Byron Au Yong

Music Opens

2019-04-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

Choral Work

Description

Music Opens is a choral work where voices sing fragments of the text: “Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens,” by Maria Augusta von Trapp. Listening to how all the voices come together, music opens.

Details

Duration: variable (circa 3–4 minutes)
Instrumentation: SATB Choir
Premiered by ASUSF Voices on the occasion of their 30th Anniversary, conducted by Rick Roberts, in Presentation Theater at the University of San Francisco, on April 14, 2019

Score

Video

Program Notes

In 1989, Rick Roberts started a choir after a College Players performance at USF. The choir fulfilled a need students had to sing together more often. 30 years later, ASUSF Voices provides multiple choral ensembles for students of all skill levels from any major. Rick’s love of musical theater and choral music comes together in Music Opens, prompted by this quote from Maria Augusta von Trapp: “Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens.” The choir sings fragments of the text. Listening to how all the voices come together, music opens.

Performance Notes

Open Notation (Incantation, Rehearsal B)

Singers vocalize as individuals to create an evocative aural collage
Conductor shapes these sections to last as long as needed
Singers watch Conductor for cue to continue to next section

Western Notation (Rehearsals A, C to H)

Arrow è indicates Open Notation vocalizations continue
Repeat signs are for one repetition
Leaps of a 6th and an octave are based on yodeling
Each portamento vocal slide lasts the entire length of the note

Lyrics

English and IPA are used
IPA sounds are indicated in brackets [ ]
The lyric related to the IPA pronunciation is on the right side of the score
The composite of musical utterances provides the meaning of the quote

The War of the Roses

2018-09-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

Theater Music
for voices, electric guitar

“... adrenaline-pumping music.” ~Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle

Description
Cal Shakes Artistic Director Eric Ting and Dramaturg Philippa Kelly created an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Parts 1-3 & Richard III. Music for the production included the 14-person cast singing, with Josh Pollack on electric guitar with live processing, for the 4-hour production.

“The music for The War of the Roses is grounded in Viking aesthetics. Shakespeare was influenced by Old Norse culture. Check out Amleth, the precursor to Hamlet. Moreover, Queen Margaret’s agency is similar to how Viking women held power, from managing their husbands to fighting in battles.

Two contemporary musicians I adore include Norwegian metal folk composer/musician Einar Selvik and Faroese singer-songwriter Eivør Pálsdóttir. I was also influenced by 13th century French polyphony, known as the Ars Nova, and the neo-folk metal band Heilung from Denmark, Germany, and Norway.

For this production, I got to work with actor/composer/musician Josh Pollack. Josh creates an astounding array of sounds using the electric guitar with effects pedals. These sounds range from low rumbles to whirring orbits to Viking metal riffs.”

from an Interview with Philippa Kelly

Performances
Cal Shakes in Orinda · August/September 2018 (Program)

Creative Team
Eric Ting, director
Nina Ball, scenic designer
Jiyoun Chang, lighting designer
Anna R. Oliver, costume designer
Byron Au Yong, composer and music director
Brendan Aanes, sound and media designer
Erika Chong Shuch, choreographer
Dave Maier, fight director
Jessica Berman, vocal, text, and dialect coach
Philippa Kelly, dramaturg
Charles M. Turner III, stage manager

Cast
Aldo Billingslea
Aysan Celik
Lance Gardner
Abdulrahim Harara
Justin Howard
Catherine Luedtke
Sarita Ocón
Joseph Patrick O’Malley
Joshua Pollack
Stacy Ross
Danny Scheie
Marie Sadd
Iris Stone
Jomar Tagatac

Articles

Wanda Sabir. Cal Shakes’ stunning “War of the Roses.” San Francisco BayView

Lily Janiak. Cal Shakes “The War of the Roses.” San Francisco Chronicle

Philippa Kelly. Down to the Wire: Sunday Stumble-Through. Cal Shakes Blog
Philippa Kelly. An Interview With Composer Byron Au Yong. Cal Shakes Blog

Activist Songbook

2018-03-28T10:22:00.004-07:00

Songs to Counteract Hate
for soloists, groups, rallies, sit-ins, boycotts, marches, and more

In Development
Activist Songbook is a collection of 53 songs and raps to counteract hate. The material is based on interviews of Asian American, immigrant and refugee organizers. The project began in Philadelphia and continues in different cities with interviews, workshops and performances through the next U.S. Presidential Election on November 3, 2020.

October 2019 through June 2020
Activist Songbook Workshops
International Festival of Arts & Ideas · New Haven

November 11, 2018
Music of Asian America Workshop: Activist Songbook
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
Institute of Contemporary Art · Philadelphia

July 20, 2018
We the People · Montalvo Arts Center

May 3-5, 2018
Asian Arts Initiative · Philadelphia

Details
53 Songs and Raps
Duration variable
ActivistSongbook.org

Description
In Activist Songbook, composer Byron Au Yong and lyricist Aaron Jafferis explore how civil rights organizing and music intersect to inspire action and sustain the fight towards equity.

Activist Songbook is a process-oriented work that begins with interviews of community organizers. Working with those interviewed, Au Yong and Jafferis will create material for a Songbook to gather individuals and collectives to energize efforts towards counteracting racism and hate crimes.

Living between oppression and imagination, Activist Songbook calls for justice through live performances, informational scores, and instructional recordings that honor the legacy of Asian American, immigrant and refugee activism as a springboard for future organizing.

The project will result in a collection of 53 songs and raps prompted by the beating and murder of Vincent Chin in 1982, as well as the resulting national organizing towards justice. Activist Songbook launched as part of Asian Arts Initiative's 25th Anniversary in May 2018, with a Know Your Rights rap, four rally songs taught on buses and other material.

For Activist Songbook booking and residency inquiries, contact:

Ronee Penoi, producer

Rob Laqui, associate producer

Octopus Theatricals

info (at) octopustheatricals.com

News

Lucy Gellman. Arts & Ideas Gets An Activist Soundtrack. New Haven Arts, May 2020

Kathy Leonard Czepiel. Melodies and Movements. Daily Nutmeg, December 2019

Peter Crimmins. Asian Arts Initiative celebrates past 25 years. WHYY NewsWorks, May 2018

Dan DeLuca. Asian Arts Initiative's Activist Songbook. The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 2018

Imani Roach. Byron Au Yong and Aaron Jafferis write useful protest music. Artblog, May 2018

Support
Created as part of (ex)CHANGE: History Place Presence, a project of Asian Arts Initiative, www.asianartsinitiative.org. Original support for (ex)CHANGE: History Place Presence was provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia. Montalvo Arts Center 2018. International Festival of Arts & Ideas 2019-2020.

Sample Rally Song (Sheet Music)

Madame Ho at Cameron House

2017-10-24T09:34:00.001-07:00

Madame Ho, by Eugenie Chan
Free Community Performances in Chinatown

Donaldina Cameron House

920 Sacramento Street

San Francisco CA 94108

October 28, 2017, 5pm Sold Out

October 29, 2017, 1pm Sold Out

October 29, 2017, 7pm Sold Out

Cameron House began in 1847 as the Occidental Mission Home for Girls, to help exploited Chinese immigrant women sold into prostitution. In 1942, it was renamed to honor Donaldina Cameron, a young Presbyterian woman who along with founder Margaret Culbertson helped educate and house vulnerable women in the 1890’s. It is likely that playwright Eugenie Chan’s great-grandmother, being a madam, had to confront the zeal of Miss Cameron. History comes full circle with this production of Madame Ho.

Performed by Bonnie Akimoto, Rinabeth Apostol, Lily Tung Crystal, Lisa Hori-Garcia, Christine Jamlig, Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, Mimu Tsujimura, and er-hu musician Alan Yip

Creative Team
Jessica Heidt, director
Byron Au Yong, song composer
Allen Willner, lighting
Randy Wong-Westbrooke, sets
Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, costumes
Hector Zavala, props
Sara Sparks, stage manager
Leanna Keyes, production manager
Lisa Tsubouchi, community outreach

Asian Arts Initiative Residency

2017-10-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

October 14-18, 2017 Residency

Writer Aaron Jafferis and I begin research and interviews for Activist Songbook. Thanks to a commission, introductions and space from Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia, we connect with immigrants, refugees and Asian Americans who fight oppression in multiple ways.

Initial interviews and meetings resonate with truth as we figure out multiple ways to fight oppression through songs, raps, chants, and instructions.

Song Ideas

Song Idea Tree

Madame Ho

2017-10-05T12:13:00.001-07:00

Madame Ho, by Eugenie Chan, tells the story of a formidable Barbary Coast, San Francisco brothel madam, single mother, and Chinese immigrant to America. Experience this talented cast perform this haunting play that includes a Brothel Song, Counting Song, Crocheting Songs, and a Spinning Song performed by the talented cast and er-hu musician Alan Yip.

Bonnie Akimoto, Alan Yip, Byron Au Yong, Christine Jamlig Chang, rehearsal photo by Eugenie Chan

October 5-21, 2017

Madame Ho, by Eugenie Chan

Exit Theater · San Francisco

Jessica Heist, director
Allen Willner, lighting
Randy Wong-Westbrook, sets
Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, costumes
Byron Au Yong, songs

Starring Bonnie Akimoto as Madame Ho, with Rinabeth Apostol, Lily Tung Crystal, Lisa Hori-Garcia, Christine Jamlig, Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, Mimu Tsujimura, and er-hu musician Alan Yip

Free community performances at Donaldina Cameron House in San Francisco's Chinatown, October 28-29, 2017.

The Ones, a.k.a. (Be)longing, a.k.a. Trigger

2017-10-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Hip-Hop Oratorio
music theater forum for local participants (community members, singers, beatboxers)

Description
The Ones—a.k.a Trigger or (Be)longing—is a music theater forum about coming of age in an age of guns. Created by composer Byron Au Yong and writer Aaron Jafferis, the project was prompted by the April 16th Tragedy at Virginia Tech, where a Korean-American student shot 49 people, killing 32, then himself. College students, faculty, staff, and local leaders form the backbone of this performance where mental health, music, neuroscience, sociology, and theatre intersect.

Developmental residencies culminated in performances and events leading up to the 10-year memorial in 2017. The libretto has been revised since the 2017 performances and is available for performances in 2019 and beyond.

November 15-16, 2019

Performance Reading
Lisa Peterson, director
Alex Ratner, music director

New York University

In Spring and Fall 2019, Au Yong and Dr. Erin Grinshteyn co-teach Gun Violence, Music, and Youth in the Honors College at the University of San Francisco.

Radio Interview

Program Notes
School shootings are a challenging subject. Debates ping pong around gun control, the second amendment and civil liberties. The Ones broadens themes surrounding shootings in America by incorporating the perspectives of people who work and study in university settings with a responsive theatrical choral project. Voices both murmur and soar in a project about belonging and isolation. With listening and empathy as core experiences of this musical work, The Ones encourages, rather than silences, numerous voices.

This staged choral work serves as a touchstone for Trigger Community: thematically-related artistic, scholarly, technology, and other resources developed by local groups. Individuals and organizations are invited to think about forgiveness and justice, freedom and safety, as well as other themes related to education, guns, race, and other topics sparked by The Ones. Individuals from campus clubs, civic organizations and audience members converse through the creation of art as strategies to prevent school shootings.

Trigger Community brings audiences, experts and performers together in artistic spaces of imagination and impact as active negotiators in topics that have divided Americans, such as second amendment rights and mental health profiling. Both the core performance of The Ones and related events to broaden and deepen themes to build communities to end violence.

The Ones (titled (Be)longing at Virginia Tech and the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, and Trigger at MDC Live Arts) is the second work in a trilogy of music theatre works about what Americans fear, by composer Byron Au Yong and librettist Aaron Jafferis. The first is Stuck Elevator. The third is Activist Songbook.

Details
The Ones is scored for singers, rappers and beat boxers who play stones. With an auditioned cast chosen from the local community, the creative team guides participating musicians to collaborate on a performance specific to the host venue. Additional instrumentation can be arranged according to the talents of the cast.

Creative Team
Byron Au Yong, composer
Aaron Jafferis, writer

2019 Version in development
Lisa Peterson, director
Alex Ratner, music director

2017 Version
Charlotte Brathwaite, director
Ni'Ja Whitson, choreographer
Ben Zamora, design

Performances
March 2017 Moss Arts Center · Virginia Tech
April 2017 MDC Live Arts · Miami Dade College
June 2017 International Festival of Arts & Ideas · New Haven
April 2018 Deeper Change Forum (excerpts) · Hamden
November 2019 NYU Reading · New York

Contact
Thomas O. Kriegsmann, producer
ArKtype
+1 (917) 386-5468
tommy (at) arktype.org

Arts & Ideas Interview

Trigger Trailer from MDC Live Arts

Virginia Tech Trailer

Press
Susan Bland. Premiere of Choral and Hip-Hop Theatre Forum (Be)longing. Virginia Tech Daily
Robbie Harris. 10 Years After Virginia Tech Shooting. NPR Weekend Edition
Robbie Harris. New Theater Piece Explores Gun Violence. WVTF Public Radio
Kim Hutchinson. Arts Performances Explore Gun Violence. I'm Not Your Boring Newspaper
Connie Ogle. Hip Hop Musical Trigger. Miami Herald
Frank Rizzo. Taking Aim at Violence at International Festival. Zip06
Brian Slattery. Hip Hop Oratorio “(Be)longs” at Long Wharf. New Haven Independent
Montana Telman. Aaron Jafferis on (Be)longing. Arts & Ideas Festival Blog
Phillip Valys. Anti-gun-violence Musical Trigger Comes to Miami. SouthFlorida.com
Amanda Plasencia. March to End Gun Violence at Miami-Dade College. NBC Miami

Learning Guide
Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech

Timeline
2014 Research & Writing Residencies
2015 Community Development Residencies
2016 Production Residencies
2017-present Performances & Touring

Support
2019 New Studio on Broadway and Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU
2017-2018 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Residency
2014-2017 Virginia Tech Center for the Arts Research and Writing Residencies
2014-2017 International Festival of Arts & Ideas Research and Writing residencies
2016-2017 Montalvo Arts Center Lucas Artists Residency
2016 Theatreworks Silicon Valley Writing Retreat
2016 The Flea Theater Workshop
2016 Westminster Choir College Writing and Teaching Residency
2015 Weston Playhouse Writing Retreat
2014 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA Writing Residency

The Ones (a.k.a. (Be)longing or Trigger), is an ArKtype project, commissioned and co-produced by Moss Arts Center, Blacksburg, VA and the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven, CT.

(Be)longing is a commission of the Moss Arts Center and developed in partnership with International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Residency development provided by The Flea Theater, Millay Artist Colony, Montalvo Arts Center, Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, Theatreworks Silicon Valley, Westminster Choir College, and Weston Playhouse.

The Ones was developed as part of a workshop with New Studio on Broadway and Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU.
Trigger was developed, in part, at the 2014 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA.

Special thanks to all the community members, performers, presenters, and supporters from developmental workshop residencies and performances including but not limited to Liz Fisher, Chad Herzog, Missy Huber, Doug Harry and the amazing staff of Arts & Ideas, Kathryn Garcia, Jennifer Person, Eddy Davis and the MDC Live Arts team, Ruth Waalkes, Jon Catherwood-Ginn, Sara Bailey and the Moss Arts Center Team, Stephanie Bleyer, Laura Chen-Schultz, Ed Iskandar, Robbie Harris, Eric Hung, Will MacAdams, Erika Meitner, Ali Neff, Janice Paran, Karen Shimakawa, Jack Tchen, Eric Ting, Niegel Smith, Mary Lou Aleskie, Shanta Thake, David Dower, Emily Theys, Sara Juli and Surala Consulting, Holly and John Lesko, Naphtali Fields, Scott Bailey, Bob Leonard, Jim Hawdon, Andy Morikawa, Tricia Smith, Debbie Day, Ellie Sturgis, Chris Flynn, Miles Le, Alan Davis; Joe, Mona, and Randa Samaha; Tom Brown, Nikki Giovanni, Jake Grohs, Conversation NRV, Community Voices, Maj. Gene Deisinger, Leighton Vila, Expressions, Students for Non-Violence, Erika Meitner, Ali Neff, Shannon M. Turner, Patty Raun, Chief Anthony Wilson, Melissa Ripepi, Francine Dulong, Tracy Vosburgh, Susanna Rinehart, Larry Hincker, Kwame Harrison, Jenie Nguyen, Craig Arthur, Caroline Davis, David Salmo, Nancy Alexander, Jason Hiruo, Liz Hammond, Rafael Ramos, Kristin Kelly, Thomas Murray, Cathy Edwards, Quita Sullivan, Craig Peterson, Baba Israel, and David Kim

Follow activity at future sites across the United States, learn about local and national initiatives, action steps, and more at triggerbelonging.org

Contact
Thomas O. Kriegsmann, producer
ArKtype
+1 (917) 386-5468
tommy (at) arktype.org

(ex)CHANGE: History Place Presence

2017-10-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

(ex)CHANGE: History Place Presence launches at Asian Arts Initiative, supported by The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.

Prompted by racially motivated hate crimes, such as the beating and murder of Vincent Chin, composer Byron Au Yong and lyricist Aaron Jafferis meet with Asian American activists in Philadelphia and other cities throughout the United States.

Through community research, interviews, writing, and workshops, they will create songs for organizing events to build solidarity and energize people to continue fighting oppression.The project has the working title Activist Songbook.

Research begins in October 2017 with initial performances rolling out as part of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center National Convening and Asian Arts Initiative's 25th Anniversary from May 3-6, 2018.

Ricketts-Inspired Bay Cabaret

2017-09-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ed Ricketts was a marine biologist and philosopher who worked primarily in Monterey Bay. Author John Steinbeck was his close friend. The character "Doc" in Cannery Row was partly based on Ricketts.

After spending a day with Exploratorium staff, Urban Fellows, and other invited guests on a sailboat around the San Francisco Bay, I participate in a Ricketts-Inspired show at Doc's Lab. Come hang out with scientists, scholars, artists, and writers at this free event.

Ricketts-Inspired Bay Cabaret

Saturday, September 23, 2017, 7PM

Doc’s Lab · San Francisco

Mathew Booker

Shawn Lani

Jane Wolff

Byron Au Yong

Rick and Megan Prelinger

Malcolm Margolin and Rene Yung

Jason Groves and Pireeni Sundaralingam

Sara Dean

Tina Gerhardt

Mary Ellen Hannibal

+ a film curated by Liz Keim

Part of the Exploratorium’s Fisher Bay Observatory’s Urban Fellow Program supported by the Seed Fund

"Why Citizenship?" Transform Labs

2017-09-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

A singing discussion about coming of age in an age of guns at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. This event is free and open to the public.

September 21, 2017, 6:30PM

Why Citizenship? Transform Labs

YBCA Grand Lobby · San Francisco

photos by Keith Winemiller

APAP Webinar

2017-07-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

(Be)longing: Classical Music Leading the Way to the Heart of the Community webinar as part of Classical Connections and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP).

"In this webinar we examine an innovative model for using music to develop community dialogue around challenging issues by highlighting the recently debuted (Be)longing, a choral/hip-hop oratorio focused on coming of age in an era of gun violence."

Guest Speakers

Byron Au Yong, Composer, (Be)longing
Anne Rhodes, Performer, (Be)longing
Ruth Waalkes, Executive Director, Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech

Facilitators

Mary Lou Aleskie, Executive Director, International Festival of Arts & Ideas
Barrie Steinberg, Executive Director, International Arts Foundation, Inc.

Berkeley Rep Workshop

2017-07-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

(Bonnie Akimoto, Taylor Steinbeck, Eugenie, Lisa Hori-Garcia, Byron Au Yong, Wes Aaskawa, Pauli Amornkul, Dustin Chinn, Steven Ko, Lily Tung Crystal, Marcelo Pereira, Benjamin Pither, Monica Ho)

July 4-16, 2017, I collaborate with playwright Eugenie Chan on The Chan Family Picnic, a nouvelle vaudeville prompted by her grandfather Gumdock Chan's medical school letters and other documents from the 1920's.

I started the residency by playing through racist popular songs from the era. Eugenie overhauled the existing script to become more vaudeville and clarified certain characters I was curious about such as Thomas. We were also inspired by the other Ground Floor projects chosen by Berkeley Rep.

Eight or so new song later, we rehearsed with a wonderfully skilled and playful group of performers who sang, danced, did magic tricks, and more. Thanks Berkeley Rep for this amazing summer residency lab to develop new theater.

Video
Meet the Artists Panel at The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Summer Residency Lab

Anti-gun-violence musical 'Trigger' comes to Miami

2017-04-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks Phillip Valys for the preview and video of Trigger, a project of (Be)longing, at MCD Live Arts. It was great to have you experience rehearsal and interview the creative team, local performers and MDC Live Arts executive director Kathryn Garcia.

Read the article and see the video at SouthFlorida.com

Miami Herald Preview

2017-04-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Connie Ogle’s insightful interview of Trigger, a project of (Be)longing, at MDC Live Arts:

“Can a hip hop musical stop gun violence? Maybe not. But Trigger is going to try to help us understand it. The evolving hip hop oratorio—as the show is called by its creators—arrives Friday at... (more in the Miami Herald)

'(Be)longing' Explores Gun Violence, 10 Years After Virginia Tech Shooting

2017-04-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

Detailed radio interview of (Be)longing, by Robbie Harris. The audio and transcript, which aired on NPR’s Weekend Edition, includes interviews of individuals from Virginia Tech and Blacksburg, quotes from the creative team and audio snippets from rehearsals of this hip-hop oratorio. The work premieres at the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech.

More at Weekend Edition on NPR

Arts Performances Explore Gun Violence

2017-04-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Here's Kim Hutchinson's interview/preview of Trigger, a project of (Be)longing, at MDC Live Arts in Miami.

More at INYBN.

March to End Gun Violence at Miami-Dade College

2017-04-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

NBC 6 News coverage of events to end gun violence include Trigger, a project of (Be)longing, at MDC Live Arts.

Full video at NBC 6 News Miami

(Be)longing at Arts & Ideas

2016-07-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

“A powerfully moving, beautifully sung oratorio.”

~Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant

Prompted by judgments around the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook tragedies, (Be)longing reflects on the impact of violence and considers deeper ways to connect and build communities of safety and support with locally cast singers, beatboxers, hip-hop artists, and audiences.

Long Wharf Theatre
June 17 & 18, 2017, 2PM

Byron Au Yong, composer
Aaron Jafferis, librettist
Charlotte Brathwaite, director
Stephanie Tubiolo, music director
Ni’Ja Whitson, choreographer/associate director
Ben Zamora, designer
Justin Partier, tech director
Joanne Pan, stage manager
ArKtype/Thomas O. Kriegsmann, producer

Performers
Aaron “Coach Hawk” Hawkins, Aldebaran Ryan, Amelia Sherwood, Anne Rhodes, Anton Kot, Arianna Rivera, Brianna Alexis Chance, Brittany Palmer, Clifford Schloss, Connor Lloyd, Dwannah McKnight-Alegria, Hanifa Washington, Jaezmyne J. Pheanious-Browne, Jalah Woods, Katie Jones, Keelin Mathews, Kejuan Simmons, Keona-Marie Gomes, Malcolm Welfare, Michael Bethune Jr., Muza Gornostaeva, Nijuan Simmons, Paul Davies, Salwa Abdussabur, Sara Culver, Chaz “Sunny Chi” Carmon, Tahjee Galberth, Vera Blaas, Wali Muhammad

Behind-the-Scenes

Activate (Be)longing New Haven connects individuals and organizations who share a passion for keeping young people alive with artistic and participatory events:

June 8 Survival of the Fittest: Youth, Guns, and the Culture of Violence
June 14 Explore the Song in You
June 22 Life After Death: Healing from Grief and Loss

More at Activate (Be)longing New Haven...

Interview with Valerie Richardson on Radio Something

Question (Be)longing
“Why do young people in this country shoot each other, or get shot?
And how do I recover from losing young people I knew, or not?
And how can I and the people I love get these shootings to stop?”

Westminster Choir College Residency

2016-03-30T06:45:00.003-07:00

March 22 to April 14, 2016

Description
Composer Byron Au Yong and librettist Aaron Jafferis are on a four-week residency at Westminster Choir College to workshop Trigger.

Trigger Workshop Presentation

Guest Teaching
Au Yong and Jafferis lead eight classes as part of Dr. Eric Hung’s “Music and Trauma” course. They and the students present material from Trigger at the end of the workshop. In addition, Au Yong and Jafferis discuss teaching difficult histories with over 100 students in the Music Education Lab. For composition students, Au Yong gives a Composer Lecture and the following week leads a Composer Masterclass.

Au Yong and students gather around the piano to learn a song from Trigger

Free Public Events at Westminster Choir College
March 24 · Composer Lecture · Talbott Library
April 9 · Locations and Dislocations Keynote by Au Yong · Bristol Chapel
April 9 · Locations and Dislocations Conference Concert · Bristol Chapel
April 12 · Trigger Workshop Public Presentation · Hamilton House

Au Yong’s residency workspace

Special Thanks
Elaine Caron, Dr. Eric Hung, Dr. Sharon Mirchandani, Dr. Sharon Morrow, Associate Dean Marshall Onofrio, Dr. Joel Phillips, Anne Sears, Dean Matthew Shaftel, and Westminster Choir College students

Water Partitas

2016-02-18T14:30:00.001-08:00

Solos
for violin, viola, cello, and/or bass

“Au Yong’s music was entirely new to me and I loved it immediately.”

~Rebecca Fischer, violinist

In Development
Water Partitas cycle through various states. String players start anywhere, go anywhere and repeat freely. Each page is part of this water cycle.

The score can be arranged throughout a venue on any size paper. Amplification and looping pedals can be used to enhance the sound. Performing without electronics inside an empty cistern, cathedral or other cavernous space also works.

Water Partitas 1-9 are complete and ready to perform. Contact to commission all or part of Water Partitas 10-18. Someday all the parts will sound together as string players from many backgrounds find common ground.

Performances
2017–2018 The Afield Residency at Aster Montessori School · Cambridge MA

January 2017 The Afield at National Sawdust · Brooklyn NY

August 2016 Time Pieces at Bay Chamber Concerts · Union Hall, Rockport ME

August 2016 Tari Nelson-Zagar, John Teske, Alina To at INCA Institute ·Seattle WA

July–August 2016 Matthew Offenbacher Exhibition at INCA Institute · Seattle WA

Description
Anthony Hawley prompted Water Partitas by commissioning a solo for his wife, violinist Rebecca Fischer, to play. We talked about travel, devotion and water. I sketched quiet sounds.

Information scientist and violinist Tari Nelson-Zagar also prompted these partitas. She spoke about playing Bach Partitas on the streets of downtown Seattle. She wanted a contemporary pairing and commissioned a solo.

While composing the two requests in tandem, musical ideas flowed together. Thinking of water in three basic states: liquid, solid and vapor, I found 54 ways water appears and disappears. These form musical gestures which inform each page/part.

Details
Duration: variable

Water Partitas contain parts to be played in any order. Three are dedicated for Becca at 40 from Anthony. Another three are dedicated to Tari. Three are dedicated to Alina To, John Teske and Matthew Offenbacher on the occasion of his exhibition at the Institute for New Connotative Action.

Contact to commission all or part of Water Partitas 10-18.

2015-08-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

Dartmouth Department of Theater, Hopkins Center for the Arts and NYTW present...

STUCK ELEVATOR

Workshop Presentation

August 22, 2015, 8pm

Bentley Theater, Dartmouth College

Creative Team

Byron Au Yong, composer
Aaron Jafferis, librettist
Ed Iskandar, director
Jody Schum, music director
David Sawicki, co-music director
Jeremy S. Bloom, sound/foley designer
Lindsey Turteltaub, stage manager

Cast
Julius Ahn · Kim Blanck · Philippe Bowgen · Ryan-James Hatanaka · James Seol

Musicians
Shenghua Hu, violin · Sha Wu, cello · Lee Caron, percussion

“This year’s selections include two musicals in development, American Pop, composed and written by Obie winner Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and The Fortress of Solitude) and Stuck Elevator by composer Byron Au Yong and librettist Aaron Jafferis, a hip hop poet and playwright.” —New York Theatre Workshop

Turbine

2015-04-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Choral Work
for moving voices along the water

“... it’s hard to imagine that anyone walked away from TURBINE unchanged.”

~David Patrick Stearns, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Leah Stein Dance Company and
Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia
at the Fairmount Water Works

June 27 & 28, 2015 · Sold Out

Description
In TURBINE, the audience is immersed with music and movement in an outdoor performance along the water. The project was created for the 200th Anniversary of the Fairmount Water Works—an urban environmental center on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. This site-responsive choral work is available to be performed in other waterways.

Creative Team
Byron Au Yong, composer
Leah Stein, artistic director/choreographer
Alan Harler, conductor/music director

Performed by Leah Stein Dance Company and Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia
with assistant conductors Ryan Tibbetts, Austen Wilson
and soloists Jennifer Beattie, Shahara M. Benson, Jean Bernard Cerin, Josh Hartman, Bob Rodgers, Alice McKillip Thornburgh, Rebecca Thornburgh, Ryan Tibbetts, Austen Wilson

Details
Duration: variable (circa one hour)
Commissioned and performed by Leah Stein Dance Company and Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia
More about the lyrics compiled and edited by Byron Au Yong

Audio Interviews
“One of a kind performance at the Waterworks” WHYY NewsWorks

“How many arms does it take to conduct the Mendelssohn Club Choir?”
WRTI Radio

"Soyoung Shin interviews Byron Au Yong"
KCHUNG her variety

Program Note Excerpt
Alan Harler and Leah Stein brought me to the Fairmount Water Works in October 2013. The park and historic plaza were alive with people enjoying the autumn day next to the glistening waterway. Appropriately translated as “hidden river,” the Schuylkill turned from peaceful to terrifying when the following spring, the water crested at nearly 14 feet. The May 2014 flood brought a deluge to the Water Works. A place that was historically the source of clean water became filled with debris.

TURBINE draws upon accounts from the heyday of the Fairmount Water Works in the early 19th century. Visitors marveled at human ingenuity building “miraculous mechanical… cylinders and pistons” that worked with nature to provide “clear and bright as crystal, a cup for the thirsty.” This text is filtered through a 21st century reality to produce lyric fragments.

Migration as well as water molecules influence the music. Voices seep in and out of the sounds along the river. These include the noise of traffic and trains. Musical motifs connect and disconnect in a free molecular flow.

According to the World Health Organization, a child dies from a water-related disease every minute. More than twice the population of the United States lives without access to safe water. How can we turn despair and rage into wisdom?

Singing and listening to a river in the middle of a city is a step towards “justice journeying to harbor.” A turbine takes turbulence and transforms it into potential energy. Together we can find ways to ensure that the 750 million people around the world who lack access to safe water are given a chance to survive.

Byron Au Yong
February 2015

Program Notes

Score

Byron Au Yong Interview

Alan Harler Conductor Interview

Leah Stein Choreographer Interview

Deenah Loeb History Interview

Preview Quote
“... an experience with performers and audience moving throughout the entire site at the Fairmount Water Works.”

~Merilyn Jackson, The Philadelphia Inquirer

More Press
Peter Crimmins. One of a kind performance at the Waterworks. WHYY NewsWorks
Kelsey Menehan. Commissioning Journeys: When the Place Shapes the Music. Chorus America
Miriam Seidel. Leah Stein, Dance Alchemist. Miriam Seidel Blog
David Patrick Stearns. Getting Creative Down by the Riverside. The Philadelphia Inquirer
David Patrick Stearns. How many arms does it take to conduct the Mendelssohn Club Choir? WRTI
Lewis Whittington. Stein’s water-dances fuel Turbine. The Dance Journal

Resources

Special Thanks
Lora Allen, Sonja Bontrager, Alan Harler, Hermitage Artist Retreat, Michelle Hollander, Adam Levine (Philadelphia Water Department), Deenah Loeb (City Parks Association), Janelle McCoy, Edward McNally, Leah Stein, Leah Stein Dance Company, Library Company of Philadelphia, Carolyn Linarello, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Michael Moore, New Music USA, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Gabrielle Revlock, Saechew/Tolsma Household, Amanda Schkeeper, Skip Stotesbury, Thornburgh Family, Ryan Tibbetts, Rich Tolsma Productions, Sharon Torello, Schuylkill Banks, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Richard Tolsma, William Penn Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, Karen Young (Fairmount Water Works)

Major support for TURBINE was provided by William Penn Foundation. In addition, TURBINE was supported by New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Helen F. Whitaker Fund, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts.

Turbine Lyrics

2015-04-26T10:11:00.001-07:00

About the Lyrics

18th and 19th century text compiled by Byron Au Yong (bibliography below)

I PRELUDE

1A By the Trees

soft
whispering
the stream there
trembling
round your steps

1B In the Gazebo

clear
whispering air
timid call
swell
melting

1C Near the River

bitter
light
strength
beneath the sky
serene

1D Around the Plaza

balmy zephyr
frozen
come
rest
with slow steps
II GRAND PLAZA

2.1 Gilman

through dark
channels
feel the cool

wheels rolled
iron arms
feel the cool

breaking out
roar

2.1A Dickens

and

jerked about
turned on
poured off

2.1B Twain

wheels

first bridge
fine dam
pump-house

2.1C Power

welling through the pipes deluging thirsty streets

cleanliness
neatness
comfort
pure

2.1D Finch

intersect

right lines
right angles
squares
trees
space

2.1E Murray

power

steam
gracefully
peaceful city

2.2 Quadrille Chorus

Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, and Pine

2.2 Quadrille Caller

right & left four
balance & turn
ladies chain
half promenade
forward & back
cross over
chassez de chassez
back again
all round
back to back
read to the right
chassez out
form the ring
all forward
back turn partners
two give right
cross over two
six hands round
turn partners
III GEARS

in a simple handsome building
a wall of solid rock
two points give passage to a stream
clear and bright as crystal
in a stone basin: a cup for the thirsty traveller

inexhaustible supply
from this reservoir

cylinders and pistons
miraculous mechanical

34 Pumps
Check Valve Seat
Seat Ring Sewer Valve
Ring for Compressor
Eddy
3-25 Piston Ring
Buck-eye Engine
8 Filling Flange
Rachet on Shop Crane
6 Joint Bureau
M.G.D. Motor
IV PAVILLION

4.1-4.2 A Drop (Story Telling)

gentle friend
a hidden stream
goes playfully

yesterday
haunting thoughts
beneath the glowing sun

a drop pulses
then another and darker
torn one by one and sold

calling
twilight
parting

4.3 The Guilty (Sadness)

if the clouds
shadow
the guilty

how then
the fluttering wings
the voice of grief

lost ones
beseeching breath
poured out

4.4 Moon (Moonlight)

moon
heaven
faintly glimmering

how soft the beam
the gloom of night

star spangled glory
whisper to me
tell what awaits

4.5 Flood (Schuylkill)

leaping
deep and shaded pool
dimpled

old trees lift their tall heads against the sky

mournful echo
when the hush
steals the calm

oh how one charmed word will start a thousand breathing memories

flood

4.6 Transition (ASTRÆA)

loved by stars
a granite ledge
to gaze from the sea’s edge

there for purging light
there for purifying storms
its depths reflect all forms

justice journeying to harbor
V RIVER

afloat fair city
through the gathering like a strong giant that has just received the breath of life
I shall never forget

ding ding ding
what have we here?
a ruddy face with a clear honest eye
and the noble ship breaks proudly through the water…

Bibliography

I PRELUDE
· Critical and Poetical Works, John Penn (1797)

II GRAND PLAZA
· The Poetry of Traveling in the United States, Caroline Howard Gilman (1838)
· American Notes for General Circulation, Charles Dickens (1913)
· Mark Twain’s Letters, Mark Twain (1853-1866)
· Impressions of America, Tyrone Power (1836)
· Travels in the United States of America and Canada, John Finch (1833)
· Travels in North America, Charles Augustus Murray (1834-1836)
· The Fairmount Quadrilles, John Hewitt (1836)
· Gazetteer of the United States of America, John Hayward (1854)

III GEARS
· Travels in the United States, Alexander Mackay (1846-1847)
· Domestic Manners of Americans, Francis Trollope (1832)
· Transatlantic Sketches, Captain J.E. Alexander (1833)
· Inscriptions on Templates for Turbine Parts, Philadelphia Water Department (1920s)

IV PAVILLION
· Essays, Philanthropic and Moral, Elizabeth Margaret Chandler (1836)
· Early Poems, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

V RIVER
· American Notes for General Circulation, Charles Dickens (1913)

Video: History of the Fairmount Water Works with Adam Levine

Special Thanks
Adam Levine (Philadelphia Water Department), Karen Young (Fairmount Water Works), Leah Stein, Library Company of Philadelphia

(Be)longing Third Residency

2015-04-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech
April 11-19, 2015

Interviews & Meetings

Center for the Arts + ICAT (Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology) Staff
Director of Alumni Relations, Office of Recovery and Support
Thomas E. Cook Counseling Center
Gun Dialogue Planning Team
VTV Family Foundation

Events

3.2 Mile Run in Remembrance (Aaron participates)
April 16th Memorial Lighting of Ceremonial Candle (midnight)
April 16th Moment of Silence (9:43am & 11:27pm)
April 16th Community Picnic
April 16th Memorial Extinguishing of Ceremonial Candle (11:59pm)
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Creating to Heal: an exhibition of quilts and recordings from the April 16th condolence archive
Islamic Worlds Festival
Itraab Ensemble
Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider
VT Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Pageant

Thanks to the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech for a third residency full of meetings and learning. Aaron and Byron met with members of Conversation NRV, as well as faculty, staff and students from Virginia Tech who are in Alumni Relations, Asian American Student Union, the Cook Counseling Center, Sociology, the VTV Family Foundation, and more. It was an opportunity to attend events related to the April 16th Memorial and Islamic Worlds Festival.

Additional Thanks
Scott Bailey, Alan Davis, Debbie Day, Naphtali Fields, Christopher Flynn, Jim Hawdon, Miles Le, Holly Lesko, Andy Morikawa, Samaha Family, Ellie Sturgis, Leighton Vila

Collaboration Interview

2015-01-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

American Conservatory Theatre · Photo Credit: Julius Ahn

Nathan Christensen conducted a nice interview of New Haven-based writer Aaron Jafferis and me in an article called Beyond Broadway: Long Distance Relationships. Here’s an excerpt:

What happens if you find a great collaborator—someone who shares your vision, where the creative chemistry starts to spark—and it turns out that you don’t live anywhere close to each other?

“Byron lives in Seattle and I live in New Haven.”

“Jafferis and I were both raised as only children, so we treasure being away from each other.”

That’s writer Aaron Jafferis and composer Byron Au Yong. And at first glance, you might expect it’s more than just geography that keeps them apart.

As a composer, Byron is inspired by the juxtaposition of nature, ancient ritual and cutting-edge technology that he finds in his Pacific Northwest home. His work draws on folk and classical elements in ways that feel surprising and avant-garde. One of his current projects is TURBINE, a composition for moving voices, commissioned by Leah Stein Dance Company and the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, to premiere as part of the 200th Anniversary of the Fairmount Water Works in June 2015.

On the other hand (and the other coast), Aaron describes himself as a hip-hop poet and playwright. He draws upon the urban rhythms of his hometown in Connecticut. As an undergraduate, he majored in Arts and Social Change, and much of his work has taken the form of outreach, education and collaboration with schools, hospitals, detention centers and community organizations. Of course, that hasn’t stopped his work from being praised and performed across the country and internationally.

How did creators from such different worlds come together?

Read the complete interview in New Musical Theatre