From @katiejanetaft : "This work is part of the Chemonaut series that I’ve been working on since 2008. That year brought all of the existential questions to the forefront of my life. It was a year in and out of hospital beds, giving me plenty of time to question the nature of existence and what might lay beyond. These characters that I call chemonauts embody my struggles, first in surviving cancer, and now in the everyday and the extraordinary events life throws at me.
The chemonauts have been singing for many years and now in this collaboration with the Playground Ensemble they have their opportunity to be on stage. Steve Gordon and I explored the world of experimental music together, and his battle with cancer became a part of my story as well. Participating in this exhibition, exhibiting with Steve posthumously feels like an opportunity to release, through the invisible art of music, things that I have been holding inside me for many years."
Get tickets to Sculpting Sound at the link in our bio!
Dave Britton is a Denver based multimedia artist and musician. Soundscapes he creates often draw from field recordings, repurposed electro-acoustic devices, and the rewired circuitry of small electronics, resulting in a rich tapestry of unheard sounds. He is a long-time member of several local musical acts including ANIMAL/object, itchy-O, and Pythian Whispers.
Sculptures featured: Ballerina Box (wooden box, music box, heatsink, velcro, piezo), Merkabox (cigar box, kalimba, springs, repurposed electronics), Saga Genesynth (dual oscillator analog synthesizer, housed in a faux painted Sega Genesis shell)
Get tickets to Sculpting Sound at the link in our bio!
The next Sculpting Sound artist we are featuring is @seilerdave , who obtained his BFA with an emphasis in sculpture and ceramics from MSU Denver in 1995. Much of Seiler’s work contains an interactive component, an influence that was inspired, in part, from his employment in museums, specifically as a security guard whose job was to prevent viewers from touching the art. Using a combination of salvaged and manufactured elements, gears, levers, springs, keys and cranks, the viewer’s touch becomes necessary to complete the aesthetic experience, often being rewarded for disobeying gallery rules with sounds and movements.
The Bell Gurdy is adapted from the medieval stringed instrument, the Hurdy-Gurdy, also known as the wheel fiddle, but with a much larger sound box and fewer keys. His version uses cast ceramic horns as a delivery system for sound rather than sound holes cut into the body of the instrument.
Get tickets to Sculpting Sound at the link in our bio!
Keep an eye out on social media as we highlight each of our Sculpting Sound artists leading up to our shows on May 30-31!
First up, Alex Branch @alekscadabra is an interdisciplinary artist whose work often requires or implies the involvement of a human body to activate and realize the piece. The objects and installations she makes can be architectural, acoustic, kinetic. A person can be housed inside them, traverse the water in them. They can be worn or flipped through. They can be played or simply looked at but even in the looking, the body is imagined. She is currently an Artist in Residence at Redline Contemporary Art Center in Denver, CO.
Sculptures featured: Music Box Bandolier, Cello Piano, Tempo Piano, Oar Cello, Segas Musicales (3)
Get tickets to Sculpting Sound at the link in our bio!
I get to do a lot of cool things with @playgroundensemble .
This time we had artists build instruments and we are composing for them. The show is on display thru May with concerts on 5/30 and 5/31 @ifoundleon
Join us at @ifoundleon for the opening reception for our Sculpting Sound exhibition this Saturday from 6:00-9:00 PM! Our artists' sculptures as well as the composers' scores will be on display through June 6th, open to the public to interact and play with.
Inspired by Playground's 2022 collaboration with BRDG Project and sound sculptor and interdisciplinary artist Alex Branch, Sculpting Sound will feature multiple new sonic artworks by local visual and installation artists. These sonic artworks will then become an ‘orchestra’ for a series of new musical commissions to be performed by the musicians in The Playground Ensemble.
The show culminates with two concerts premiering the commissioned music on May 30, and a third improvised music concert on May 31. Learn more at the link in our bio!
New exhibit alert! Join us for the opening reception of Sculpting Sound on Saturday, April 25th.
Sculpting Sound features new sonic artworks by local visual and installation artists. The best part? You're invited to interact and experiment with the pieces yourself. These works will then transform into a living 'orchestra' for a series of newly commissioned pieces performed by The Playground Ensemble.
The exhibition runs through June 6th, culminating in two concerts premiering the commissioned music on May 30th, followed by an improvised music concert on May 31st.
As we wrap up MARATHON and look forward to our next show, Sculpting Sound, we wanted to take a moment to thank all of our venue partners: @mca_denver at the Holiday Theater, @glob____ , @stanleymarketplace , and @msudenvermusic . It is thanks to their generosity and partnership that we were able to bring MARATHON to life in four different venues across the city, making it a true representation of the breadth of Playground's programming and the different communities we represent.
We are still riding the high (and recovering) from MARATHON and wanted to thank everyone who came out to celebrate with us! A special shoutout to our community partners and funders, without whom MARATHON would not have been possible: @neaarts , @denverarts , @fcmdenver , and @artsongcolorado . Thank you for your continued support for new music and the arts!
Our string quartet is hard (?) at work preparing for their concert for MARATHON tomorrow! You can find them for their featured set at 2:30 PM at the Stanley Marketplace, or premiering a new work with bass flute as part of our 8:00 PM centerpiece concert at the MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater.
More details at the link in our bio!
Join us in supporting @playgroundensemble
For their 20-hour MARATHON to celebrate our 20th season.
March 21. 4 venues across Denver.
Main concert 8pm at the Holiday Theater.
Celebrate their amazing art and performers we hope to see you at something.
MARATHON is happening this Saturday! We're less than 48 hours out from the start of MARATHON, and we can't wait to celebrate The Playground Ensemble with all of you. Make sure you check out our full schedule of events and get your evening block tickets at the link in our bio if you haven't yet!
