At a time when the environment is more threatened than ever with pollution and our life-giving waterways at risk, Fifth House Ensemble traces the life cycle of water from its metaphorical descent from the heavens as rain, to its long journey in streams and rivers informed by conservation experts and ecologists. Featuring a new commission by Fresh Inc Festival alumnus Patrick O’Malley driven by ecological data from Friends of the Chicago River, a new commission by Wheaton faculty member Shawn Okpebholo that celebrates water as a precious resource by transforming it into a musical instrument alongside music inspired by First Peoples, this program asks what it would mean to return to a sacred conception in which humans are a part of nature rather than beings standing outside of its impact.
Program
John Luther Adams, arr. Alex Goodin — The Wind in High Places
I. Above Sunset Pass
Alexander Miller — Glacier Blue
Brent Michael Davids — In Wisconsin Woods
Mason Bates — Red River
I. The Continental Divide
II. Interstate
III. Zuni Visions from the Canyon Walls
IV. Hoover Slates Vegas
V. Running Dry on the Sonoran Floor
Shawn Okpebholo — Fractured Water (World Premiere)
Patrick O’Malley — Rivers Empyrean (World Premiere)
I. The Lake
II. Southern Branch and Calumet
III. Main Stem
IV. Woods and Sloughs
V. North Branch
VI. Deep Tunnel
Dan Visconti — Low Country Haze
Beth Bradfish, composer and sound designer
Alex Inglisian, consulting creative engineer
Eric Donovan Lester, drumming
Chollette, video editor
Jazmyne Fountain, video editor
Donovan Seidle, remote audio and video editing
Simon Tarr, video design
Dave Spencer, speaker/vocalist, In Wisconsin Woods
RedLine Drum: Dave, Holly and Niyol Spencer
Rivers Empyrean and its related residency and partnership programs have been made possible with support from: Chamber Music America, through its Residency Endowment Fund; New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, The Fidelity Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation & Anonymous; the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, and a grant from the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research at the Eastman School of Music; and Sweetwater.