A home for new and unusual music from all corners of the classical genre, brought to you by the power of public media. Second Inversion is a service of Classical KING FM 98.1.
Bobby Collins is interested in discovering new sounds, new voices, and new ways of creating community through music. As the conductor (and one of the founders) of the Seattle-based new music collective the Sound Ensemble, he works to amplify the voices of local composers and underrepresented artists.
The Sound Ensemble’s upcoming concert embodies both of those objectives. On Saturday, Jan. 19, he leads the ensemble in Local Wonders, an evening of music by women composers living in the Pacific Northwest. The wide-ranging program showcases the unique creative output of our own community, featuring works by Kaley Lane Eaton, Sarah Bassingthwaighte, Angelique Poteat, and Carly Ann Worden.
Learn more about the concert, the conductor, and the Sound Ensemble on this week’s episode of Classical KING FM’s Musical Chairs, where Collins will share some of his favorite recordings and musical memories from throughout his career.The episode airs tonight, Friday, Jan. 11 at 7pm PT. Click here to tune in from anywhere in the world!
Fifty years ago, an upright piano flew from the sky and crashed loudly upon the ground near Duvall, Washington, smashing into pieces in front of an audience of avant-garde enthusiasts. It was dropped from a helicopter by the Jack Straw Foundation (then in the form of KRAB radio) as a fundraising event for the experimental radio station and their friends at Helix, the hippie newspaper.
1968 press clipping from the Seattle Times.
This month, that historic piano is being resurrected in the hands of local composers—and it’s not too late to get in on the action.
The Jack Straw Cultural Center is currently accepting submissions for new works scored for the illustrious instrument’s remains (the soundboard and harp—minus the bass strings, if we’re getting specific). The tuning of the strings is as-is, allowing for a wide array of delightful and unexpected surprises—and fingers, mallets, and bows are all fair game. The maximum length for submissions is 4’33” (a tribute to John Cage’s iconoclastic “silent piece”), and submissions are accepted as written scores or demo recordings.
Submissions are due Jan. 7, and the selected compositions will be performed and recorded at Jack Straw in February and incorporated into a Piano Drop installation in the New Media Gallery.
Interested composers can emailarts@jackstraw.orgor call them at (206) 634-0919 with any questions, or to schedule a time to visit the instrument in the gallery.
The Opening Reception for Jack Straw’s Piano Drop Installation will take place Friday, Feb. 8 at 7pm. A live performance of the new works will take place Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7pm. Both events are free and open to the public. Click here to learn more.
Second Inversion and theLive Music Project create a monthly calendar featuring contemporary classical, cross-genre, and experimental performances in Seattle, the Eastside, Tacoma, and places in between!
Keep an eye out for our flyer in concert programs and coffee shops around town. Feel free to download, print, and distribute it yourself! If you’d like to be included on this list, please submit your event to the Live Music Project at least six weeks prior to the event and tag it with “new music.”
Wayward Music Series Concerts of contemporary composition, free improvisation, electroacoustic music, and sonic experiments. This month: film scores, sonic purges, banjo improvisations, and an orchestra of driftwood. Various days, 7:30/8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $5-$15
Gretchen Yanover: Cello Loops Classical music meets contemporary technology in Gretchen Yanover’s performances for solo cello and loop pedal. Playing and layering her melodies live on stage, Yanover crafts instrumental atmospheres that draw from her classical training as well as her African-American and Russian Jewish heritage. Tues, 1/8, 7pm, Slavonian Hall (Tacoma) | FREE
Seattle Symphony: ‘JANE’ Philip Glass’ buoyant score frames this stunning National Geographic documentary about Jane Goodall, a woman whose chimpanzee research challenged the male-dominated scientific consensus of her time and revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. See the film on the big screen while the Seattle Symphony performs the score live. Tues, 1/8, 7:30pm, Benaroya Hall | $35-$85
Ahamefule J. Oluo & Scrape Seattle trumpet legend Ahamefule J. Oluo offers a sneak peek of the score for his new film, Thin Skin (an adaptation of his experimental pop opera Now I’m Fine). Joined by the Scrape music collective, Oluo performs excerpts from this dark comedy about the meaning of family. Thurs, 1/10, 8pm, Good Shepherd Center | $5-$20
Portland Cello Project Equally at home in rock clubs and concert halls, Portland Cello Project is an ensemble known for pushing the boundaries of the classical cello tradition. For this string of performances, they play music from Radiohead’s OK Computer alongside classics by Coltrane and Bach. Fri, 1/11, 7pm, Admiral Theatre (Bremerton) | $18-$56 Sat, 1/12, 7:30pm, Rialto Theater (Tacoma) | $29-$49 Sun, 1/13, 3pm, Mount Baker Theater (Bellingham) | $22-$42
Jesse Myers: Glass Half Full You’ll want to bring a pillow and blanket to Jesse Myers’ performance of Philip Glass’ famous Piano Etudes. Instead of sitting in chairs, the pianist invites listeners to lie on the floor as they experience the music alongside immersive light projections that dance across the ceiling and walls of the performance space. Fri, 1/11, 8pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $10-$15
Bern Herbolsheimer Musical Memorial In honor of the late Bern Herbolsheimer’s passing three years ago on this day, Seattle musicians come together to perform a concert of the beloved local composer’s chamber works. Sun, 1/13, 7:30pm, PONCHO Concert Hall | FREE
Opera on Tap: Park and Bark! Nothing goes better with opera tunes than beer and tacos. Local singers perform operatic masterpieces and hidden gems alike in this casual brewery concert benefiting Emerald City Pet Rescue. Mon, 1/14, 6pm, Lagunitas Brewing Company | $25
Seattle Modern Orchestra: Sounds of Echoes The book-lined walls of the Seattle Athenaeum form the perfect setting for this concert of chamber works presented in the round. Poetry-inspired pieces from George Crumb and Toru Takemitsu are paired with works by Seattle composers Angelique Poteat and Tom Baker. Fri, 1/18, 7pm, Folio | $20-$25
The Sound Ensemble: Local Wonders From Kaley Lane Eaton’s dynamic Sacred Geometry to Carly Ann Worden’s majestic San Juan Sinfonietta, this concert is dedicated to exploring chamber works by local women composers. Also on the program are new premieres from Angelique Poteat and Sarah Bassingthwaighte. Sat, 1/19, 7pm, Good Shepherd Chapel | $15-$20
Thalia Symphony Orchestra A third stream concerto for electric bass, vibraphone, and orchestra is among the highlights of this concert, composed and performed by friends and childhood neighbors Dan Dean (bass) and Tom Collier (vibes). Works by Jacques Offenbach, Carl Nielsen, Rebecca Clarke, and Arturo Marquez complete the program. Sat, 1/19, 7:30pm, St. Stephen’s Church | $18-24 Sun, 1/20, 3pm, Nordic Museum | $18-24
SCMS Winter Festival Seattle Chamber Music Society’s annual Winter Festival features a variety of classical music performances from across the centuries, including 20th century works by Janáček, Kodály, Martinů, Hindemith, Shostakovich, and Britten. 1/18-1/27, Various times, Nordstrom Recital Hall | $20-$65
Ólafur Arnalds: All Strings Attached The ambient sound worlds of Icelandic composer shimmer to life in this performance featuring the pianist alongside a uniquely wired ensemble of string quintet, drums, and two Disclaviers. The concert features past, present, and brand new material from his forthcoming album. Sat, 1/26, 8pm, The Moore Theatre | $28
Seattle Symphony: Celebrate Asia The 11th annual Celebrate Asia concert highlights music and musicians from across the continent, with conductor Shi-Yeon Sung leading the orchestra in contemporary (and traditional) music by Korean, Thai, and Taiwanese composers. Featured soloists include soprano Kathleen Kim and pianist Seong-Jin Cho, and the concert is framed by spectacular pre- and post-concert festivities in the lobby. Sun, 1/27, 4pm, Benaroya Hall | $31-$97
Seattle Symphony: Soundbites Grab a drink and unwind with fellow music lovers at this casual performance featuring Seattle Symphony musicians performing wide-ranging chamber works. Mon, 1/28, 7pm, The Collective | $10
From coast to coast, 2018 was filled with new friends, new sounds, and a whole slew of new adventures. We share some of Second Inversion’s fondest memories from another year spent exploring new and experimental music.
Second Inversion hosts Maggie Molloy and Seth Tompkins were honored to lead a panel on new music in the media at this year’s NUMUS Northwest, a day-long event dedicated to the creation and performance of new music in Seattle and beyond.
Skittering wood blocks, ceramic tiles, and bowls of water are just a few of the unusual instruments employed in Third Coast Percussion’s film score for Paddle to the Sea. We were thrilled to premiere videos of the group performing excerpts from their original score, which was co-commissioned by Meany Center for the Performing Arts and performed there earlier this year.
Second Inversion invaded the Classical KING FM airwaves earlier this year when David Lang came by the station to talk about the Seattle Symphony’s world premiere of his symphony without a hero. Maggie Molloy interviewed the composer about the Romantic ideals of the artist-hero and how those roles are changing in the 21st century.
On International Women’s Day, we hosted our annual 24-hour marathon of music by women composers. Part of our ongoing Women in (New) Music series, the marathon highlights women who have helped shape, inspire, and expand the world of classical music, and is among our most popular streaming days annually.
Bang on a Can All-Star Ashley Bathgate is her own one-woman cello orchestra in Martin Bresnick’s Parisot. She performed the piece live in our music library earlier this year (alongside 11 backing tracks she recorded herself) before sitting down with Second Inversion’s Dacia Clay to talk about the intersection of classical music and contemporary performance software.
Thanks to the Seattle Symphony’s highly-anticipated world premiere of John Luther Adams’ Become Desert, we had the perfect excuse to play a full eight hours of his immersive sonic landscapes on our online stream. Plus, the composer himself dropped by the station during our marathon for an interview with KING FM’s Dave Beck and a selfie with the Second Inversion team.
Second Inversion’s Maggie Molloy was among four writers selected to cover the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival as a participant in the first everMedia Workshop! Under the mentorship of John Schaefer (of WNYC’s New Sounds) and Will Robin (writer and musicologist), Maggie wrote five articles highlighting unforgettable musical moments from this year’s summer festival.
Bang on a Can Founders David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Michael Gordon with SI’s Maggie Molloy.
Bang on a Can Fellows Shannon Leigh Steigerwald (violin) and Gloria Yehilevsky (percussion).
Special guest composer Steve Reich.
Bang on a Can cover night.
Bang on a Can All-Star Vicky Chow performing the Philip Glass Etudes.
Students performing Pamela Z’s “Attention.”
Mark Stewart, guitarist of the Bang on a Can All-Stars.
Afternoon concert of Eve Beglarian’s music.
Bang on a Can Fellow Dylan Ward.
MASS MoCA’s Gunnar Schonbeck exhibit titled “No Experience Required.”
The four media fellows of the inaugural Media Workshop.
Mark Stewart leading his Orchestra of Original Instruments.
Members of the Media Workshop performing in the Orchestra of Original Instruments.
Joshua Roman brought the howling winds of Oklahoma to the Pacific Northwest with the world premiere of his new cello quintet Tornado, performed by the composer alongside the JACK Quartet. We holed up inside for a day with the ensemble to catch the musical storm on camera.
As the year drew to a close, we got a chance to catch up with new music makers and creators on the opposite coast. During our trip we sat in on a live session at New Sounds, saw the Argus Quartet perform music of Christopher Cerrone, caught the Bang on a Can All-Stars playing Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields at Carnegie Hall, and more!
Bang on a Can All-Stars playing Anthracite Fields. Photo by Richard Termine.
Live session at New Sounds.
Pianist Kelly Moran preparing her piano for a live session at New Sounds.
New Sounds’ John Shaefer with pianist Kelly Moran.
Argus Quartet preparing to perform.
Argus Quartet with Christopher Cerrone.
Thank you to everyone who filled our hearts, minds, ears, and airwaves with new music in 2018. Cheers to the many more sonic adventures yet to come!
What are we most looking forward to in the New Year? New tunes, new friends, and of course—New Music Happy Hour!
Join us Friday, January 18 from 5-7pm at T.S. McHugh’s for a happy hour co-hosted by Second Inversion and theLive Music Project. We’d love to take this opportunity to connect in the New Year with fellow musicians, new music enthusiasts, and curious listeners alike!
Click here to RSVP on Facebook and invite your friends! Plus, sign up for alerts for future happy hours and day-before reminders so you’ll never miss a beer—er, beat.
