Austin New Music Co-op Presents Concert of Musical Games

Austin New Music Co-op proudly presents Game Show: Musician vs. Musician. On Saturday September 13th, twenty performers playing strings, winds, percussion, and voice will compete against each other in seven different "game" compositions.

AUSTIN NEW MUSIC CO-OP PRESENTS:

On September 13, 2008, Austin New Music Co-op will pit twenty local musicians against each other in fierce competition with its presentation of Game Show: Musician vs. Musician, a concert of seven musical games including John Zorn's renowned Cobra. Each of the works presented on this program unfolds according to a its own system of detailed rules, like the rules in sports or card games. This is in contrast to the pre-determined sequence of musical ideas you find in a traditional score, and often results in very unique worlds of sound.

NMC veterans Brandon Young (who has helmed three previous NMC concerts) and Christopher Petkus are excited to be coordinating this event, which will be held downtown at the beautiful new Ballet Austin facility. Both will be performing on the program as well as presenting the debut of their new card game for open ensemble, Crazy Eights in d minor.

Among the other games on the program will be a second debut, this one by Brent Fariss, who will present a meditative game created with the help of his three-year-old son. Bringing the concept of the Rorschach test into the concert hall, former Austinite Shawn Feeney's Raw Shack will test the improvisation skills of a small ensemble. Two compositions by members of the legendary Fluxus movement of the 1960s will have NMC players competing in absurdities. Rounding out the program will be two larger-scale games. Robert Erickson (who taught such new music luminaries as Pauline Oliveros and Terry Riley) wrote Scapes in 1966, setting two ensembles, each with a conductor, against each other in a game of orchestral tic-tac-toe. The guided improvisation of Cobra by John Zorn has gained considerable notoriety worldwide, and NMC audiences will be treated to a version for ten players.