Join artist and musician Bruce Willen for a special BMA Violet Hour performance of Music for a Ghost River, a new site-specific piece of music constructed around the sounds of a buried stream that runs below the BMA Sculpture Garden.
Through microphones dropped down a storm sewer, Willen and musicians Jess Keyes and Jason Charney will use the hidden waters of this creek as an instrument, variously accompanying, manipulating, mixing, and expanding its sounds through a combination of acoustic instruments (flute, saxophone, guitar, harmonium, etc.), live sampling, and electronics.
This program is offered in connection with the BMA’sTurn Again to the Earth initiative.
Tickets
Free. Registration highly encouraged.
In the event that tickets sell out, please email mhambleton@artbma.org to be added to the waitlist. Some space may also be available for walk-ins the evening of the performance.
Rain date for the event is Thursday, May 7, 6–7:30pm.
Bring your own blanket or cushion if you prefer to sit on the grass. Limited chairs and yoga mats will be provided by the BMA.
About the Performance
Music for a Ghost River builds on the work of Ghost Rivers, artist Bruce Willen’s acclaimed public art project that visualizes the lost path of buried stream Sumwalt Run. The first site of this 1.5-mile-long installation is located just south of the BMA at Wyman Park Dell. A small branch of Sumwalt Run flows under the Sculpture Garden before emptying into the large sewer where the stream’s waters are now hidden.
Music for a Ghost River invites visitors to experience moments of contemplation and deep listening in a relaxed outdoor listening environment (feel free to bring a blanket or cushion). As the performance evolves, it echoes the history of Sumwalt Run itself. At times the voice of the water will speak alone. At others, it will be punctuated by a chorus of instruments that recall the riparian ecosystem that existed before its burial. And in other instances, its sounds will be buried under layers of electronics and effects—much like Sumwalt Run has been obscured from the landscape.
About the Artist and Musicians
Bruce Willen
Bruce Willen is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, musician, and creator of the Ghost Rivers public art project, which has brought widespread attention to the ecological consequences and forgotten histories of buried urban streams. His recent solo and collaborative music projects construct meditative and exploratory sonic panoramas that incorporate elements of kosmiche, ambient, folk, punk, and experimental music. Bruce has performed in clock towers, museums, and living rooms on multiple continents; composed new scores for silent films; and records with Thrill Jockey Records with his duo Peals (with William Cashion).
Jess Keyes
Jess Keyes is a Baltimore-based performer and composer exploring interdisciplinary music-making, ecstatic energy, and communion with the audience. She performs improvised and composed music on saxophone, keyboards, and synthesizers, alone and with others, and she is an active member of the shape note singing community and a novice clawhammer banjo player. Her solo artistic practice brings original electro-acoustic aleatoric compositions together with fiber arts and lighting design to produce powerful, intimate performance art experiences.
Jason Charney
Jason Charney is a composer, media artist, and audio engineer based in Baltimore. As a collaborator and freelancer across disciplines, his recent projects include projection design for public art showcasing local filmmakers, mobile game development for interactive chamber music, and technical direction for an outdoor multimedia opera. Jason teaches sound design and digital media at several universities around Baltimore and serves as Technical Director for 2640 Space and Mind on Fire. He also performs with Baltimore trios Moth Broth and The Arm.
