Roulette Presents SPELLBEAMED With Zeena Parkins, 9/10 & 11

On Monday and Tuesday, September 10 and 11, 8pm,, Roulette presents the continuation of Spellbeamed, by composer, multi-instrumentalist and electric harp pioneer Zeena Parkins that premiered at The Kitchen in December, 2011.  Commissioned by composer collective Ne(x)tworks, the piece will also be performed by the group joined by JACK Quartetand will be conducted by TEd Hearn. Percussionist Shayna Dunkelman and the composer will both be joining the ensemble.Spellbeamed… features collaboration from visual artist Cynthia Madansky and electronic whiz kid, Preshish Moments.

For Spellbeamed,Fixexploded, Fixabolished  Zeena Parkins draws inspiration from literary critic and author Walter Benjamin’s writings and Archive. Walter Benjamin’s Archive is a recently published collection of his images, texts and ephemera. Parkins’ piece features quotidian materials collected by each performer from beloved mementos to daily lists on envelopes or note pads; meticulously cataloged, this unlikely treasure serves as a cultural constellation of fragments representing the past, present and possible insight to the future.  These objects and Cynthia’s riffing on Benjamin’s own doodling, scratches and notes, serve as material used in an animated score that works in conjunction with a traditional notated score to guide The Players throughout the piece.  The animated scores which consist of a 16 mm hand drawn film as well as Jitter patches activating the objects, are projected periodically during the performance. The resultant sound, enhanced by live processing patches created by Preshish Moments, creates a network of inter-relationships between improvisers and readers, sound and score, objects and instruments. The object collection is displayed on fake museum-like tables for viewing before and after the show.

There will be a brief Q & A after the performances on both nights.