by Mike Telin
On Saturday, March 22 “No Exit Presents” welcomes Patchwork — Noa Even, saxophone and Stephen Klunk, drums — back to Cleveland for a free 7:00 pm concert at Praxis Fiber Workshop.
The performance, which is part of the Duo’s 10th Anniversary tour, will feature works by Jason Charney, Hong-Da Chin, Erin Rogers, and Osnat Netzer.
In an interview with No Exit’s Laura King, Even said that Charney’s Interstittch is one of their earlier commissions and the most melodic, rock-inflected piece on the program.
She added that the other three works are drawn from their debut album, released in May 2020 by New Focus Recordings. “You’ll hear some similar sounds in these pieces — the term “extended technique” seems almost antiquated when multi-phonics, slap tonguing, and superball mallets are now as much a part of the basic vocabulary of our instruments as major scales and drum rudiments are… but each of the composers we worked with use those sounds in their own unique voice and syntax. Hong-Da Chin’s …time was not passing… it was turning in a circle… is a musical reflection on the cyclical nature of humanity’s path through history. Erin Rogers is a saxophonist herself, and Fast Love has a lot of the eclectic, noisy, improvisatory playing for which she’s known.
“And it’s fitting that we’ll be playing Osnat Netzers Zwang und Zweifel, as we premiered it at a series of concerts presented by No Exit in 2018. This is one of the most difficult pieces we’ve taken on, and it represents the internal turmoil someone experiences when forced to choose between two seemingly impossible options.”
The event also features the newly-formed Audra Duo — Noa Even and vocalist Anika Kildegaard — in Cecilia McDowall’s White Fox Woman, Karin Rehnqvist’s Jag Lyfter Mina Händer (I raise my hands), and Thomas Kessler’s Is It?
The Cleveland State Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Katalin (Katy) LaFavre, kicks off the evening with world premieres of Rhiannon Carter’s Not in the Forecast (2024) and Max Weitzner’s Melting Clock (2024).
In a separate interview with King, LaFavre said that “The idea for this project came from a series written by composer Juri Seo, Titled ‘portable percussion series,’ using small handheld instruments. Practicality was at play because we knew we would be opening for another group, and moving large set-ups out of the way would create logistics issues and an awkward break in the program. But, on the other hand, choosing to use small instruments that are often overlooked or considered accessories and putting them on center stage provided an inherent aesthetic challenge. We were fortunate to have two highly motivated composers from the CSU composition department who could take this challenge on!”
LaFavre said that Carter’s Not in the Forecast, employs “beautiful soundscapes and theatrical elements to depict a gardener who encounters extraordinary objects in the garden bed and these represent the unexpected turns life can take. The piece portrays Carter’s paradoxical vision—that life can be stormy and chaotic, while beauty resides within it too.” She added that Weitzner’s Melting Clock was inspired by Salvador Dali’s renowned painting, The Persistence of Memory.
“I have really enjoyed witnessing this project unfolding over the course of a year and among the coincidental connections between the two composers’ scores. The students wrote their pieces separately, and they are two distinctive voices, but both compositions use the triangle to signal important changes, and both explore unexpected events; we do not expect a storm to rage out of nowhere on a sunny day, nor do we expect a clock to melt.
‘Throughout the entire creative development process, the students have all shared a truly collaborative spirit. The composers were present during several rehearsals, allowing performers to propose changes and variations, and all worked together to bring the shared creative vision to fruition. They even collaborated to create staging and movement in the pieces, going the extra mile.”
Published on ClevelandClassical.com March 19, 2025.
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