SPCO's Liquid Music Series and Walker Art Center to Present 'Spiritual America,' Today

On Wednesday, Oct 14, 2015 at 7:30pm at Aria in Minneapolis, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra's Liquid Music Series in collaboration with the Walker Art Center presents Wye Oak and William Brittelle for the world premiere of Spiritual America, a newly composed set of engaging electro-acoustic art songs exploring secular spirituality in American culture through the personal lens of love, loss, youth and longing. The evening opens with new works by composer/arranger/performer Michi Wiancko specifically composed for the event and also includes new chamber arrangements of songs from Wye Oak's most recent album Shriek, commissioned by the Walker Art Center.

As a composer William Brittelle perpetually defies genre, which is epitomized by the musical aggregate that is Spiritual America. Grounded by the vocal and percussive contributions of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack and the intimacy of their typically duo aesthetic, Brittelle is able to explore a world of sound that eludes categorization while remaining wholly relevant. As the LA Times has noted of Brittelle's work, "You might wonder if Jane's Addiction had discovered the soul of Debussy."

William Brittelle describes Spiritual America as : "In effect, a project that exists entirely in a post-genre world. It includes musicians from all different backgrounds with decidedly different skillsets but with a common set of music values, the same kinds of values that Liquid Music has been so successful in cultivating and supporting. This event is a really unique opportunity to do EXACTLY what I want to do musically, with the exact folks I want to do it with. I feel so fortunate to have connected with Wye Oak for this project, a pair of truly great musicians (and people). For me, Jenn's voice is one of those rare gifts; she's able to communicate such a deep level emotion in a way that seems almost effortless. The music touches on deeply personal topics for me, especially the evening's new commission, a song entitled 'Topaz Were the Waves', and there's already been a tremendous amount of trust engendered among the musicians and the presenter."

Liquid Music Curator Kate Nordstrum looks forward to opening the 2015.16 season with Spiritual America: "The musicians involved in this project are all immensely talented, but more importantly, they prioritize speaking to the heart of listeners. Spiritual America is conceptually very human-beautiful, haunting, sad and seeking-and the musical component moves you to these emotional places. I'm a great admirer of Bill Brittelle and have schemed with him programmatically for many years in his role as co-founder of New Amsterdam Records. It thrills me to work with him on a project that actually features his own music as well as that of SPCO friend Michi Wiancko. Getting Wye Oak and all the fantastic chamber musicians on board is nothing short of exhilarating - it all adds up to a perfect representation of the Liquid Music ethos."

Walker Art Center Senior Curator of Performing Arts Philip Bither added, "The Walker has followed the interesting careers of both Bill Brittelle and the rising indie stars Wye Oak for some years now and is very pleased with this compelling union of ideas and sounds. We're also excited to be presenting work at Aria which seems to be the perfect setting for this ambitiously innovative project. We very much look forward to an evening of new musical landscapes and great artistic partnership."

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