The second half of Saturday, Nov. 16 will see every corner of the Walt Disney Concert Hall campus activated by new music during Noon to Midnight: Field Recordings, a 12-hour festival curated by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid (Music MFA 11). Organized around a theme of field recordings, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new-music marathon offers an eclectic program of live performances and art installations—plus a beer garden, food trucks, and surprise giveaways.
Noon to Midnight (N2M), aptly running from 12 pm through 12 am, is presented as part of the Getty Museum’s expansive PST ART: Art & Science Collide programming. The highlight of the event is the world premiere of Lightscape, a film-based artwork by Doug Aitken accompanied by live performances by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the LA Phil New Music Group. (Note that this portion of N2M is a separate ticketed event that is now sold out.)
Festival goers are invited to directly engage with this year’s theme through intimate performances, interactive installations, a listening room, and conversations through the LA Phil’s Insight program. The festival’s groundbreaking sounds come courtesy of more than 35 composers, whose works are inspired by field recordings as a means of exploring the “intersections of art, technology and nature.”
“The works can be revelatory, challenging, mournful, joyful and meditative,” Reid was quoted in her curator’s statement. “Various perspectives converge in a dynamic conversation throughout the day, exploring how curious, creative humans use sound to carve their own unique paths through physical and emotional landscapes. Noon to Midnight is a celebration of creativity in Los Angeles and an invitation to listen deeply to the world around us.”
The Herb Alpert School of Music faculty Marc Lowenstein, M.A. Tiesenga (Music MFA 19), and Derrick Skye (Music MFA 08) are among the day’s featured composers, all of whom will offer premiere performances. Skye is also noted as a featured conductor at the festival; and Bridge to Everywhere, for which he is artistic director, also joins the day’s ensembles.
See the numerous CalArtians involved in Noon to Midnight: Field Recordings below:
Featured composers (*premiere performance)
- Derrick Skye (Music MFA 08)*
- Andrew McIntosh (Music MFA 08)
- Music faculty emeritus Anne LeBaron*
- Ellen Reid (Music MFA 11)
- John Eagle (Music MFA 13)*
- John Luther Adams (Music BFA 73) [Pulitzer Prize winner]
- M.A. Tiesenga (Music MFA 19)*
- Music faculty Marc Lowenstein*
- Music faculty Michael Pisaro-Liu
- Odeya Nini (Music MFA 11)*
- Raven Chacon (Music MFA 04) [Pulitzer Prize winner]
- Tomeka Reid (2022 Herb Alpert Award winner in Music)
- Former Music faculty Wadada Leo Smith
Ensembles
- Bridge to Everywhere
- Artistic director: Derrick Skye (Music MFA 08)
- Isaura String Quartet
- Emily Call (Music MFA 13), Mads Falcone (Music MFA 13), Betsy Rettig (Music MFA 12)
- Wild Up
- Andrew McIntosh (Music MFA 08) and M.A. Tiesenga (Music MFA 19)
Featured musicians
- Music faculty Alison Bjorkedal
- Andrew McIntosh (Music MFA 08)
- Music faculty Eyvind Kang
- Music faculty Michael Pisaro-Liu
- Odeya Nini (Music MFA 11)
- Music faculty emeritus Vicki Ray
Installations and films
- Chris Kallmyer (Music MFA 09),
- Kallmyer was also commissioned in the 2022 N2M concert with his installation Song Cycle
- Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu (Film/Video MFA 15)
- Art faculty Mercedes Dorame
- Raven Chacon (Music MFA 04)
See the full festival lineup at the LA Philharmonic’s website.
