SEHR FLASH
a collaboration with Hermes Camacho, NANOFiction, and the Cordova Quartet
Generously supported by NewMusicUSA and the Butler School of Music outreach department.
Sehr Flash
(from "sehr Rasch," a German tempo marking for very fast music)
Austin, Texas markets itself as "the live music capitol of the world" and for good reason, but the city is also home to a thriving literature scene that boasts several independent presses, numerous lit magazines, and a smattering of independent book stores. The constituencies both practicing and patronizing the two art forms overlap to be sure, but collaborations rarely reach beyond something like a singer-songwriter accompanying an unrelated poetry reading.
Recently NANO Fiction relocated its base of operations to Austin. Local composer and violist Russell Podgorsek reached out with an invitation to partner in presenting new works (both prose and musical) specifically written for the event. The Cordova Quartet, the University of Texas' graduate string quartet in residence, was recruited to perform the musical works by Podgorsek and fellow composer and Austinite Hermes Camacho inspired by short prose pieces penned by a cast of local writers recruited by NANO Fiction's editors.
The new works, read by the authors, and played by the quartet, are being premiered at a 2015 Texas Book Festival Lit Crawl event and repeated at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas. We have been fortunate to receive support from New Music USA via one of their Project Grants and from the Butler School of Music’s outreach department.
Ultimately, this project provides one of the most healthy means of support for both camps - enlargement and diversification of audiences - while also strengthening each collaborator's connection to his or her own specific artistic community.
Sehr Flash
(from "sehr Rasch," a German tempo marking for very fast music)
Austin, Texas markets itself as "the live music capitol of the world" and for good reason, but the city is also home to a thriving literature scene that boasts several independent presses, numerous lit magazines, and a smattering of independent book stores. The constituencies both practicing and patronizing the two art forms overlap to be sure, but collaborations rarely reach beyond something like a singer-songwriter accompanying an unrelated poetry reading.
Recently NANO Fiction relocated its base of operations to Austin. Local composer and violist Russell Podgorsek reached out with an invitation to partner in presenting new works (both prose and musical) specifically written for the event. The Cordova Quartet, the University of Texas' graduate string quartet in residence, was recruited to perform the musical works by Podgorsek and fellow composer and Austinite Hermes Camacho inspired by short prose pieces penned by a cast of local writers recruited by NANO Fiction's editors.
The new works, read by the authors, and played by the quartet, are being premiered at a 2015 Texas Book Festival Lit Crawl event and repeated at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas. We have been fortunate to receive support from New Music USA via one of their Project Grants and from the Butler School of Music’s outreach department.
Ultimately, this project provides one of the most healthy means of support for both camps - enlargement and diversification of audiences - while also strengthening each collaborator's connection to his or her own specific artistic community.
