Composer in Residence
Please note: You can only take part if you have a proof of immunization due to vaccination or recovery or have a negative PCR test that is not older than 24h as well as an identity document.
US-American musician, artist and composer Alex Kendall Somers will realise a commissioned composition for the Approximation Festival 2021, performing it with the Ensemble Aroura Nr. π and the VokalOrchester NRWregional. In Germany, Alex Somers is mostly known for his work with the band Sigur Rós, most notably with Icelandic musician Jónsi Pór Birgisson. They have been collaborating as Riceboy Sleeps since 2006, releasing their eponymous album in 2009. Additionally, Alex Somers composed the soundtracks to Alex Ross’ Captain Fantastic (2016), for the documentary film Hale County (2018) as well as for Honey Boy (2019) by Alma Har’el and Shia LaBeouf.
The Approximation Festival 2021 commissioned piece was written during a period of loss, grief, and lack of social binding. The world became distant towards art and the artists. Many musicians retreated into inner emigration. Alex Somers and Jónsi Pór Birgisson have created a very slow-moving diatonic environment here, intertwined with voices, strings, tape delays, and ambience sounds. The two musicians write the lyrics to their songs partly in their own made-up language, Volenska, meaning, approximately, “Hopelandic”. Both artists are currently working with the Wordless Music Orchestra & Choir.
Aroura Nr. π is a newly founded ensemble for contemporary music. Aroura Nr. π offers performance opportunities for the work of young, as yet unknown composers as well as for the performance of chamber music by composers seldom played in small and large ensembles and in unusual locations. The VokalOrchester NRW is a collective of 13 professional singers from the NRW area and offers a refreshing mix of vocal improvisation and fixed arrangements from the field of jazz / pop / folk. No concert of the group is the same, because the audience is always included and so a very special energy arises from the moment.
Duration: 105 min.
Composer in Residence: Alex Somers; Conductor: Robert Ames; Together with Aroura Nr. π and VokalOrchester NRW. An event by Approximation Festival, in cooperation with tanzhaus nrw. We would like to thank the Kulturamt der Landeshauptstadt, Kunst- und Kulturstiftung der Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf and Freund*innen des Vereins zur Förderung des Approximation Festivals e.V. for the generous funding.
