MATA & TILT Brass present SWELTER at Central Park Lake

On June 21st, MATA presents TILT Brass performing SWELTER, a large-scale musical event in Central Park as part of Make Music New York. The performance brings together 50+ brass players positioned around Central Park Lake to play a new ambient music-scape by three Australian sound artists Julian Day, Luke Jaaniste and Janet McKay which the audience will experience from row boats on the water.

SWELTER is part of Day, Jaaniste & McKay's ongoing project Super Critical Mass (supercriticalmass.com) which has appeared in various spaces since 2008. In each event they bring together large numbers of the same kind of instrument (eg 30 clarinets, 80 flutes) and use simple instructions to create complex and beautiful site-specific works. The instructions respond to different skill levels so that a wide range of players can participate, from young performers through to world-class professionals.
 

TILT Brass is a Brooklyn-based experimental music organization dedicated to expanding the world of contemporary brass performance by producing innovative concert programs and recording projects, and by commissioning new works for its two ensembles, TILT Creative Brass Band (CBB) and TILT SIXtet. Since forming in 2003, TILT Brass has presented the work of over 50 composers, including group members and local colleagues, as well as established masters. TILT’s repertoire engages its audience with musical experiences ranging from sonorous soundscapes to the raucous strains of a street band, from freely improvised explorations to the precision and clarity of fully notated chamber music (often combining the latter two within a single work).

SUPER CRITICAL MASS (SCM) is a large-scale performance/installation project that explores spatialised masses of musicians playing identical instruments within public places. There is no conductor, scores or music stands -- instead performers execute simple ‘algorithms’ for sounds and often movement that build up complex, evolving textures. The simplicity of means allows for performers of various backgrounds and ages to participate whilst creating complex interactions. The results are immersive and often meditative performance-installations, articulating both instrument and architecture, within which audiences freely move about or simply sit back and take it in. SCM is thus a unique take on the traditional orchestra, community arts, sound installation and public arts projects.

MATA (matafestival.org) is a non-profit organization that has, for the past fourteen years, been dedicated to commissioning and presenting works by young composers from around the world. MATA’s directors are motivated by a desire to create community among young musicians, especially those whose work defies definition and doesn’t fit into existing institutions. By providing young composers with a professional performance of their work, access to first-rate performers and valuable connections to colleagues, MATA nurtures their entry into American musical life.