Johnny Chang, violinist-composer

2008-04-09T00:44:00.003+02:00

The Ribbon, with special guest Johnny Chang
The Wine Cellar,
St Kevins Arcade, K Road,
Auckland

Friday April 11th, 2008
9:30pm

This coming Friday, I will be playing a short set* at the Wine Cellar, in support of The Ribbon and their CD release.

.... from Luke Munn of The Ribbon:

"Quick note to let you know my band is playing this Friday at the Wine Cellar. It will be a focused evening, beginning with a short set from experimental composer/violinist Johnny Chang, and followed shortly by a 45 minute set of new material from The Ribbon. The gold coin entry fee will get you a complimentary copy of "Fifty" a rough demo limited to 50 copies, recorded, packaged, and distributed by the band. Love to see you all there."

*For this short set, I thought I'd try something a little different. Rather than show up and do what I've been doing on the violin now for a little while (in the noise improv sense), I will try to incorporate fragments from folk ditties I have been listening to for a while. Some inspirations I am drawing from ... the music of Brazilian composer/performers, Chico Mello and Ferenanda Farah, both I met in Berlin last year. Also Christian Wolff and Antoine Beuger. It will all be in there somewhere, and hopefully I will be able to produce something worth listening to.*

Live @ WINDOW today !

2008-02-21T22:23:00.004+01:00

(original poster here)

Today (3pm, 2/28) i will be doing the last performance at WINDOW. You can watch live webcam shots at the Window website, with the sound to follow at a later date.... In the meantime, feel free to indulge in your voyeuristic tendencies.

3pm, 2/28: New Zealand Time
6pm, 2/27: Los Angeles
9pm, 2/27: NYC
3am, 2/28: Berlin

From "Window":

"Experimental violinist and composer Johnny Chang will be performing a short selection of pieces from his London and Los Angeles compositions in conjunction with a field recording work via radios by Sonya Lacey

The event kicks off a three-day stint for Johnny at Window, as he'll be conducting less formal performances from 3 - 5pm on Wednesday and Thursday, activating the space with a range of sounds, from delicate amplified paper and dried vegetation to pure tones and field recordings."

Window, is curated by a trio of current (and former) art students from Elam School of Fine Art in Auckland. It is an alcove located in the foyer of the Auckland University Main Library. Their group blog, Window Scene focuses on happenings in electronic art, new media, and digital culture in New Zealand.

2008-02-18T23:39:00.000+01:00

MICROSCORE PROJECT @ Wine Cellar

1 violinist - 32 composers

australia, canada, croatia, finland, england, italy, new zealand, u.s.a.

[new 30-second music & microscores]

february 20, 7pm
wine cellar
(st kevin's arcade, k'rd)

auckland, new zealand

exit (or entry) by koha

pre-show listening : live show from the cellar, vancouver
(march 2006, music on main series)

part 1
part 2

2008-02-01T08:25:00.000+01:00

The Galaxy Museum

Thought I'd do a post on my friend Marian Lane, a talented and beautiful artist/phtographer/designer currently based in Portland, Oregon. Check out her work on The Galaxy Museum.

UPDATE ! Microscore Project Call for Submissions !!

2008-01-26T05:58:00.000+01:00

This is the final update related to the Submission call for microscores ; two solos (for violin & cello, or two performers) which can be performed together also. Since the passing of the dealine, I have had many requests for scores submissions, I feel I should extend the submission period to next week (January 28- Fenruary 3), to accomodate all you enthusiastic people, and to account for delay through the postal system etc.

Thanks again for keeping at least half an ear open !

=====================================================

This may turn out to be slightly crazy, but in the spirit of the Microscore Project I think I'll just go for it. First if you don't know about the project, please have a listen to some microscores first. As you are listening attempt to imagine a performance of 40 to 60 (or more) compositions, ideas, concepts, all coming together to create a kaleidoscope of sonic-visual tapestry.

From our Vancouver concert of March 2007 (see pdf for program)

Part 1
Part 2

And now if you are still interested, read on !

_______________________________________________________________________________________
INVITING Listeners, Writers/Musicians/Artist, Performers, Instrumentalists, Listeners

Seeking 30-second compositions that can be either performed as solo AND duo - instrumentation: violin or cello, or for one or two performers. Just to clarify, the composition has to function both as a solo and when performed by the duo. The first show will be of the SOLO Violin versions.

For the moment, the show is scheduled for February 20, 2008 at the Wine Cellar (Auckland) - the submission period is January 13 - 19.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Some guidelines for Scores submissions.

1. Scores sent in PDF format should be set in A4 or 8.5'x11' format.
2. If you are sending hard copies instead, please make sure to have 3 copies of the score.
Most times it should not be necessary to send individual parts as the compositions are so short. Please give this some thought.
3. Attach a very brief micro-bio of yourself, maximum 30 words.

2008-01-23T02:12:00.000+01:00

2008-01-21T11:23:00.000+01:00

2007-12-13T12:21:00.000+01:00

I am holding in my hand Michael Pisaro's new release on Edition Wandelweiser which I played on - Harmony Series 11-16 [EWR 0710]. Others on the disc are James Orsher harmonium, Kathryn Pisaro oboe/english horn, Michael Pisaro guitar / sine tones, Marc Sabat violin, Mark So piano and Greg Stuart percussion (also offering some insights into the Harmony Series.

any tone, any tuning [Greg Stuart]

The world of Michael Pisaro's Harmony Series revolves around the process of translation. In this collection of thirty-four pieces (nine of which are presented here) the composer translates a wide variety of poems into text scores. The first step is to literally trace each poem, as if one were making a stencil. A five-line poem might become a five-minute piece through this procedure. This kind of action is direct and purposely simple and it will provide a stable space from which each piece will develop. Call this architecture.

In the second step the composer seeks out the internal forces of the text. For example, a text suggesting proliferation is read as a shift from a barely to a clearly audible, multi-faceted sound. As the poem is already in motion, the composer seeks to harness energy rather than block flow. Evocative readings are eschewed in favor of direct transmutation. Asymptotes are drawn to the poem, resulting is an extremely fine mist of possibilities for the performers to tune (and detune) in performance. Call this material.

A piece is set in motion when the mist is sprayed - always lightly - through the stencil (think pathway, pinprick, or filter). This action creates a dynamic situation. As performers our ears focus as a version begins to take shape - it is unmistakable when this happens. A small flutter appears in the fabric of the piece. We notice sounds that cannot be traced back to any of the individual performers. Drawn in by the fluttering, one starts to know (or sense) what sounds are correct to play, even when there are no explicit rules for how they are to be chosen. The piece is thinking. Call this the point of contact.

To the performers the distance between score and realization will often seem impossibly large. To travel this distance is the defining experience of this music. Along the way, each realization establishes its own kind of weather system wherein complex relationships are created not only between (and within) the sounds but also the performers. On the other side of the stencil we are in unknown world - sun-distant, alive - immersed in a gently spinning mixture of tone, noise and silence, the radio having been tuned to a previously unheard channel. Call this harmony.

"String-Utopia?" Composer Profiles

2007-12-06T08:59:00.000+01:00

Hans W. Koch (*1962) (Berlin), composition, performance, (sound)installations. The search for hidden aspects of everyday-tools, like household-electronics, hairdryers, metal wool for cleaning pots and pans, old computers (and as well traditional instruments) leads, when misused in the right manner, as a side-effect to sounds and musical structures. On the other hand when working with digital media, he explores their boundaries and implicit (de)faults, in order to arrive at interactions which keep a live of their own and react to human input in an unpredictable manner. (website)

[Cut-Off-Frequencies was written for the Microscore Project in 2005. Now you can join in on the fun as well !!]

Samuel Holloway (Auckland) is a Pukekohe-born writer and composer. He studied composition with John Elmsly and Eve de Castro-Robinson at The University of Auckland where he was awarded major prizes and graduated Master of Music. In 2006 he was awarded the CANZ Trust Fund Award. His work has been performed or workshopped by the New Zealand Trio, 175 East, the Auckland Philharmonia and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. His memoir Bad Teenage Sex was recently published. Even more recently, Samuel has won the Asian Composer’s League Young Composer’s Competition in Hong Kong with his piano trio, Stapes. (website)

[Dualities: 1 was written for the Microscore Project in 2006.]

Peter Ablinger was born in Austria in 1959. He studied composition with Gösta Neuwirth and Roman Haubenstock-Ramati in Graz and Vienna. In 1982, he moved to Berlin where he initiated a series of festivals and concerts and in 1988, founded the Ensemble Zwischentöne. As a visiting professor, he has taught at the University of Music, Graz and has been a guest conductor of 'Klangforum Wien', 'United Berlin' and the 'Ensemble of the Insel Musik'. Currently, he works as a freelance musician. (website)

Pauline Oliveros' (Kingston, NY) life as a composer, performer and humanitarian is about opening her own sensibilities and others to the many facets of sound. Since the 1960's she has influenced American Music profoundly through her work with improvisation, meditation, electronic music, myth and ritual. Many credit her with being the founder of present day meditative music. All of Oliveros' work emphasizes musicianship, attention strategies, and improvisational skills. website

[String-Utopia was written for the Microscore Project in 2005.]

Serge Prokofiev... well, there's been a lot written about him here, here, here and here, so I'm not even going to go there. He's kind of established.

Jürg Frey was born on 15 May 1953 and grew up in Lenzburg. He lives in Aarau with his family. After studying the clarinet, composition and Alexander Technique in Zurich, Berne and Basle, he completed his studies at the Geneva Conservatory, under Thomas Friedli, with the Examen de Virtuosité. In the course of his extensive concert activity as a clarinettist, he has premiered numerous works by such composers as Antoine Beuger, Christian Wolff, Howard Skempton and Walter Zimmermann.

One of the co-founders of Lenzburgís "Musikalische Begegnungen" project in 1984, he also participated in the AG Komposition at the Rote Fabrik in Zurich and has run the "Moments musicaux" concert series in Aarau since 1986. Most of his works and CDs are published by the Edition Wandelweiser Berlin. (website)

James Tenney (Valencia, CA) was born in 1934 in Silver City, N.M., and grew up in Arizona and Colorado, where he received his early training as a pianist and composer. He attended the University of Denver, the Juilliard School, Bennington College and the University of Illinois. His teachers and mentors have included Eduard Steuermann, Chou Wen-Chung, Lionel Nowak, Carl Ruggles, Lejaren Hiller, Kenneth Gaburo, Edgar Varese, Harry Partch and John Cage. Most recently, he held the Roy E. Disney Chair in Composition at the California Institute of the Arts. Tenney passed away in Valencia last year.

2007-12-05T17:32:00.000+01:00

STRING UTOPIA ?
(same old string music ?)

On December 16, 2007 (7pm), I will be presenting some not-often-enough-heard music by Pauline Oliveros, James Tenney, Peter Ablinger as well as premiering some music of Auckland composer Samuel Holloway. Violinist Yid-ee Goh will also be in for some violin duets by Swiss composer Jürg Frey and Serge Prokofiev. The evening will end with a trio improv of violin & two laptops improv with Jim Gardner (175 East) and Charlotte Rose (The Committee)

Cross Street Studios
Upstairs, 27 Cross Street,
Newton, Auckland 1010

Entry by Koha

_______________________________________________________________

SOLO
Hans W. Koch Cut-Off Frequencies

Samuel Holloway Dualities 1

Peter Ablinger Violin and Noise "Veronica"

Pauline Oliveros String-Utopia (violin & guitar)

(pause)

DUO

Pauline Oliveros String-Utopia (2 violins)

Serge Prokofiev Sonata for two violins

[Pauline Oliveros String-Utopia]

Jürg Frey Untitled" for two violins

(pause)

Pauline Oliveros String-Utopia (2 laptops)

James Tenney KOAN for solo violin

Pauline Oliveros String-Utopia (2 laptops)

(pause)

TRIO
Chang - Gardner - Rose

PERFORMERS
Johnny Chang violin
Yid-ee Goh violin
James Gardner guitar, electronics
Charlotte Rose electronics

zwo

2007-11-24T02:41:00.000+01:00

My friend Kerstin Fuchs and her duo-partner, Jessie Marino performs from Carolyn Chen's Pears at a house concert in Neuköln, Berlin

Update: 175 East @ Wine Cellar (17 November)

2007-11-12T10:10:00.000+01:00

On November 17, I will be joining 175 East for their 10th anniversary concert, also guest appearing will be John Bell on vibraphone, Paul Buckton on guitar.

175 East consists of
Ingrid Culliford, flute
Tim Sutton, bass trombone
Gretchen Dunsmore, clarinets
Katherine Hebley, cello
Dan Stabler, double bass
Andrew Uren, bass clarinet

The concert will be hosted by the Wine Cellar (St Kevin's Arcade, K'Road) at their cosy perfomance space out the back. If you come you can expect to hear at least some of the following music ...

John Cage: Five

Elliott Carter: Canon for 4 "Homage to William"

Lyell Cresswell: Of Whirlwind Underground

Morton Feldman: Durations IV

James Gardner: Knot

Ross Harris: Music for Trombone

James Saunders: 511 Possible Mosaics

Christian Wolff: Edges

November 17, 2008, 8pm

Wine Cellar in St Kevin's Arcade
Karangahape Road
Auckland

Entry by gold coin donation

Wandelweiser Sommerakademie

2007-11-11T19:55:00.000+01:00

Earlier this year I attended the Wandelweiser Sommerakademie, hosted by Antoine Beuger at the Kunstraum Düsseldorf (11-17 July, 2008). Among many premiere performances I was involved in were three string quartets by Thomas Stiegler, Dante Oei and Samuel Vriezen, with some wonderul players, violinist Marc Sabat, violist Julia Eckhardt and cellist Stefan Thut.

This is a recording of Vriezen's Between Chords, which the composer describes as "a string quartet of chords that are never quite there."

Little Karaka Bay

2007-11-10T10:57:00.000+01:00

When I was in Wellington for the Stroma concert, I stayed at the family home of my amazing cello-ist friend, Miranda Wilson. The beautiful Wellington bay view from almost anywhere along the water front was perfect for me to continue collecting sound - and video- field recordings. It also reminded me of being in San Francisco. Violent winds creating some seriously schizophrenic windage. At times almost as many Asians, meandering narrow roads and steep hills, on which houses perch dangerously. (Of course, with less of a snobby attitude and no crappy baseball teams.)

You can see the video I took here, which was actually taken from Maida Vale Road, higher up in the hills above Oriental Bay.

2007-10-24T11:46:00.000+02:00

Cover Musics + Randy Newman + Dodger Stadium in Berlin's Engelbrot Theater

The title is itself entertaining enough, but there is more wackiness to this post. I got invited to the Los Angeles-Berlin Sister City Love Jam (haha), and believe it or not I was there as a Los Angeles artist and this means I had to do something of mine, which ended up being Cover Musics on violin and field recordings from a Dodger game I attended played back in the theater. Comments/abuses/suggestions relating to the music welcome... ;)

Which fingers would you use ? 1, 2, 3, 4 or none of the above?

2007-10-24T09:53:00.000+02:00

For the upcoming 175 East concert, I am preparing Elliot Carter's Canon for 4. Encountering the piece again after almost 8 years (I can't believe I never had the chance to do this until now), it is interesting to see the fingering decisions I made back then - the younger, bright-eyed, näive me. I thought it might interest some

You are looking at bars 66 & 67 of the piece, a couple of bars of violin-noodling , yes that is a real musical terminology you can look it up. Bearing in mind the tempo is dotted-quarter = circa 69, what numbers (or fingerings) would you come up with ?

I will explain right now that I am going to be utilising the American system when referring to note values. After dealing with both American and British conventions, I think Hundred twenty-eighth notes are infinitely more acceptable than Quasihemidemisemiquaver (which is just ridiculous). So dotted-quarters it is.

Well here is what I came up with straight out of undergrad with only a few non-Brahmsian compositions under my belt.

Today I look at the 4th note of bar 67 and ask aloud why anyone would bother to shift down for the last half of that first dotted-quarter beat, hence the awkward 2-4, 2-4. A more optimal solution could be staying up in position with the first finger leaning back, anchoring down the fourth note (pitch: D) , then crossing over to the A-string and have the first finger already in position to hit the G (basically a G 7th arpeggio).

I would be curious to see what kind of numbers other violinists have come up with. Share and share alike !

Klang-Bilder; Auckland

2007-10-23T08:22:00.000+02:00

I decided to put my documentation skills to use and make my mum a field recording compilation of Auckland sounds for her birthday. She moved back to Taiwan a couple of years ago and I know she misses not being in Auckland. These recordings will go a long way towards a sort of memory-recall, of the sounds and scenes she knows so well. I will post the sounds as soon as I get my FTP sorted out.

-------------------------------------------------

Sound-Images, AUCKLAND
October 2008

Point Chevalier
Beach View 1

192 Norman Lesser Drive
Front Porch
Backyard (1)
(Backyard from Upstairs Window)

One Tree Hill
Archery Club
West Parking Lot

Devonport / North Head
Bunkers/Tunnels
View towards Rangitoto Island

192 Norman Lesser Drive
Backyard (2)

Point Chevalier
Beach View (2)

Tomorrow Night in Berlin!!

2007-10-23T08:10:00.000+02:00

Even though I am not appearing in this upcoming fascinating event, be sure to check it out if you are in the Berlin area. Of the musicians performing at the Bauhaus-Archiv, I have had the good fortune of working with Lucio Capece when I was visiting Berlin, and observe the work of Axel Dörner, Robin Hayward, Michael Vorfeld and Steffi Weismann. These are thoughtful artists with interesting ways of articulating their ideas through performance that will surely be thought-provoking and engaging.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design, Berlin

24.10.2008,
Bauhaus-Archiv
8pm

Extended Modulator

Sound, Lights, Video project with the "Licht- Raum Modulator",
Kinectic Sculpure built by Lászlo Moholy-Nagy between 1922-1930

With support from INM, Iniative Neue Musik Berlin

Bauhaus-Archiv
Klingelhöferstraße 14
Berlin 10785

Lucio Capece (soprano sax- bass clarinet- composition)
Axel Dörner (trumpet- composition)
Robin Hayward (tuba- composition)
Ana Maria Rodriguez (live electronics)
Michael Vorfeld (lights installation and performance)
Steffi Weismann (Camera, projection)

Cover Musics Update

2007-10-19T05:26:00.000+02:00

Cover Musics is an ongoing series of compositions for stringed instruments. The series is essentially a collection of experimental/pop/rock music covers, exploring the alternative potential of the materials through the apparatus of experimental practices on stringed instruments.

The two movements so far are now titled:

1. For Marc Sabat
2. Islington-Kreuzberg Transit

I kind of see this as a nature extension of my Transcriptions series, but a more blatant referencing of materials. Sometimes I dream of inverting Flaming Lips songs (bass-to-treble, treble-to-bass type of movement).

In the next couple of weeks, I will be recording the two pieces with composer/sound designer Charlotte Rose at the Music Theatre of the Kenney Mayer Centre, a former Radio NZ building.

The Microscore Project

2007-10-19T00:47:00.000+02:00

The Microscore Project is an ongoing collaboration between violnist Johnny Chang and cellist Jessica Catron that began in December 2001 during their final year of the MFA Performance Program at the California Institute of the Arts, and has since led to the commissioning and performance of over 225 miniature works from artists around the world - including distinguished composers such as Pauline Oliveros, Peter Ablinger, Philip Brownlee, Chiyoko Szlavnics, Harold Budd, Michael Pisaro, Hans W. Koch and James Tenney. Each piece written for the project is approximately 30-seconds in duration and the pieces are performed back-to-back to create a larger "work" that is unique to each concert. The spirit of experimentalism results in adventures involving materials such as glass bottles, wool gloves, Snapple caps, tree branches, AM/FM radios, and even margaritas.

Los Angeles Transcriptions

2007-10-11T23:04:00.001+02:00

What is transcription?
What is field recording?
What is there to transcribe from a field recording? (How does one go about this...)
How many different ways can the transformation take place?
________________________________________________________________________________

Los Angeles Transcriptions (8): La Equinita, Sunset Boulevard is a new commission for Berlin-based performers, composer Christian Kesten and trio Kammerlärm, consisting of soprano sax-bass clarinet player Lucio Capece, tuba player Robin Hayward & trumpter Axel Dörner. The work attempts to address but a few of the many questions which surround the concept of performing field recordings. Not all of the questions can or need be brought to a resolution and many solutions are possible.

La Equinita is located at the border of historic Angelino Heights on Sunset Boulevard.

________________________________________________________________________________

Was ist Transkription?
Was sind Feldaufnahmen/ Fieldrecordings?
Was von einer Feldaufnahme sollte man transkribieren? (Wie geht man vor...?)
Auf wie viele verschiedene Arten kann die Transformation stattfinden?
�

Los Angeles Transcriptions (8): La Equinita, Sunset Boulevard
versucht, sich nur einigen der vielen Fragen zu stellen, die das Konzept, Feldaufnahmen aufzuführen, umgibt. Nicht alle dieser Fragen können oder müssen zu einer Lösung gebracht werden und viele Lösungen sind möglich.

La Equinita befindet sich an der Grenze der historischen Angelino Heights auf dem Sunset Boulevard.

Mumbling

2007-06-22T16:16:00.000+02:00

This is a short test of my Cover Music (No.2, For DB), which I will be playing at KuLe next Monday, 25 June, 22.00.

Also appearing are Jamie Drouin (Canada) (Infrequency/DER Recordings) with live processed field recordings and guitar samples.

And Christian Kesten (Berlin), presenting pieces from his own Los Angeles Catalogue: cypress park - dodger stadium - urban cafe restroom for video audio field recordings and live instruments. He will also perform 45 sekunden for voice and things
(Lucio Capece on bass clarinet; myself on violin & guitar and Kesten on voice & things)

If you are in Berlin, hope to see you there !

KuLe
Auguststr.10
10117 Berlin-Mitte

[S Oranienburger Str. | U6 Oranienburger Tor]