Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra
Where: The Met Breuer
945 Madison Ave.
212-535-7710 Price: Free with museum admission
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World Premiere
Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra is the first sound-based installation commissioned by The Met. Hybrid by design, it is a musical instrument, a series of live performances, and an installation composed of thirty-two sculptures, utilitarian vessels, and decorative objects from the Museum collection. Selected for their natural pitches, which range from low C to high G on the chromatic musical scale, they form an arresting and unexpectedly versatile instrument, similar to an organ with multiple pipes.
The Vessel Orchestra has two distinct modes. During Museum hours, a pre-programmed audio interface will play a new composition written by Beer, activating the vessels in real time—”player piano-style.” On Friday evenings, the exhibition will feature a diverse group of guest artists who will perform new compositions and improvisations on this radical musical instrument in a series of intimate concerts. All performances on Friday evenings. Set times to be announced. Schedule below is subject to change.
Friday, July 5
6:30–8:30 pm
Ekmeles with Bruce Brubaker
Music by John Cage, Alvin Lucier, Philip Glass and early medieval monophony
Friday, July 12
6:30–8:30 pm
Mashrou Leila (Firas Abou Fakher, Hamed Sinno, Haig Papazian, Carl Gerges) with Rabih Almuddine
Friday, July 19
7:30–8:30 pm
Matana Roberts with Darius Jones
Friday, July 26
6:30–8:30 pm
Women’s Raga Massive (Roopa Mahadevan, Trina Basu, Amali Premawardhana, Roshni Samal)
Friday, August 2
7–8:30 pm
Nico Muhly and friends
Friday, August 9
5–8:30 pm
John Zorn with Sara Serpa, Sae Hashimoto, Kenny Wollesen, Ikue Mori
Performances are free with Museum admission.
Limited seating; first come, first served.
Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra is on view at The Met Breuer, Floor 5, Tuesday, July 2–Sunday, August 11, 2019
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