9. Kamala Sankaram, Innovations in Opera

32m · Decipher This! · 15 Oct 06:00

Praised as “strikingly original” (NY Times), Kamala Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of experimental music and contemporary opera. Recent commissions include works for the Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the PROTOTYPE Festival, and Creative Time, among others. Known for pushing the boundaries of opera, Kamala’s work has included several pieces fusing Indian classical music with the operatic form, the first virtual reality opera, several telematic operas, an opera with live data-mining of the audience, and most recently, a 10-hour opera for the trees of Prospect Park.

Music: all decisions will be made by consensus, music by Kamala Sankaram, libretto by Rob Handel, performed by Adrian Rosas, Hai-Ting Chinn, Joan La Barbara, Kamala Sankaram, Paul An, and Zachary James; “Ghosting” from Looking at You, music by Kamala Sankaram, libretto by Rob Handel, performed by Samuel McCoy, Jeff Hudgins, Ed RosenBerg, and Josh Sinton; “Bike” from Looking at You, music by Kamala Sankaram, libretto by Rob Handel, performed by Samuel McCoy, Blythe Gaissert, Brandon Snook, Mila Henry, Jeff Hudgins, Ed RosenBerg, and Josh Sinton

Aqua Net & Funyuns podcast

Follow Kamala on Instagram and Twitter.

kamalasankaram.com

Co-hosts: Niloufar Nourbakhsh and Joseph Bohigian

ensembledecipher.com

Decipher This! is produced by Joseph Bohigian; intro sounds by Eric Lemmon; outro music toy_3 by Eric Lemmon.

The episode 9. Kamala Sankaram, Innovations in Opera from the podcast Decipher This! has a duration of 32:26. It was first published 15 Oct 06:00. The cover art and the content belong to their respective owners.

Permalink

More episodes from Decipher This!

18. Erin Rogers, Creative Collaboration

Erin Rogers is a Canadian-American saxophonist, composer, and improviser dedicated to new and experimental music. Her “decidedly future-oriented” music has been described as “whimsical, theatrical” (Brooklyn Vegan), “radical and refreshing” (Vital Weekly) and “a richly expressive display of stentorian brilliance” (The Wire Magazine). Her work ranges from chamber music performance to solo experimental improvisation to individual and collaborative compositions that incorporate live electronics, theatre, and text. In the interview, she talks about her multidisciplinary artistic practice, composing collaboratively, and her work Telegraph written for Decipher.

Music: Skylight, Building Canyons by Erin Rogers and Gelsey Bell (recorded 2022 by Ryan Streber, Oktaven Audio), performed by Erin Rogers and Gelsey Bell; Telegraph by Erin Rogers, performed by Ensemble Decipher

erinmrogers.com

Follow Erin on Instagram and Twitter.

Co-hosts: Chelsea Loew and Taylor Long

ensembledecipher.com

Decipher This! is produced by Joseph Bohigian; intro sounds by Eric Lemmon; outro music toy_3 by Eric Lemmon.

17. Hiva Sedaghat, Synthesizing Sound and Movement

Hiva Sedaghat is an Iranian choreographer, dancer, and performance artist from Tehran. Coming from a background of architecture, photography, and literature, she first got to know contemporary dance via the underground scene in Tehran which gave her the opportunity to bring together her personal, social, and political experiences through making interdisciplinary pieces that are a mixture of dance, theater, and video. In the interview, we cover this exposure to contemporary dance in Iran, evoking indigenous Iranian mourning rituals as a form of protest, and the synthesis of sound and movement in her current collaboration with Ensemble Decipher.

Music: The Sound Sleep Has Been Shattered by Hiva Sedaghat and Ensemble Decipher

The Sound Sleep Has Been Shattered video

hivasedaghat.com

Follow Hiva on Instagram.

Co-hosts: Eric Lemmon and Rob Cosgrove

ensembledecipher.com

Decipher This! is produced by Joseph Bohigian; intro sounds by Eric Lemmon; outro music toy_3 by Eric Lemmon.

16. Lyn Goeringer, Building Instruments

Lyn Goeringer is a composer, sound artist, improvisor, and performer who makes their own instruments and multi-media pieces that focus on the unusual and everyday within sound, video, and electronics. Their work relies on intense focus and attention to bring the listener to a point of intentional hearing—a world where unusual objects bring haunting soundscapes to life, and everyday objects become sonic in ways we do not usually get the opportunity to hear. In the interview, we talk about the evolution of Goeringer’s custom-built instruments, their piece Orbs written for Decipher, and the future of electronic music and machine learning.

Music: Orbs by Lyn Goeringer, performed by Ensemble Decipher

lyngoeringer.com/portfolio

Follow Lyn on Instagram and Twitter.

Co-hosts: Joseph Bohigian and Niloufar Nourbakhsh

ensembledecipher.com

Decipher This! is produced by Joseph Bohigian; intro sounds by Eric Lemmon; outro music toy_3 by Eric Lemmon.

15. Bora Yoon and Joshue Ott, Multimedia and Kinetic Sculpture

Bora Yoon is a Korean-American composer, vocalist, and sound artist who conjures audiovisual soundscapes using digital devices, voice, and instruments from a variety of cultures and historical centuries to formulate a storytelling through music, movement, and sound. Joshue Ott is a visualist and software designer who creates cinematic visual improvisations that are performed live and projected in large scale. On the podcast, we talk about their history of multimedia collaborations, their recent project at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, and their upcoming performance at Other Minds Festival 27. We also discuss Bora’s newly commissioned work for Ensemble Decipher, featuring a large kinetic sculpture designed to imitate the string game cat’s cradle.

Music: “ClockSequence” from PHONO KINETIC by Bora Yoon, performed by Bora Yoon

borayoon.com

Follow Bora on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

superdraw.intervalstudios.com

Follow Joshue on Instagram and Twitter.

Host: Joseph Bohigian

ensembledecipher.com

Decipher This! is produced by Joseph Bohigian; intro sounds by Eric Lemmon; outro music toy_3 by Eric Lemmon.

14. Paula Matthusen, Reframing Collaboration and Ensemble for the 21st Century

Paula Matthusen is a composer who writes both electroacoustic and acoustic music and realizes sound installations. In addition to writing for a variety of different ensembles, she also collaborates with choreographers and theater companies, and frequently performs live-electronics. Her music has been performed by Metropolis Ensemble, Experiments in Opera, Tigue, Dither, Mantra Percussion, the Bang On A Can All-Stars, The Glass Farm Ensemble, to name a few. Awards include the Walter Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Fulbright Grant, two ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers’ Awards, and the 2014 Elliott Carter Rome Prize. Matthusen is currently Associate Professor of Music at Wesleyan University, where she teaches experimental music, composition, and music technology.

Music: Lion’s Tale by Pauline Oliveros, performed by Toneburst Laptop and Electronic Arts Ensemble; of an implacable subtraction by Paula Matthusen, performed by Dana Jessen

paulamatthusen.com

Co-hosts: Niloufar Nourbakhsh and Rob Cosgrove

ensembledecipher.com

Decipher This! is produced by Joseph Bohigian; intro sounds by Eric Lemmon; outro music toy_3 by Eric Lemmon.

Every Podcast » Decipher This! » 9. Kamala Sankaram, Innovations in Opera