The audience members were asked to listen, close their eyes and meditate during the premiere of “Sound Listening” by Pauline Oliveros at the Gerald R Daniel Recital Hall on Monday.
New Music Ensemble performed the piece as well as other works from James Tenny, Frederic Rzewski, Alan Shockley and Christian Wolff.
Attendees heard coins hitting a table; the vibrations of an automatic back massager and chatter stones.
Up at the very front and center amongst the audience sat Pauline Oliveros.
Oliveros lives in upstate New York, since the ‘60s, the 82-year-old composer has made music that displays improvisation, meditation, electronic music, myth and ritual, according to the Pauline Oliveros website.
“They’re not only playing their instruments, they’re also playing the space.” Oliveros said about her premiered piece. “It’s non ordinary listening.”
“Sound Listening” was the final piece of the night; the audience was encouraged to join in while still remaining in their seats by closer their eyes, and meditating along with the performers.
During the piece, the performers had a non-traditional set up. A table was placed in the center of the stage as the musicians gathered and sat around it.
After meditating and listening, the non-instruments slowly trickled in making their noises.
Non-instruments included a canteen, chatter stones, a quarter, book and Perrier water bottles to produce the sound of water being transferred between bottles, amongst other items.
After the group finished playing with their non-instruments, they played a recording of what they had just made on stage and continued to play their regular instruments on top of the recording.
There was an intimate crowd for the performance and it surprised attendees like Tania Vazquez, a junior film and electronic arts major, who attended the show for fun.
“I’ve been a musician for many years, but this was too far out for me,” Vazquez said.
This intense listening includes sounds of daily life, nature and one’s own thoughts as well as musical sounds, according to the Pauline Oliveros website.
“I’ve always loved to listen,” Oliveros said. “I’ve noticed a lot of times people aren’t listening.”
The composer stated she would like to come back and work with New Music Ensemble as they were “wonderful musicians.”
Director Alan Shockley of New Music Ensemble was also pleased with Oliveros and the performance.
“The composer [Oliveros] was happy with it, so I’m very happy with it,” Shockley said.
Shockley said the New Music Ensemble has been working on the piece the whole term.
“The students were really focused,” Shockley said. “They rose to the occasion; they always do.”