works from medieval to modern. Liz is known as a specialist in contemporary vocal repertoire, but she enjoys a well-aged song. She has alternately been described as a “badass”, having “a near psychic understanding of what a composer is trying to accomplish”, and possessing “a voice made of arrows forged in a volcanic pit, transforming the didactic and mundanely intellectual into actual fire”.
The final concert is Saturday, February 4, at 7:30 p.m. with pianist Ning Yu. Yu will perform music by Stefan Prins, Joanna Bailie, David Bird, and Andrew Stock. Praised for her, “taut and impassioned performance” by the New York Times, pianist Ning Yu performs with vigor and dedication for both traditional and repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries on stages across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Ning brings virtuosity and adventurous spirit to a wide range of music, in solo performances and in collaborations with some of today’s most distinguished creative artists.
CHIMEFest 2023 Schedule
Friday, February 3 / Logan Center Performance Penthouse, 9th floor (915 East 60th Street)
4:30 p.m. - Opening Concert featuring UChicago Student Compositions
The opening concert of CHIMEFest features a program of works by UChicago student composers and local musicians, with music by Hunter Brown, Ania Vu (featuring Eduard Teregulov), Jack Cramer, Ryan Garvey, and more.
7:30 p.m. - Dana Jessen, Bassoon and Electronics
Bassoonist Dana Jessen performs a concert of works for bassoon and electronics with music by George Lewis, Kari Watson, Dana Jessen (with video by Eli Stine), and Ryan Garvey.
Saturday, February 4 / Logan Center Performance Penthouse, 9th floor (915 East 60th Street)
4:30 p.m. - Liz Pearse, Voice and Electronics
Vocalist Liz Pearse performs music by Milton Babbitt, Darlene Castro Ortiz, David Bird, Kari Watson, Elise Roy, and Blaise Ubaldini.
7:30 p.m. - Ning Yu, Piano and Electronics
Pianist Ning Yu closes the 2023 CHIMEFest with a program of music by Stefan Prins, Joanna Bailie, David Bird, and Andrew Stock.
Friday, February 4 through Friday, March 4 / Various locations
SPECTRAL ECOLOGIES: A GPS-Activated Sound Walk
Students in David Bird's graduate seminar MUSI 45022: "Composing for Spatial Audio" have written site-specific compositions for the University of Chicago campus. These compositions will be accessible Friday, February 3rd through Friday, March 3rd, through the Echoes mobile app. When the Echoes app is open, you will see a map of each sonic location. As you progress, sounds will activate and begin playing based on your location. The project can be accessed on the Echoes website.
All performances are free and open to the public. No tickets are required.