World Premiere

Based on the belief that the energy of the people, sounds, and spaces of the past leave a residual trace, Joanna Mattrey’s newest large-scale work, Chanting, seeks out vibrations of the spiritual, cognitive, and natural forces, and draws them into the artist’s sonic structure. Considering the elements in the natural world, the different states evoked through brain waves, and ancient techniques, the work captures the sensations within rituals as they activate the various centers of the body. Using staging, lighting, projections, spoken word, breathwork, and ancient texts, Mattrey, a violist working in free improvisation, new music, and classical music, creates a sonic journey that listeners are invited to actively participate in. Featuring renowned percussionist Billy Martin, it creates a space with explosive rhythmic drive and lush harmonic layers.