The Blackbird project premiered in March 8, 2016 as a part of the 10th-year anniversary for ArtSounds. The collaboration included film by Caitlin Horsmon, choreography by Gary Abbott and original music inspired by Wallace Steven’s “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” Themes are derived from ordinary and raw materials. The 13 dancers and 4 musicians (comprised of a string quartet) will be activated by the film which will be projected from behind. Like Steven’s piece, Blackbird is constructed like a Haiku with lightening flashes of imagery and color. The full duration of the performance event was 45-minutes.
I dedicated uninterrupted time to compose the bulk of this project summer 2015 while in residency at the Virginia Center for the Arts. The Cascade Quartet of the Great Falls Symphony gave the musical premiere on January 31, 2016 in Montana. Blackbird will be featured on my 2nd CD through PARMA.
Duration: 15:27 minutes (in two parts: Observation and Embodiment)