Where does the title Diptych come from?

In the history of art, a diptych was a painting or relief carving made of two parts, and in this way, the title simply describes my piece's form: it is two pieces put side by side. I find it useful to think in this way, because it's different from thinking about "movements," which follow each other and sometimes have thematic connections. My piece really is two different pieces that could stand alone; that said, there's something that hopefully emerges when they are heard one after the other, a kind of commentary or dialogue that is more than what either piece could say on its own. I think of my music as being both gestural and about motion on the one hand, but also sound and timbre on the other hand. Both pieces work with gesture and timbral change, but the first, shorter piece is more about sound and the second is more about gesture. In this way the two pieces give a glimpse of two different points on the spectrum of my musical thought. Also, I think there's something interesting about two movement forms in general: they were rare, three or four movements were much more common, and there's something about the charged polarity of two experiences set in relief without a third that I find beautiful in a tense, even unbalanced way. Beethoven Op. 111 comes to mind as a particularly poignant example.

If you could describe the piece in two words what would they be?

Longing and Ringing

How was it writing for violin/viola? Did you love it/hate/find it challenging/all of the above?

I've always loved writing for strings because they're so versatile and can basically do anything I hear in my head. I found some things surprising about writing for violin/viola. I assumed that I would miss low bass notes without a cello, for example, but realized that the experience of the low register on the C string on the viola still feels pretty "bass-y." Two double stops ringing together can feel thick, giving the perception of more than two instruments. I enjoyed getting to know these aspects of this combination.

What is your favorite snack to compose with?

Coffee! (I've also recently been into Bamba now that Trader Joe's carries it).

Fun fact you have learned recently?

Acting like a dinosaur and chasing babies around is even more fun than it sounds.

Learn more about Adam and listen to his music on his website!

We are SUPER excited to be working with the LA-based violin/viola duo, Aperture Duo this season on our project, (a place is a place)! We have co-commissioned three new works that we will be premiering in LA and NYC January 2020 by Caroline Chen, Matt Evans, and Andrew McIntosh. Adrianne and Linnea are wonderful humans and we have loved getting to know them through many an email and google hang! Get to know them a bit and make sure to check out their website and soundcloud!

Tell us a bit about yourselves!

We are sitting at Linnea’s kitchen table drinking green tea during a rehearsal break and we’re procrastinating just the right amount. We’re going into the studio this Saturday to continue recording our debut album on Populist Records with some of our favorite commissions by some of our favorite people. Adrianne is busy on the album art (she also made our logo!) and Linnea is finalizing the timeline for our release. This has been our most collaborative season yet...in October we were featured in a concert curated by Wild Up presented by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Four Larks. In September we did a performance art based collaborative concert with our friends Autoduplicity. And we can’t wait for (a place is a place) with andPlay in January!  

What are you most excited about with this project?

We’re most excited about the creation of three new works, playing with Maya and Hannah, and seeing where this project goes from here! There are tons of possibilities and we can’t wait to see where it leads.

What music are you listening to these days?

In the car (we’re in the car just a normal amount! Don’t worry! It’s not that bad here!) 

Linnea listens to 89.9 KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and Adrianne listens to 93.5 KDAY. On commercial breaks, Linnea turns on Robyn’s latest album (she’s just getting into it after hating it at first) and Adrianne attempts to sing along with Lila Downs.

If you had to pick one thing for andPlay to taste/see/hear/etc. in LA what would it be?

ONE THING!?! Guisados for tacos. Hands down.

Favorite travel snack?

Barbara’s Jalapeño Cheese Puffs (we’re pushing for a sponsorship), iced green tea and fruit snacks in any form! Crunchy, gummy, hydrating, caffeinating.

Aren’t these two THE BEST?! xo, M + H

We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Anthony Vine on this beautiful duo that he wrote for us this Spring! If you are in NYC, the premiere is April 12th at 7pm at Areté Venue & Gallery and we would love to see you there!

Tell us a bit about your piece? What inspired it?

In Terrain, the approach to playing the violin and viola is reversed: one bows near the nut, and the nodes / touch points—established by interwoven paper clips, rather than finger pressure—are near the bridge. The bow is drawn with very lightly and carefully to produce a spectral haze of complex resultant tones. These sonorities are cast in a monochromatic plane that constantly flickers with every slight shift in bow pressure and placement.

It is hard to pinpoint an explicit source of inspiration, but a few scattered things come to mind: the shimmering black paintings of Rauschenberg, the undulating cinder cones along route 395, and the poems of Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge.

If you had to describe the piece with one word what would it be?

wavey

What is bringing you joy these days?

Visiting Anza-Borrego, eating burritos after 8pm, and watching old movies (with subtitles) at Live Wire.

What music have you had on repeat this month?

Offset, Sarah Davachi, and Olivier Demeaux.

Tell us something we don’t know (about yourself or the world at large).

Once in a while, I like to fire up Max and listen to two closely related sine waves that create interference patterns of twenty to thirty minutes, sometimes an hour or so.

Check out more from Anthony here!

After an incredible week workshopping with Sky last summer at Avaloch Farm Music Institute we are ready to bring this piece to life! Wild horses couldn’t hold us back! Come hang on April 12th at 7pm at Areté Venue & Gallery in Brooklyn, NY!

Tell us a bit about your piece? What inspired it?

My piece, Maps (of Friendship) for violin, viola, and video, was inspired by the beautiful friendship and busy lives of Hannah and Maya! I remember reading one of andPlay's bios a few years ago and it mentioned that Hannah and Maya live on opposite sides of New York City, but like to meet in the middle for rehearsals and baked goods. This image of them traveling (relatively) long distances to come together as a duo stuck with me and that was the starting point for my piece. The video includes little cartoon avatars of Hannah and Maya who move around the city and the world. I am fascinated with both our perceptions of time in music and our perceptions of time during transit, so I combined those two interests in this piece. The intersections of time, convenience, comfort, cost, relationships, and values shape our decisions about how far is too far to travel for any particular thing, and these decisions are not only personal, but greatly impacted by infrastructure, weather, and other chaotic factors. This piece expresses the complex emotions and diverse experiences of time we (and especially Maya and Hannah) encounter on different modes of transportation.

If you had to describe the piece with one word what would it be?

sweet

What is bringing you joy these days?Having time to compose and actually finishing pieces!

The fall was my first semester of full-time professoring (at Valparaiso University in Northwest Indiana) and I did not do so well with balancing my teaching and composing. This semester has been more balanced and I've composed a lot more which, though it's usually hard in the moment, really brings me joy. Also my Latin dance exercise class brings me joy because I have an amazing teacher and I see my coordination and isolation of body parts improve in every class!  

What music have you had on repeat this month?

Gluck's Orfeo! It started because I am learning to sing and play "Che faró senza Euridice" just for fun and that lead to listening to the whole opera on repeat.

Tell us something we don’t know (about yourself or the world at large).

For many years I was a certified lifeguard so I know that the correct tempo for CPR is quarter = 103.  

Check out more from Sky here!

It has been such a pleasure and a new experience for us to work on Prisma Interius VIII by Catherine Lamb for our program, ‘Translucent Harmonies’. She has become an internet friend of andPlay’s, and what a joy that is! We cannot wait to share her beautiful work with you on Tuesday, October 23rd at 8pm at Scandinavia House! Get to know her a little bit in this mini-interview!

aP: Tell us a little bit about your piece.

CL: It is the eighth in a series of nine pieces starting from 2016 under the same name, some of them containing modular orchestrations. The original version of VIII was a duo for violin and clarinet, with the addition of 4 highlighting instruments to “harmonically smear” as well as bridge the musical material to the outside; 2 acoustic instruments and 2 synthesizers filtering what is occurring in the surrounding environment. I think it is also interesting to simply listen to the duo as it is, but imagine how our perceptions in a listening environment might affect the duo’s timbre and vibrancy.

anP: How did you become interested in just intonation/non-tempered tuning?

CL: It was a very gradual process. First it was the growing interest in timbral overlays and spectrality, then the study of Hindusthani music in India, then meeting James Tenney who introduced me to Helmholtz.

aP: What is your relationship to string instruments? Has it changed throughout your compositional journey?

CL: I started to play the viola when I was around eight years old, so strings have been very close to my ears for a long time now. The viola taught me ratio tuning. It also helped me to listen inside an orchestra.

aP: What is a dream trip you would like to go on one day?

CL: Outer Space!

aP: Ideal snack food?

CL: Pani Puri

Check out more of Catherine’s work on her website!

We are so close to the premiere performance of ‘Translucent Harmonies’, and we couldn’t be more excited! Kristofer is in town and we have been workshopping with him over the weekend, which is a process that we really cherish. It has been a joy to work on this beautiful new piece, and get a chance to work with him a second time (we worked with him back in 2016)! If you are in NYC you can see a little pre-concert talk with him on October 23rd at Scandinavia House at 7:30pm in the concert hall. Now, get to know him a bit more before then in this mini-interview!

aP: Tell us a little bit about your piece.

KS: The title in Swedish means  "by the stone wall, thought becomes flower". I wanted to create a similar kind of very simple delight that might appear when walking past a stone wall, seeing a flower, and at that moment leaving oneself and one's habitual passions behind to realize the non-separation between mind and flower. The last few years, I have been interested in musical listening experiences that are somehow related to how we might listen to sounds when not listening to music, such as when being in the forest, or being close to the water and listening to foghorns and waves through misty reeds.

aP: How did you become interested in just intonation?

KS: I arrived at Just Intonation (or 'defined intonation') from a few converging paths: I realized early on that equal temperament (or 'non-defined intonation') was the cultural and historical product of a set of particular aesthetic priorities that I did not share (I also thought it sounded rather poor); the movement and interaction of tones was one of the most important musical concerns of mine (much more so than, say, something like gestures); I was interested in meditation and intimate modes of listening; I was enjoying and studying various Asian traditional musics (most importantly the gǔqín). I guess I was also lucky that I met with Just Intonation (JI) early on in my compositional path, before I had developed a set of habits confined to the usage of non-defined intonation, and that I wasn't discouraged by the non-existence of other musicians working with JI in my surroundings, or with the mathematics involved. 

aP: What is your relationship to string instruments? Has it changed throughout your compositional journey?

KS: I try to, as many other composers, find a point where it becomes difficult to distinguish my own will from the will and intentions of the instruments themselves. For every piece I write and the more experience I get from the instruments, the more I move in this direction. I don't want to use the instruments for "my" purposes or to deliver my "Music" but rather the other way around: write music that delivers the instruments themselves. Ideally, this piece for andPlay is about the coming together of the violin-ness of the violin and viola-ness of the viola. Such an approach to instruments could, perhaps, be described as love. 

aP: What is a dream trip you would like to go on one day?

KS: It would be a blessing to one day be able to make a pilgrimage to the holy places of Tibet. I'd love to meet the mountain Gang Rinpoche (Kailash), approaching it from the Rakshastal lake. 

aP: Ideal snack food?

KS: I don't know about ideal, but I've just been spending six weeks on Java and have been snacking away on all the local chips called kripiks; I especially like the ones made from jackfruit (kripik nangka) because it's wonderful taste and because it's usually very dry so that I can eat it with my hands while working. 

aP: What is something that we must see/hear/taste in Sweden on our upcoming tour?

KS: I have been hearing all about Hannah's mania for zoos on previous andPlay trips, so I think a trip to the outdoors zoo Skansen in Stockholm to befriend some Scandi-animals (scandimals) would be fun. 

Check out more from Kristofer on his website (or take a look at some of dreamy pics on instagram @kristofer.svensson)!

We are so excited to finally bring Bethany Younge's new piece out into the world. It really challenged us technically with a tough vocalization + playing part, but all of the hard work has paid off and ing ing ing ing ing ing ing ing ing ing ing into has us feeling powerful! We cannot wait to share it on Saturday, April 21st at Areté Venue and Gallery at 7:30pm!

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What was your experience like writing for violin/viola duo? Was there anything unexpected about the writing process?

Strings are always harder for me to write for because I never learned how to play any stringed instruments and I'm very much a hands-on composer. With that in mind, I made a tape part from my vocalizations to serve as a guide for treating the strings as voices. All the actual string playing is very much secondary, serving mostly as an impulse or impetus behind all other sonic matter. 

What is your relationship to the voice in your compositions? How did you know you wanted to use speaking/singing in your piece for andPlay?

When instrumentalists use their own voices, I imagine their instruments are speaking through their bodies. The violin and viola instruments function as the mind behind the mechanics of the throat, tongue, teeth, lips to communicate. I also suspected that by having the string players speak, there'd be a strong connection to the non-spoken vocalizations in the electronic track. The disassembled words and vocalizations in both the tape part and the spoken text seem unnatural, processed, technological much in the same way that string instruments are a technology. Maybe I'm trying to break or challenge the barriers between technology and human voice. 

Is there anything you would like the audience to know before hearing the piece?

The many voices (strings, human voice, electronic voice) compete to be heard. Do you hear 3 voices, 2 voices, or 1 giant conglomerate voice, or no voices at all? 

What are some of your bucket-list travel destinations?

Chile, Ecuador, Japan

If you could only bring one snack for a ten hour flight what would it be?

bagel chips

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Check out more of Bethany's work on her website!

Leah Asher is a long time bestie of andPlay, and we were so thrilled to finally be able to commission and collaborate with her this year on a new piece. We are all heart eyes over here!  Her piece, letters to my future self, is incredible, and we will be premiering it on April 21, 2018 at Areté Venue and Gallery on a show that we are splitting with the fabulous horn trio, Kylwyria. Come out out to hear some truly wonderful music!

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What was your experience like writing for violin/viola duo? Was there anything unexpected about the writing process?

Since I’m a string player myself, I’ve written a lot of music for strings and I feel very comfortable both writing in this sound world and having clear expectations of how the performers will interpret my graphic notation. This particular duo was very special to write both because I play violin and viola and because I’m close friends with the Maya and Hannah. Because of those relationships, I felt an extra freedom to try out something new. This experiment turned out well, I’m excited to say, and you’ll hear it specifically in the section where Hannah and Maya are reinterpreting words into sounds on their instruments with some spoken phonemes. 

What is your relationship to the voice in your compositions? How did you know you wanted to use speaking/singing in your piece for andPlay?

The use of speech and vocalization in instrumental parts is becoming more and more frequent in my work. With just a click, hum, whistle, or phonemes, adding vocalization to a piece can render abstract music immediately more relatable, because everyone or nearly everyone in the audience has experience with making or hearing those sounds themselves. The concept for ‘letters to my future self’ came pretty early on in the process. I knew that I wanted to ask a variety of people from different age groups to write letters to their future selves and that those letters would somehow be the foundation for the piece. I planned for at least parts of these letters to be presented in a way that the audience would concretely understand. So, there are sections in the piece where you will hear direct quotes, and other places where just fragments emerge. 

Is there anything you would like the audience to know before hearing the piece?

This is a piece about what people want for themselves and want to tell themselves. All of the sounds that aren’t text are written in graphic notation, which means that I have created a pictorial representation of the sounds that I would like to hear. 

What are some of your bucket-list travel destinations?

South Africa and Thailand are on the long-term bucket-list. More locally, Nashville! Maya and I are going to road trip this summer and it’s going to be rad!! 

If you could only bring one snack for a ten hour flight what would it be?

Endless chips and guacamole. In an ideal world, where this wouldn’t be totally impractical on a plane. 

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Check out more of Leah's music and projects on her website!

We were excited when Joel Rust approached us about working on a piece together and playing a concert on the Waverly Project at NYU. We had a wonderful workshop experience, and it was a bonus that Joel is just the nicest! If you have a free evening mark your calendars and come out to the show to the hear the premiere of Vanishing Point and some other wonderful pieces on February 15th at 8pm in the NYU Department of Music (24 Waverly Place, Room 268)!

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Use three words to describe Vanishing Point.

lush, cold, contemplative.

What your process like while writing this piece?

For the first time, I created most of the live electronic environment before I began writing any notes – so when I did, it was strange to write for the instrument+electronics assemblage, but it made for an engaging constraint. I think I spent more time than usual staring at blank pieces of paper, but it was time well spent.

Have you seen art, heard a song, or read a book recently that just blew you away?

I'm currently reading The Last Shade Tree by Margaret Panofsky, who's also my viola da gamba teacher! It's a gorgeously rich magical realist novel which becomes really gritty and visceral. 

What is your ultimate last-day-on-earth snack?

"Have you ever put a donut in the microwave?"

Tell us something we don’t know (about you or anything in the universe).

Bats aren't blind! They just also have their sonar to help them hunt at night. They can probably see better than we can.

For more info about Joel visit his website!

We have been so thrilled to work with Scott Wollschleger this year on his new piece for us, Violain! He has been an incredible collaborator, and we feel lucky to have such a great and thoughtful new piece to add to our repertoire. We played some preview performances of the piece on our California tour with great success, and after some tweaks and changes made by Scott we are ready for the world premiere performance on the permutations series on Thursday, December 14th at the DiMenna Center at 7:30pm! 

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What was your process like when writing 'Violain'?

My writing process is very hands on and I played around with both instruments to find the sounds I wanted to use for this piece. A lot of the sounds are a result of very fast gestures with unusual bowing technique. In some spots I had to video myself and play it back in slow motion to see what I was doing. Once I saw what I was doing I notated the sound/gesture on staff paper and then taped that individual piece of staff paper to my wall. After some time my walls were decorated with various panels of notation. Many of the "panels" were made of self-similar sounds which made it easy to "stitch" together the various panels to create larger sections of the piece. The piece was written almost exclusively using this kind of collage technique.

Is there anything you would like the audience to know about the piece?

The title came about through a typo in the music engraving file name. The piece was going to have the boring title, "Viola and Violin". The typo-title is fitting because a great deal of the music embraces a typo aesthetic. Since the music was written by hand musical typos were common and in many places I ended up letting the mistake stay in the music because it sounded more interesting.  Also by letting some typos be I feel this gives the music an extra layer of joyful Wabi-sabi. 

What have you been listening to on repeat recently?

Galina Ustvolskaya and Phil Niblock. 

Do you have a go-to car snack recommendations for us?

In a desperate moment a few years ago I bought a bag of Combos on a road trip and discovered they're fun to eat while driving. They also last a week after being open and can be left in a hot steamy car for many hours and taste the same. You can't think to much about them while eating them or you'll feel gross. But I buy a bag any time I hit the road. 

Can you tell us something that we don't know (about you, the world, the universe, etc.)?

The world already ended. 

Check out more of Scott's work on his website!

What a week, am I right?! There was so much to be thankful for, and spending time with family and friends was pretty amazing. Hannah and I took the week off from each other after the intense California trip, but boy did I miss her. I am sure she felt the same, but she hates encouraging my fancies and will never admit it!

I spent the weekend hanging with my dad, his wife Katie, my two sweet brothers, Lucio and Matteo, and their pup, Pippo in DeKalb, IL. Family came into town from all over the place for Thanksgiving dinner and my cousin’s baby shower. Many games were played, Pippo was walked, and pies were consumed.

PIE. If you know me you know that I love pie. If you want to get to know me, offer me pie and I will be yours forever. 

Pippo is a mega goofball with a tiny frame, a big personality, and an assortment of winter accessories.

Downtown DeKalb. Where all of the magic happens.

We are stuffed full of food but enjoying a brisk family pic on the back porch!

Looking forward: I CANNOT wait for the andPlay + David Bird meeting/dinner this coming week. Two of my favorite people to talk big ideas with in one place! Also, the weather is getting cooler and I have plans to whip up a batch of meyer lemon cranberry scones (yum)!

Hannah:

I traveled to Pittsburgh this Thanksgiving to see my family. It was a relaxing few days full of funny conversations, good food, and the constant "click" of my dad's selfie-stick. Here are a few shots from my past week!

This picture was actually taken in New York earlier this week, on my run in Inwood Hill Park. There is a turn in the path where people have discarded their Halloween pumpkins -- including this Cinderella-sized one!

My mom cooked Thanksgiving dinner this year and it was delicious. This was my first Thanksgiving as a meat-eater in a long time, so I enjoyed trying turkey again!

The day after Thanksgiving we took a family walk through Frick Park. It was a beautiful day and a perfect way to walk off that gigantic meal. 

Our walk landed us at an exhibit at The Frick Pittsburgh  where we saw their latest traveling exhibit, "Undressed: A History of Fashion in Underwear." Strange family activity, but actually pretty interesting. I'm glad women don't still wear corsets -- ouch!

My youngest brother has become quite the chef and cooked schezuan beef for our family dinner one night. I was shocked by the schezuan peppercorns that make your mouth go numb -- it was such a strange feeling, but really tasty!

Looking forward: I'm figuring out how to cook some strange vegetables I received in a farmshare this week, including a yokohama squash. Any suggestions?

My oh my! California is such a beautiful state! We had an incredible time playing five shows and one composer workshop up and down the coast in five cities in six days. It was quite a whirlwind trip, but we got to see so much of the state, see so many friends, explore some of the culinary gifts that California has to offer (they are bountiful), and perform great music for some amazing new crowds!

San Francisco

We landed in San Francisco from NYC and could already feel that the air was brighter and the people were friendlier. We dropped off our bags where we were staying in Burlingame, a close SF suburb, then headed into the city to check out the venue (Center for New Music) and stretch out our legs in the city after all of the traveling. 

We had been awake for quite some time, but this concert definitely got the adrenaline going since we were premiering Tacit  by Ravi Kittappa and performing Violain by Scott Wollschleger for the first time for an audience (it was officially a preview performance since Scott might make some changes before the premiere on December 14th in NYC). On the program we also played Bezier by David Bird and Ghosting [A Shadowy Trace] by Leaha Maria Villareal. This was a Permutations show that we split with Chartreuse, and they played an incredible set with music by Leah Asher, Marcos Balter, Klaus Lang, and Peter Swendsen.

The next morning we woke up early to see a bit of SF before having to leave. Our first stop for coffee, treats, and a half a loaf of sourdough was Tartine Bakery. This place was delicious and just the pick-me-up that we needed to snap us out of our sleepiness. 

We didn't have much time since we had to get to Santa Cruz, but we really wanted to see the piers, get a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, and have our first in-the-wild sighting of sea lions! Hannah is in her happy place when weird animals are around, so this was definitely her bag. We also snuck in a couple of local late-morning oysters before hitting the road! yum.

Santa Cruz

The drive to Santa Cruz on Hwy 1 was absolutely beautiful, and the two of us couldn’t get over the California scenery! How do people get anything done living around so much beauty?!

We got to workshop some pieces with UCSC (University of California Santa Cruz) composers for two days, and it was a total blast. The composers were all open to the changes we suggested, full of ideas to try, and just lovely people to work with. 

The composers suggested some places to visit before our second day of workshopping, so we woke up early to get in a couple of adventures. First, we went to the Natural Bridges State Park where we got to see these beautiful natural bridges, groves of eucalyptus trees, and walk along the Monarch Trail where the monarch butterflies were currently resting on their migration south to Mexico. Next, we were off to the wharf to hang with some more of our beloved sea lions and hear their silly 'arf'. Lastly, tacos at Taqueria Los Pericos! Don't pass up on these spots if you ever go through this city--they are not to be missed!

Boulder Creek

We played on the Indexical series run by composer, Andrew C. Smith, and it was such a pleasure. We were playing at a venue that Indexical has worked with in the past called lille æske. We got to perform two sets and present a lot more music, so in addition to Bezier by David Bird, Ghosting [A Shadowy Trace] by Leaha Maria Villareal, Tacit by Ravi Kittappa, and Violain by Scott Wollschleger, we also played DOGGED by Fjóla Evans, Four Koans by Brendan Faegre, à l'unisson X by Eva Maria Houben, and Den intimitet som finns i smultron by Kristofer Svensson.

Boulder Creek is thirty minutes north of Santa Cruz up a mountain, and the drive up was a wee bit scary. There were no lights, a majorly curvy road, and a certain section of the road was down to one lane due to a recent landslide. Once we got there, though, our anxiety from the drive melted away. The venue was picturesque and cozy, and the owners, James and Sarah, were the most welcoming hosts one could imagine. 

This town was straight out of a movie or tv show filled with burly mountain types, a tiny Sheriff’s office, and a volunteer fire department.

Paso Robles

We arrived in Paso after one of the most life changing drives of all time. We had the burritos that ruined all other burritos for us at El Charrito in Salinas, we stopped at Monterey Bay to see some more sea lions and gaze out at the nutso beautiful landscapes, and then topped it off by driving into Big Sur for as much as we could of Hwy 1 until it closed due to recent fires. This drive was epic, and it will definitely be repeated. Mark my words.

Hannah waxes poetically about El Charrito: "andPlay spends a lot of time thinking about what we are going to eat while traveling; we always want to make sure we find the best things. We ate a lot of great food in California, but our number one experience had to be the burritos at El Charrito in Salinas. Our friend, Andrew Smith, recommended this slightly out-of-the-way place, and we were definitely not disappointed! The homemade flour tortillas were some of the best things we have ever eaten in our lives, and we could not stop dreaming about them for the rest of the trip. Even just writing this is making my mouth water. If you are ever in a 3-hour radius of Salinas, it is worth the drive! Just be prepared to eat the burritos straight out of the bag in the parking lot; there is no dining area and you will not want to wait to taste your first bite!"

Paso has its own beautiful landscape with rolling hills filled with vineyards. We were playing at the Guyomar Wine Cellars for their pick up party where members of their wine club come to taste and pick up wine. 

Ravi Kittappa lives in Paso Robles, so he set andPlay & Chartreuse up in a lovely Aribnb overlooking a vineyard and just a short dirt road away from Guyomar. It was nice to hang and wear stripes with the hilarious and lovely ladies of Chartreuse for an evening of wine, music, and merriment!

The morning mists were the real deal. When we woke up in the morning it looked liked we were living in a cloud!

Los Angeles

After the incredible drive to Paso Robles, the LA drive paled in comparison, but we still got to stop at a roadside booth for some local strawberries and to ogle the 10 for $1 avocados. (No wonder Californians never want to leave...) We managed to get into the city and settled in Culver City where we were staying without hitting any traffic! In LA we stopped at Hannah's favorite ice cream shop Salt & Straw (originally from Portland, OR) for some amazing ice cream. The flavors were out of this world! We met up with some Oberlin friends for coffee and poke before the Permutations show with Chartreuse at Monk Space. Monk Space was definitely a cool venue albeit a bit loud for some of the pieces on the program, but we were thankful to all of the people that helped make it happen.

San Diego

Last stop on this tour and we have managed to go from SF all the way down to San Diego without hitting any of this crazy traffic that everyone was warning us about! I am sure it exists, but this time the traffic gods smiled kindly and spared us the headache of it all. In San Diego we were being hosted by Madison Greenstone (an incredible clarinetist and human) at UCSD, so we got to play in the school's lovely recital hall for old and new friends. At this point we were pretty burn out from playing a show in a new city every day for six days, and we were ready for a bit of a break. 

We managed to squeeze in some ocean time and some fish tacos and sandwiches from El Pescador Fish Market while in San Diego/La Jolla and it was SO worth it. We even caught a glimpse of the notorious seals at the Children's Pool in La Jolla (from the This American Life story)!

Until next time, California! You were beautiful, delicious, and so full of love. Thanks for sharing your bounty with us and letting us play some tunes for you!

xoxo,

andPlay

We received a 2016 CMA Classical Commissioning grant with Ravi Kittappa, and it has been such a fun journey to make this piece a reality. We are really looking forward to premiering this work and getting to play it so many times in a short span of days. It will be interesting to see how the piece grows and changes over the course of the week. Now check out how Ravi tackled our questions for him! 

What was your inspiration for 'Tacit'?

For the last few years I’ve been interested in what I’ve termed "person-specific" music. It’s not music written for a specific person but music that allows the performer to utilize their own proclivities, unique abilities, and specific qualities of their instrument as a core part of performance. In general these pieces have a somewhat open form and method of notation, with durations dictated by the unfurling of various processes. The first piece that I wrote with this in mind was Trajectories, which Hannah graciously performed a little while ago.

I’ve written a few solo works where these notions were explored, but Tacit is the first of these pieces with more than one player. So for the piece to work it is essential that the musicians have a keen understanding of each other’s playing and an capability for “tacit” communication.

What was the collaborative process like with andPlay?

Well, we were in an idyllic location (Avaloch Farms Institute), with plentiful delicious food, fantastic wine, and good company. . . so, it was terrible! No, of course, it was great. My high expectations were surpassed. I love working with people experienced in new music because they’re really unafraid to try anything - andPlay is a stellar example of this! I can remember a somewhat ridiculous moment where I had the duo standing adjacent and bowing each others instruments as well as their own. . . . .needless to say the results weren’t so stellar. But we had to try it to find that out. One thing that I’m particularly happy about the piece is that the duo has really taken it on as their own - not only individually but as the duo. 

What is your pump up music?

Oooooh boy! This changes regularly but at the moment I’ll say . . . . . The Rock*A*Teens - "HWY R" . . . . oh and currently a song called “Health" from a new Australian band called Parsnip. . . .and let’s throw Logical Progression II in there for good measure.

What are some of your top California treats (snacks, meals, wine, etc)?

There are plenty! I suppose I should go through all of your tour stops:

Bay Area: “The Balls” at Southie, Beer at Mikkeler, Dinner at Chez Panisse, Ippuku (an Izakaya in Berkeley), Ethiopian food in Oakland is amazing

Santa Cruz: (haven’t spent much time there but. . .) I’ve had some awesome beer from there, abalone, and Indexical puts on a bunch of awesome shows

Paso Robles: Guyomar Wine, Dinner and cocktails at The Hatch, brunch at Kitchenette, so much more amazing wine. . . .  L’aventure, Linne Calodo, Saxum, Torrin, Golden Triangle, Law, too many to mention. . . .

Los Angeles: Tacos Dorados Camarones at Mariscos Jaliscos (the greatest cheap eat ever!), Cocktails at The Varnish, La Descarga, The Normandie. Kalbi in Koreatown (LA Style)

San Diego: (although I haven’t been there) so many great beers! Fish tacos are just a California thing in general but San Diegans seem to claim ownership

If you had to give up wine or cheese which would you choose?

I would choose to die.

Check out more of Ravi's work on his website.

What were you thinking about when you were writing your piece, “Ghosting’?

I was thinking about the permanence or impermanence of our connection to people, in the various ways that we maintain these relationships — in images, in memories, and in the corporeal sense. I was also thinking about agency and energy: ghosts haunt the living, the beholder, the survivor. Ghosts by their nature are disembodied and lack agency, yet hold power over the living and are beyond their control (if you believe in ghosts, that is).

What are your favorite/least favorite things about writing for the violin/viola combo?

Transferring these ideas of ‘ghosting’ to andPlay was intriguing to me: to create for a duo that is so similar in nature yet each possess fundamental differences really resonated conceptually. I feel like I only scratched the surface of possibility in terms of their timbres, tunings, and register. I’m hooked. This latest piece was conceived as a multi-movement work, so I hope to return to this topic and this instrumentation to explore the possibilities in the future.

What have you been reading, watching, listening to that has been inspiring you lately?

In addition to researching old meanings for the term ‘ghost,’ I came across Joanna Walsh’s wonderful set of meditations on hotels. It sounds unrelated but there’s this correlation on spaces we inhabit yet leave unmarked both on the guest and service side of the industry, and the repetitive nature of our appearances in those spaces: business, vacations, trysts — same scenarios, anonymous people. It really shaped my approach to the writing.

What is a snack that you would never say no to?

Popcorn. It always smells great, even if I’ve just had a meal. Why is that?!

Tell us something we don’t know (about you, your music, or the world in general).

I got my first tattoo at 30 and I’d love more. I’m trying to space them out and enjoy the process.

To check out more of Leaha's work go to her website!

It was Summer 2016. The days were long and sticky, and come August, andPlay and David Bird were ready to escape the oppressive city heat and drive up to New Hampshire for a 5-day residency at Avaloch Farm. We had no idea that we would fall for the place so immediately and so hard. Here are 5 things that we loved...

1. Time. When Hannah, David Bird, and I (Maya) arrived at Avaloch Farm last year it felt like we could finally breathe deeply. After a hectic year in NYC filled with delayed subways, stacks of notes to learn, and looming deadlines we all needed a moment of peace to re-center and begin anew. We had entire days to rehearse, compose, and sit around chatting about dreams and far-fetched plans. It was like magic, and just what these city kids needed to kickstart the new season.

2. Cicadas and stars. In the evening one could sit out on the main house porch and listen to the orchestra of cicadas chirping their little hearts out. It was music to this midwestern girl's ears and soul. The only other thing more splendid was looking up into the dark abyss and seeing more constellations than I could even pretend to name (I should have paid more attention on planetarium field trips). It was pretty fun to make some up, though!

3. Space. Hannah and I had our own beautiful wooden practice cabin all to ourselves, and it was SPLENDID! It was tucked into a forested spot away from the housing area and we got to walk/cartwheel through the prickly grass filled with adorable fungi to get to it. We were there from after breakfast until lunch, after lunch to dinner, and sometimes even an after dinner working session with David. It was the work home we wished that we had all year round, and saying goodbye was harder than could have ever imagined.

4. New and old friends. It was so wonderful to meet so many fantastic musicians all in one place. Everyone was so calm and focused on their individual projects, and it was beautiful to hear everyone rehearsing through the afternoon. There was a concert at the end of our stay, and we loved playing for everyone and getting to hear what the other groups were working on!

5. Food. I saved this for last because my mouth is already starting to water just thinking about the delicious feasts presented to us on a daily basis. The herbed butter was insane, and each meal was different and full of flavor and love. There was also a never ending supply of coffee, seltzer, and cookies throughout the day! It was as though they had picked my brain and discovered just what I would require to keep me going through the long rehearsal days!

In short, Avaloch Farm is heaven and we are SO excited to go back this summer from June 19-26 with Ravi Kitappa to work on his new piece for us that we will be premiering in the autumn! 

Check out the list of brilliant artists that will be making the trek to Avaloch this summer as well!

xoxo,

Maya 

What is something you would like the audience to know about your piece?

Den intimitet som finns i smultron is part of a series of pieces that all somehow have summer as their subjects, at least as far as the titles go (other pieces have names such as Im Sommerluft and I denna ljuva sommartid). "Smultron" in the title is Swedish for Fragaria vesca, which of course is a typical summer seasonal marker. For me, these pieces have a kind of subdued monochrome quality that I associate with summer. 

What was your inspiration/mind set when writing your piece?

I started the piece very influenced by the experiences of working on the piece Ett hav av rör which had just been performed at the time. It introduced me to some new, purely musical concerns that I wanted to continue to think about with Den intimitet som finns i smultron. 

Do you have any non-music related traditions that you do to get your creativity flowing?

Sweden has a strong tradition of "fika" that I appreciate in this regard. I have been described as a "fika-first" composer. 

What is your favorite car/travel snack?

Anything that does not leave any residue or waste (such as plastic wrappers or peels) is good for making me feel free, especially here in Japan where rubbish bins are so notable scarce. A surprising, new, exotic fruit would be ideal, otherwise an apple will do. 

If you had to live the rest of your life without cheese or chocolate which would you choose?

I already lead a happy cheese-free existence, so I don't see why that would be such a conundrum.

///////

Check out more of Kristofer's music on his soundcloud!

Also, read more about the joyous tradition of fika.

What is something you would like the audience to know about your piece?

DOGGED is an attempt to continuously reframe limited musical material, forcing constant reinvention of the same motive. It was written specifically for andPlay, and I am so honoured that they are playing my music!

What was your inspiration/mind set when writing your piece?

I tend to be a bit obsessive about my music. I find that re-listening to a piece of music always brings new epiphanies and a deeper (or just totally different!) understanding of the work. When I find a song or a piece that I like, I listen to it obsessively, chasing these feelings. I wanted to experiment with this idea in the piece for Hannah and Maya.

Do you have any non-music related traditions that you do to get your creativity flowing?

I am so easily distracted that sometimes when I really want to get into it I turn off my phone and my internet. That said, I also like to coast through youtube and wikipedia to find ideas or new tangents when I'm feeling stuck. Oooo and I very occasionally like to do a tarot or rune reading on myself before getting to work, just to get a different context for my ideas, or maybe just to procrastinate.

What is your favorite car/travel snack?

Love a chip! Peanut-butter stuffed pretzels are insane. I am also guiltily into Swedish berries (a Canadian thing?!). They are basically corn starch, sugar, carnauba wax, and food colouring ...

If you had to live the rest of your life without cheese or chocolate which would you choose?

Ohhhhh gawd I dunno if I could choose! I recently discovered these blue-cheese chocolates that sound like they would be disgusting but are actually really good. That's my final answer!

Check out more wonderful things by Fjóla on her website and soundcloud!

We are beyond thrilled to present a new batch of composers to you for our upcoming String Theories concert on March 22nd @ 8 PM at Roulette presented by the String Orchestra of Brooklyn (SOB)! First up is Peter Kramer, an Oberlin grad just like ourselves and a current doctoral candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center. Carrie Frey, violist, friend, and member of Chartreuse introduced us to Peter's piece, Cantus Fractabilis, and we knew that if would be a great piece for this program. We hope to see you at the show so that you can hear this great piece and the amazing scordatura that goes along with it!

What is something you would like the audience to know about your piece?

The piece is partly improvised, inspired by the chaconne and passacaglia forms of the renaissance, the players are tasked to repeat a sequence of chords (a sort of phasing canon) with different techniques and variation at each repetition, an ever-changing scordatura also becomes a feature as the piece progresses, altering the original pitch material. 

What was your inspiration/mind set when writing your piece?

Having studied harpsichord as an undergraduate at Oberlin, I wanted to utilize a sound world and gestural idioms in this piece that reflected the repertoire I was immersed in as a keyboardist.

Do you have any non-music related traditions that you do to get your creativity flowing?

Shower, shave, and a good breakfast!

What is your favorite car/travel snack?

Wasabi almonds!

If you had to live the rest of your life without cheese or chocolate which would you choose?

Cheese and champagne is my #1 favorite food, hotdogs come in second, chocolate is not included on this list... but I eat it with pleasure.

Check out more from Peter at his website and come to the show on Tuesday to hear Cantus Fractabilis!

Tell us a bit about your piece.

I'm interested in ambient mechanical/electrical sound, the way they relate to how we hear harmonic spectra and the sound's relationship to our intuition.

With this piece for andPlay + Martha I'm trying to give organismal properties to these kinds of environmental musics, putting some fur on those mechanical legs.

I am also trying extraordinarily hard to compose something superb.

Did you have any particularly invigorating or difficult times writing your piece for andPlay + Martha?

IT IS ALL JUST SO INVIGORATING. 

Something I've been talking about quite a bit when I discuss this piece is how difficult it is to write music that is very quiet, it took a lot of brain energy and time sitting blowing air through my soprano saxophone to figure out what this music was going to sound like.

What music has most recently inspired you (to dance, sing, be a better person, etc.)?

I can't say I was blown away frequently enough by the records released in 2015, though I did listen to the Kendrick record quite a bit, which is amazing, and the new Threadgill record "In for a Penny, In for a Pound" was great. I also rediscovered recently Julius Hemphill's classic "Reflections".

You are stranded on a desert island. What snack do you bring?

Cashews and I just got a jar of coconut oil...

but if it's a desert island they probably already have these things? maybe? desert island or deserted island?

dessert island? send me to dessert island.

Lastly, do you have a fun fact that you learned recently?

Apparently the Milky Way is full of weird invisible noodles, according to astronomers.

If you need more Jonah head on over to his nifty W E B S I T E!

We would like you to meet our lovely friend and collaborator, Grace Engle. She made the INCREDIBLE poster for our upcoming Notes on Fiction concert at the Center for Fiction (Thursday, Feb. 11th at 7:30). This concert has not only been a great opportunity for us to bring a story and music together, but also to work with an artist on creating a depiction of this magical world that we want to immerse our audience in. Feast you eyes on this and some of the other pieces that Grace is sharing with us!

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you are up to!

First off, thank you so much for not only approaching me for collaboration, but also for these fun questions!

I've been interested in art my whole life but I only got serious about it in the last few years when I went to an artist residency in Missouri. I spent a year there working on technique and learning from fantastic peers. Through the opportunities offered me by my residency, I was able to open up my Etsy store and actually get some income for my weaving and ceramics. 

Now, I'm working as a Wilderness Recovery Guide in Asheville, North Carolina, and experimenting with my art in some exciting new ways! It really fuels my life and brings a level of joy to each day that nothing else ever has.

How does your collaboration with andPlay fit into your body of work/other collabs that you have done?

I was so thrilled when I heard details about the Notes On Fiction performance and immediately had a lot of ideas running through my mind for the poster. I love working on pieces like this because I was given a few parameters about content, and then told to just run with it and let my inspiration take over. It's really great for me as an artist when I feel like I have a lot of flexibility in a commission and that my developing style can come through naturally. 

A lot of my work is figurative but I deeply enjoy drawing flora and fauna, especially when I can get dense with it. I wanted to bring a youthful aspect to the piece and drew inspiration from some of my favorite illustrators, such as Tove Jansson. I'm really excited about the finished piece and I wish I could attend the concert!

What has been inspiring you lately?

Two things leap to mind; Goauche painting and Pat Perry. I've been using watercolors for years but only got into Goauche recently. It's so much fun to play with and it's a really versatile medium.

Pat Perry has been a favorite artist of mine for several years. I look at his art on a daily basis. He's a role model to me in many ways, since he started going to school for art and then decided to quit and just draw on his own. I used to feel like my art could never live up to my own expectations since I didn't attend an art school, but looking at Perry's independently-developed body of work has been a constant relief and inspiration to me. He is truly committed to his craft. 

Favorite 'nobody-is-watching' snack?

Anybody can watch me eat, and that's a fact. I've been eating dried mangoes like it was nobody's business lately. I will also admit that a lot of chocolate goes into my body on a real frequent basis.

What have you andLiked this week? (Anything from a book, movie, tv show, music, podcast, etc.)

I'm living in a Steinbeck world right now! A few months ago, I read The Red Pony which started this domino effect of me only reading Steinbeck novels. I just finished East of Eden and I was incredibly impressed by it! 

Follow Grace on her instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/_phlox_/

and check out her Etsy shop (Maya carries her pencils and pens around in one of these incredible pouches, and cannot stop showing it off!)

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SHOPHLOX?ref=hdr_shop_menu