by Jarrett Hoffman
When multiple forms of art come together in a single work, there is the potential for something fascinating to unfold, but there are also unique challenges that arise. Both sides of that coin are on display in Julie and Cheri Johnson’s recent fusion of narrative and music, Crocus Hill Ghost Story (2017), which the St. Paul-based new music ensemble Zeitgeist performed on November 13 in a pre-recorded concert presented by Cleveland’s No Exit.
by Mike Telin
Friday the 13th — the mere mention of this day conjures up fear for those suffering from triskaidekaphobia. Or perhaps that fear stems from seeing one or more of the twelve slasher films. And, we must not forget that Italian composer Gioachino Rossini died on that most unlucky day.
On Friday, November 13 at 7:00 pm, St. Paul-based Zeitgeist will present Crocus Hill Ghost Story, the first of three broadcasts as part of the “Here and There 2020” collaboration with Cleveland-based No Exit. Listeners can access the free, pre-recorded performance at No Exit’s website or Facebook page on the night of the concert.
During a recent telephone conversation, No Exit artistic director Timothy Beyer confessed that the date is a coincidence. He also noted that this year is different from the previous “Here and There” collaborations. “Since we can’t get together to perform, Friday will be only Zeitgeist. Later this month, we (No Exit) will perform alone, and in January we’ll do an online concert together.”
Crocus Hill Ghost Story is a tale about a house possessed. Inspired by the author’s experiences of living in a St. Paul mansion during the 1980s, the piece follows the relationship between two longtime friends, and how that relationship evolves as they find themselves in the midst of a haunting. The work features an original story by Cheri Johnson, music by Julie Johnson, sound design by Eric M.C. Gonzalez, and video by FIX Agency. Performers include Heather Barringer and Patti Cudd (percussion), Pat O’Keefe (woodwinds), Jill Dawe (piano), and Krisanne Weiss (narration) of Zeitgeist.
by Mike Telin
No Exit kicked off the new year with a series of concerts that also marked the contemporary music group’s third collaboration with the excellent St. Paul-based ensemble Zeitgeist. I attended the performance on Sunday, January 14 at SPACES. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
No Exit’s third performance of its 2015 spring program on Monday, April 20 at Cleveland State University’s Drinko Recital Hall included a wide range of contemporary sounds and video, ranging from an almost elderly work (dating from 1994) to the first performances of newly-minted pieces. The emphasis was on electronic music, either all by itself or in combination with live performance, and there wasn’t a boring moment. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
This weekend, Cleveland-based new music ensemble No Exit will present three concerts that showcase an eclectic mix of avant-garde electronic and electro-acoustic works. “This is a really exciting series,” No Exit’s artistic director Tim Beyer said during a telephone conversation. “We’re fortunate to have performers who are not only amazing ensemble players, but virtuosic soloists as well. And these pieces will allow each member of the ensemble to shine.”
The first performance is scheduled for Friday, April 17 at Heights Arts. The program will be repeated on Saturday, April 18 at SPACES and on Monday, April 20 at Cleveland State University’s Drinko Recital Hall. All concerts will begin at 8:00 pm. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
The new music ensemble No Exit will launch their 2014-15 concert season next week by shining a spotlight on the works of area composers, including the debut of two world premiere pieces. The performances will take place on Saturday, November 22 at 8:00 pm in Spaces Gallery and on Monday, November 24 at 8:00 pm in Cleveland State University’s Drinko Auditorium.
No Exit artistic director Timothy Beyer says that, “While we have always been very passionate in our focus on Cleveland-area composers, this concert is unique in that with the exception of the Jacob Druckman piece, the entire program consists of living composers from our area. I think that we live in an age where ʻregionalismʼ, in regard to art music, is not such a meaningful term anymore. Itʼs become a much bigger world than that. However, there is still something quite singular and extraordinary about so much music coming out of our neck of the woods. We wanted to present a program that reflected this.” [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
On Friday, April 11 in SPACES, the contemporary music ensemble No Exit begins their spring concert series, three extraordinary evenings of music. In addition to SPACES, concerts will take place at Heights Arts on Saturday, April 12, and in Cleveland State University’s Drinko Hall on Monday, April 14. All performances begin at 8:00 PM. Performances include two world premieres performed by Cara Tweed, violin, James Rhodes, viola, Nicholas Diodore, cello, Sean Gabriel, flute, Nicholas Underhill, piano, and Luke Rinderknecht, percussion.
Artistic director Timothy Beyer said, “Music is perhaps inherently the most abstract medium amongst the arts. And yet, it has the ability to evoke and convey a very real visual world. There is this remarkable synergy between organized sound and what our minds do with it. It’s profound, really. A composer such as Morton Feldman has been able to sonically represent what a painter like Mark Rothko accomplished visually. So in this respect, there is, or at least can be, a very iconographical element to certain music. This is the very thing that the ensemble will be focusing on in this series of concerts.” [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Today’s genre-bending musicians have nothing on Raymond Scott (born Henry Warnow in 1908), possibly one of the most eclectic musicians ever to have come out of Juilliard. Before suffering a debilitating stroke in 1987 — he died in 1994 — Scott had transformed swing music with the intricate, improvisation-suppressing compositions he crafted for his six-man band, called the Raymond Scott Quintette because it sounded “crisper,” made breakthrough experiments with electronic music, and somewhat inadvertently contributed to the soundtracks of Warner Bros. cartoons, through which you may have heard Scott’s music without knowing it.
Cleveland’s classy and enterprising new music ensemble, No Exit, led by Timothy Beyer and comprised of violinist Cara Tweed, violist James Rhodes, flutist Sean Gabriel, percussionist Luke Rinderknecht, cellist Nicholas Diodore, pianists Nicholas Underhill and James Praznik and assistant artistic director and composer Eric M.C. Gonzalez, invited guest performers Russ Gershon, saxophones and flute, percussionists Dinesh Joseph and trumpeter Scott McKee to celebrate Scott’s legacy in three concerts last weekend in Cleveland and Buffalo. I caught the third show on Monday evening in Drinko Recital Hall at Cleveland State University. [Read more…]