Alabama Symphony Orchestra Sound Edge Festival

The ASO’s new Sound Edge Festival blurs the boundaries between music and art, bringing together creative talents for intense collaborations with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.

ASO AMPLIFIED: NYCO
Friday, February 10, 2017
7:30pm  10:00pm
Iron City
Carlos Izcaray, Conductor / NYCO

ASO Amplified: NYCO @ Iron City is the latest cross-pollination between a hard-driving indie rock band and the Alabama Symphony. The show opens with the primal howl of Beethoven’s Great Fugue, the most futuristic masterpiece by music’s first and foremost revolutionary genius. What is the meaning of life? That profound, elusive query is the subject of Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question. In a “cosmic landscape” of sound, a haunting solo trumpet poses the question, and looks for answers.

Join us as the ASO performs live in the round as NYCO takes the stage for a night of intense collaborations and our first concert of the Sound Edge Festival at Iron City, a world class concert venue and one of Birmingham’s hottest new night spots!

EXCURSIONS IN RECORDED SOUND
Saturday, February 11, 2017
7:00pm  10:00pm
Seasick Records

The manipulation of pre-recorded sounds as a performance tool will be at the heart of tonight’s program, which will feature DJs, a performance of The Flaming Lips’ Zaiereeka, and sets by local musicians.

ARTIKULATION: GRAPHIC SCORES OF THE AVANT-GARDE
Sunday, February 12, 2017
7:00pm  10:00pm
Saturn Birmingham

This program features music performed based on graphic notation — non-traditional forms based on striking work of art (e.g. the works of John Cage). Though some elements of each piece might be predetermined (tempo, key, etc.) the musicians’ interpretation of the score will drive each performance. In the spirit of celebrating these unusual compositions, the scores will be projected during each performance so the audience may follow along.

LIFE OUT OF BALANCE: KOYAANISQATSI
Monday, February 13, 2017
6:00pm  9:00pm
Birmingham Museum of Art 

February 13 will explore the diverse relationship between contemporary music, art and film.  “Life out of Balance” at the Birmingham Museum of Art will open with BMA’s new contemporary art exhibition, “Third Space.”  Then ASO music director, Carlos Izcaray, will dive deep into the relationship between these three art forms in an intimate conversation with the audience in the BMA auditorium. The night will end with the showing of an extraordinary film Koyaanisqatsi, composed by Philip Glass.

This movie was designed to have no plot. Meaning is to be created by the viewer, and only the viewer can give value to the images and music. That said, there is a central idea behind the movie, and according to the director it is this: The greatest event in the history of mankind has occurred recently, and has been largely missed by both the media and academia. Beyond the headlines and every day crises of international events, a deeper shift in human affairs has occurred: Humanity no longer exists in the natural world, we are no longer connected to it. It is not that we are now users of technology, but rather that we exist within technology, we are part of it and it is part of us. The natural world now exists only to support the artificial one in which we live.

The night is promised to stretch your imagination and ask you to venture into a thought provoking experience like never before.

The Third Space exhibition explores a shared cultural experience between the American South and the Global South. Drawn almost entirely from the BMA’s permanent collection, the two-year exhibition features over 100 works of art in a variety of art forms, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, and videos, by artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Ebony Patterson, Thornton Dial, and William Christenberry and a commissioned work of art by Rural Studio, an off-campus, design-build program of Auburn University.
 

CONTEMPORARY VISIONS: INSPIRED BY SHAKESPEARE
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
7:30pm  10:00pm
WorkPlay Theatre 

Contemporary Visions: Inspired by Shakespeare is a bold twist on the Bard and themes of love – both beautiful and deadly. Susan Botti’s theatrical Telaio: Desdemona is a haunting look into the tragic bride from Othello. Leonard Bernstein’s finger-snapping music from West Side Story is a modern update of Romeo & Juliet.

FUTURE ELEVATORS
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
8:00pm  10:30pm
Syndicate Lounge 

Future Elevators is a melody driven project based on positivity and a conversation of energy. Fresh and Classic at the same time, this music is infectious and will stick to your brain. The workhorse of this baby, Michael Shackelford, is dedicated to finding golden tones providing a pleasurable listen for the audience by way of crafting brilliant songs comprised of a combination of straightforward lyrics as well as deeply cryptic clues that take one down the rabbit hole filling your mind pallet with ear candy along the way. Join us and let the music take you for a ride! Also featuring AROVA Contemporary Ballet and Opera Birmingham.

ASO PRESENTS ECHOTEMPO
Thursday, February 16, 2017
7:30pm  10:00pm
Alys Stephens Center 

ASO Presents EchoTempo is about the vitality of “original” instruments – the voice, the drum, a mother’s song and warm embrace. Susan Botti’s EchoTempo is a modern take on Native American poems, a mystical dialogue between soprano and percussion, all within the textures of a contemporary orchestra. Anna Clyne’s Within Her Arms is a radiant and luscious meditation on love and loss.

WAVES OF WOODLAWN
Friday, February 17, 2017
7:00pm  10:00pm
55th Place North & 1st Ave 

Spend the evening wandering the streets and experiencing the sounds, sensory light illusions and intimate concerts throughout the shops, cafés and recording studios of Woodlawn. Between the streets of 55th Place North and 1st Avenue, Communicating Vessels, one of Birmingham’s premier independent record labels, Club Duquette, Woodlawn Cycle Café, Open Shop, and Step Pepper Records open their doors for you to enjoy a music street party that you will never forget.

Featuring a performance by Men’s Renewal and music curated by Step Pepper Records.

At Communicating Vessels:
7:00 – 8:00 pm – Video installation which featuring music and digital art coming alive on the walls of CommVess. This will include several stunning music videos from CommVess artists as well as short artistic pieces contributed by the label family.

8:00 – 9:00 pm HypeOtenuse feat. The Green Seed – come experience the experimental side of Hip Hop with members of CommVess musicians in The Green Seed.

9:00 – 10:00 pm Men’s Renewal

THE FOUR SEASONS RECOMPOSED
Saturday, February 18, 2017
7:30pm  10:30pm
Alys Stephens Center 

The Four Seasons Recomposed is Max Richter’s modern update on the Vivaldi original that has electrified audiences around the world. You’ll hear why this mesmerizing “recomposed” work has earned a cult following. To Music by John Corigliano, a legend from the New York City scene, is both an introspective ode and a joyous fanfare. Mexican composer Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez’s Afterlight captures the aftermath of a historic tragic event with percussive rage, timbral poetry, and an expressive orchestral power.