With the delicate skim of fingers over piano keys or the soft stroke of a paint brush, an artist creates an image or sound. For the creator and consumer, this cohesive bundle of notes or abstract mix of color might evoke emotion from which new ideas or conclusions are drawn. In an effort to explore this practice, local Classical pianist and music professor Brianna Matzke created The Response Project.
A University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music alumna, Matzke commissions artists and composers to “respond” to existing artworks or ideas. She provides a platform to share the responses, which materialize through various mediums including playing the compositions herself.
“I'm interested in how each individual artist responds so we can learn about their particular vantage point,” Matzke says. “When you've taken multiple responses to the same idea or artwork, you start to get a bigger picture about that artwork. Really, it becomes a sum greater than its parts.”
Since its inception in 2014, The Response Project has produced concerts, short films, art shows and interpretive dances to name a few. These installments introduced artistic interpretations of themes such as “Something is Happening Here,” a look at Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited; the phrase “On Behalf,” inspired by Killer Mike and Stephen Colbert asking composers to write on behalf of a person, thing or idea; and the controversial composer Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Mikrophonie 1.
Debuting throughout January, the fourth iteration of The Response Project challenges the way we consume and create art, this time using late American composer Pauline Oliveros’ Sonic Meditations and deep listening concept as the activator.
Five composers (Evan Williams, Tina Tallon, Nate May, Charles Peck, Jason Charney) and five visual artists (Joomi Chung, Samantha Parker Salazar, Christian Schmit, Samantha Haring, Ryan Strochinsky) were prompted, and their responses guided the vision of the project.
Matzke notes that Oliveros was a groundbreaking composer in a few arenas. She is remembered for her role in pioneering and orchestrating experimental music and also popularizing the practice of deep listening.
Published in 1971, Sonic Meditations was a result of Oliveros' break from and return to performance. In her respite, she focused mostly on single notes of an accordion, long and constant sounds that enhanced her look inward and stimulated the act of concentrating. Oliveros became a master of mindfulness, a complex idea that becomes approachable with music as a catalyst.
“Sonic Meditations are not compositions in the traditional sense. There's no notated music; it's just text and it’s meant to be very participatory,” Matzke says. “There's really no delineation between the audience and the performer. The hope is for everyone to deepen awareness of their body and their breath, their sense of listening actively, listening not only to the musical sounds but to all other sounds both inside and outside of you. Ultimately (Oliveros) wanted listening to become an openness and awareness that can lead to compassion, greater self-empowerment and really positive social change in the long run.”
Matzke says she chose Oliveros as the subject because it seemed people’s ability to listen was lost in the commotion of 2020. In the new year, The Oliveros Response Project will premiere four short films and an art show that not only enact deep listening through brand new compositions but also explore the way history and place relate to the experience.
Produced by local filmmakers Biz Young, Jason Nix and Andy Gasper, the films will debut musical responses performed by Matzke, percussionist Chris Graham and a Classical ensemble created by Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra members called concert:nova. But it’s not just a concert series.
Four beloved and historical Cincinnati buildings were chosen to house the performances featured in the films. Acoustics and historical significance were among factors considered in the selection process, which boiled down to performances taking place in The Imperial Theatre Mohawk, the Kauffman Brewery Tunnels, the King Records building and the Emery Theatre.
Concert:nova’s website will host each film on Jan. 7, 14, 21 and 28, respectively. They will live there and The Response Project Facebook page thereafter, Matzke says. Viewers can also sign up for a Zoom discussion with the artists and performers after the show. Three of the four short films include a guided meditation led by Troy Brosnick of The Hive, a center for contemplation, art and action in Cincinnati.
“Oliveros was really into acoustics and how music sounded in different spaces, also how music reverberates throughout history and how history can reverberate within a space,” Matzke says. “The music that’s performed in each of those spaces is specifically curated to that space and the meditation is reflecting on the music, the history (of the building) and how they speak to each other.”
The Cincinnati Preservation Collective was a key factor in selecting and securing the locations. Amy Conroy, CPC board member, said their collaboration helps bring awareness to the importance of preserving history and how impactful community participation can be.
“Historic spaces have so much detail and reverence,” Conroy says. “This theme of places that deserve to be listened to was really the highlight of the whole thing for us.”
Even with the right resources to recruit these locations, Conroy said securing King Records was the most trying. Also, establishing locations in different neighborhoods was important, as central downtown is typically heavily in focus. Conroy is excited to see how the music captures the space and expects viewers will gain a deeper sense of connection to their community.
Matzke’s intended audience is anyone who is interested in something new, she says. She hopes listeners will reflect on a piece of history that may exist in their own community, how it resonates with them, and how it relates to space and sound. When this iteration was conceived, Matzke imagined a live audience, too, but COVID forced the final product to take a different shape. Fortunately, the only aspect that suffered major consequences was in-person workshopping with composers and musicians, she says.
In addition to the films, Camp Washington’s The Welcome Project — a program that benefits marginalized and at-risk refugees and immigrants — will host an art show from Jan. 9 to Feb. 27. Curator Katie Baker carefully selected the five visual artists previously mentioned. Drawing and most art forms are about paying attention, she says, an attribute that seamlessly relates to deep listening.
“I was looking for a sensitivity in their work,” Baker says. “Where their practice is about being present and reacting in a way that requires a certain amount of quietude and understanding.”
Artist Chung coiled hundreds of yards of wire — sculpting an image of swarms of buzzing insects — creating movement and a sense of animation dependent on the physical space. And Haring’s paintings address the nature of loss and the inherent duality of absence and presence, according to the Response Project’s website.
The result is tangible through this arm of the project as it creates a different avenue of connection for viewers to follow. The integration of various art forms has been an asset to the success of The Response Project, turning abstract themes into approachable ideas with concrete exhibitions. Matzke hopes that, COVID-willing, she will eventually be able to tour the music like projects past and produce CDs or hard copies of performances in the future.
For more information on The Response Project and to view the films and get more information about the art show, performers and composers from The Oliveros Response Project, visit theresponseproject.org.
