For their April series, No Exit will present a collection of diverse new works from some remarkable artists. Featured on the program will be world premiere pieces by Victoria Cheah, Jeremy Siskind (a “shining example of chamber music”– Downbeat), Robert Honstein ( “smart, appealing works”—The New Yorker) and Cleveland-based composer Chris Neiner.
The program will also feature two extraordinary special guests, pianist Shuai Wang (“her musicality flowed effortlessly, undaunted by any of the dense technical work”—Cleveland Classical) and vocalist Lauren Pearl (“Soulful and engrossing depth of tone”—The Philadelphia Inquirer).
The program will be presented on Friday, April 7 at 8:00 pm at SPACES, Friday, April 14 at 7:00 pm at Heights Arts, and on Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 pm at Kent State University School of Music. All performances are free.
No Exit’s Laura King spoke to composers Victoria Cheah and Robert Honstein, and vocalist Lauren Pearl. Next week Mike Telin will talk to composer Chris Neiner.
King’s interviews are posted with the permission of No Exit.
VICTORIA CHEAH
Laura King: Hello, we want to get to know you! Please tell us about yourself and your artistic journey.
Victoria Cheah: I’m a composer and electronic musician. I’m currently splitting my time between Boston and New York, where I’m originally from. I teach composition and instrumentation at Boston Conservatory, and tonal harmony and composition at Berklee College of Music. In New York, I currently work for the Talea Ensemble in production and operations. I have a bunch of houseplants, enjoy cooking while at home, and I also enjoy staring out the window of trains and buses.
In my work, I’m concerned with the imbalances inherent to finding balance in a steady state. This also involves thinking about boundaries and thresholds (where does one section become another? etc…) and how change and evolution happen gradually, suddenly, or something in between.
LK: Please describe what will be your contribution to No Exit’s April Concert Series. We like details – poetic and technical – so don’t hesitate to share your inspiration, concept development, and working process (alone and with the ensemble) up to the performance.
VC: In April, I’m very happy to be working with No Exit on a premiere of a new piece, and apparently also a performance of an old one, which was a nice surprise. The new piece is titled “Except for the silence in your touch” and the older piece is called “We waited for each other on aim.” I’ve been interested in the relationship between repeated pulse and sustained sound, using as concise a set of materials as possible. “Except for the silence in your touch” explores this relationship in a fairly restrained manner.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com April 5, 2023.
