Material(s)
December 5th, 2024 at The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, La Jolla, San Diego.
1:     Chambers (Alvin Lucier)
2:    Bouquet of Flowers (Charlie Morrow)
3:    Spectrum (Dom Cooper)
4:    Mouthpiece Improvisation (SdNVW)
5:    Spines (Dom Cooper)
6:    The Graphite Minatures (Zane Alexander)
7:     Dream Speaker (Zane Alexander)
8:    Harmonized Folk Tune (SdNVW)
This concert was collectively put together by the group to showcase the range of their abilities. We would like to thank San Diego New Music for inviting us.
The pieces, with the exception of Bouquet of Flowers, have never been performed before by SDNVW. That piece and the Alvin Lucier work are both archival material, whereas the others are all new compositions.
Chambers explores the physicality of materials such as glass and metal. Similarly, the material of metal is activated in Mouthpiece Improvisation.
The Graphite Miniatures uses the material of graphite to create a unique score.
Written materials become improvisational tools in Spines, while source material is reshaped in both Harmonized Folk Tune and Dream Speaker.
Finally, Spectrum allows language to materialize into pattern, showcasing the group’s versatility in vocal experimentation.
This diverse program demonstrates SDNVW’s commitment to exploring new sonic territories and pushing the boundaries of contemporary vocal performance.
Performers: Zane Alexander, Rosalyn Arvizu, Lauren Bailey, Clara Boyle, Dom Cooper, Jasmine King, Charissa Noble, Isabella Pihas, Amelia Sarkisian, Andrew Walsh, Lily Yates.

Chambers
by Alvin Lucier
Chambers from 1968, asks the performers to collect or make large and small resonant environments. For example by using a sea shell or a recording in a cave. Sounds of indeterminate pitch in the outer environment may be heard to take on the pitch, timbral, dynamic, and durational characteristics of the sounds of the portable resonant environments. Distances between two performers should be maintained. Mixtures of these materials and procedures may be used. The piece was chosen for the group by member Charissa Noble.
Bouquet of Flowers
by Charlie Morrow
Bouquet of Flowers is an open visual score for four performers composed by Charlie Morrow. This graphic score was entrusted to SDNVW for interpretation, initially for an audio recording and subsequently for performance. Bouquet serves as a sound poem that evokes a garden environment. SDNVW connected to Charlie through Recital Program’s Sean McCann.
Spectrum
by Dom Cooper
Spectrum is a celebration of language, where color serves as a metaphor for positivity and inclusivity. The names of shades and tones of the individual colors that make up the spectrum are improvised in pairs of performers. For example, “Vermilion” in the red category. A structured arc sees each pair respond instinctually and rhythmically, experimenting with words. Syllables, phonetics, and pacing all come into play.
Spines
by Dom Cooper
Spines utilizes the library environment as source material for improvisation. Performers randomly select a book from the shelves, choosing a spine that appeals to them. They then open the book to a random page and select a paragraph. This chosen text becomes the foundation for their exploration, as they forensically dissect the words. Through this process, the words become disjointed, jumbled, slowed, time-stretched, pitched, or transformed in various ways. The performers manipulate the text, creating a unique auditory experience that blends the written word with improvised sound. They listen to each other and respond. The paragraph’s context loses meaning and verbal textures become the subject matter.
Harmonized Folk Tune
by SDNVW
Harmonized Folk Tune let’s SDNVW collectively form chords and melodic fragments from folk tune material into a new spontaneous composition. Their individual talents and interpretations shape the resulting sound.
Mouthpiece Improvisation
by SDNVW
Mouthpiece Improvisation sees the group create unique sounds through the medium of a mouthpiece (used in brass instruments). Each performer chooses how to interact with the mouthpiece and explore the sounds that interaction produces.
Dream Speaker
by Zane Alexander
Dream Speaker explores the subconscious of sleep through the voices of six vocalists. Featuring the dreams and voice of SDNVW member Clara Boyle as a source of improvisation, the chorus of dream interpreters uses fragments of speech and chanted latin to evoke the sublime mystery that comes from a well-realized dream. Dream Speaker asks the choir members to engage in a research process of recording their dreams prior to the performance and to interpret the text of Somniale Danielis, a dream manual published in the 5th century. Beyond a surreal sonic experience, Dream Speaker invites the performers and listeners alike to reflect on the beautiful and obscure interiority we all hold in our sleep.
The Graphite Miniatures
by Zane Alexander
The Graphite Miniatures is a sequence of 8 images generated from the destruction of various graphite pencils. These images are accompanied by text directions and minimal musical information. The score is open to be interpreted by any trio of musicians representing a low, medium, and high voice. In connecting sound to an image, an image to an action, Graphite Miniatures ask performers to challenge their concept of what improvised “material” can be.
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