Avant Media announces the world premiere of Randy Gibson’s "Doleo Æternus"

PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 03, 2009 – Avant Media presents the world premiere of Doleo Æternus, an evening-length concert, rooted in the history and tradition of North Indian raga performance, by minimal composer and Avant Media founding director, Randy Gibson with video sculpture by Oscar Henriquez. The performance will take place on November 21st, 2009,  at The Wild Project at 195 East 3rd Street in New York City.

Unfolding slowly over time and making use of ritual, visuals, and scent, Doleo Æternus is an all-encompassing musical experience that are unabashedly modern yet deeply rooted in tradition. Scored for voices, instruments, just intonation toy organs, and computer, Doleo Æternus focuses on intensely defined improvisations over a melodic cycle and drones. The computer restructures the live sound into looped and scaled snippets obscuring pulse, and blending textures and registers. Oscar Henriquez’s video sculpture, based on elements of Tibetan calligraphy, provides a visual focus for the listener and serves to elucidate the structure of the piece as it progresses through the sections.

On the process and history of Doleo Æternus, Gibson says “When I had my first voice lesson with La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela in early 2005 I never thought that it would have such a profound and permanent influence on my work. What began as a simple chord progression has evolved into an incredible wealth of material and a whole new way of thinking about music. The ensemble performing with me is truly amazing, and represents a rich cross-section of performance traditions. Everyone brings their own unique voice to this piece, and it’s an absolute pleasure to play.”

The world premiere of Doleo Æternus presents a singular vision of new classical music where the full experience of the audience is taken into account and a piece grows and evolves with each new performance. Every performance of Doleo Æternus is different and completely new, from the chance operations of the computer, to the choices of each individual performer, a performance can never be repeated.

Doleo Æternus will be performed November 21st, 2009 at The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street, in New York City. Tickets, $10-$25, are now available through avantmedia.org