PROGRAM NOTE

Inspiring the framework for this event is Music for Wilderness Lake, a 1979 piece by composer R. Murray Shafer. Its two movements, “Dawn” and “Dusk,” are performed by twelve trombonists surrounding a wilderness lake at the stated times of day. Schafer’s environmental music is rooted in the idea that the location and time of a performance are as important as the notes played. He was concerned with creating new rituals for music, a return to the outdoors, and working within the “space-time” framework that concerned space as a structural consideration in composition: as sound travels to players around the lake, delay must be taken into account. This will be accompanied by a new work, Dwayne Milburn’s composition for eight trombones, antiphonally performed a la Gabrieli in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. Gabrielli in LA is brought instead to the sanctuary of nature. At the close of the performance, the audience is invited to perform on their own instruments and noise-making devices will be distributed, exploring the sonic capacities of the environment on their own.

For our “Dawn” performance coffee and snacks will be provided.