Liquid Room: Coming Together continues the Nuove Sincronie concept experiment originally attempted in Milan by Fausto Romitelli and Riccardo Nova and later adopted by the ICTUS Ensemble in Brussels. It involves multistage performances with quadraphonic sound, mixing old and new works, and sonic art under the same roof. But here, cellist Dr. Seth Parker Woods orchestrates a way of listening to and experiencing it as though at a rock festival or an electronic improvisation night: the public comes and goes, stays standing or sitting, the music follows on without a break and the bar stays open: in and out. Partnering with both the Chamber Music Department and Ensemble Ibis this will culminate in an evening-length concert that conjoins the worlds of Webern, Florence Price, Tania Leon, Steve Reich, Frederic Rzewski, Aperghis, and more in May of 2022. Performances will feature students from across degree programs and include the Henry Mancini Institute String Quartet, the Stamps String Quartet, and the Graduate Saxophone Quartet.
"Over the course of the semester I am very much looking forward to diving deep into these brilliant chamber works, some known to the students of Frost, and some brand new," states Dr. Woods. "My overall goal is to continue the Frost School of Music’s great lineage of exploration in musical and performative expression, and present a concert experience that challenges what performance can be and present another lens for the saying chamber music in any chamber."
Bettina Mussumeli, Interim Director of Chamber Music, a lecturer in Violin Performance, Pedagogy, and Chamber Music stated: "We are thrilled Dr. Seth Parker Woods is joining us this semester. Dr. Woods' innovative and unique programming pushes the boundaries of what "new music" means today. We look forward to the enormous contributions his residency will bring to our students."
Hailed by The Guardian as "a cellist of power and grace," Dr. Seth Parker Woods is a 2021-22 UB Center for Diversity Innovation Distinguished Visiting Scholar. He has established himself as an in-demand soloist, chamber musician, curator, and educator both stateside in the USA, Europe, and Asia. A fierce advocate for contemporary music and interdisciplinary arts, his collaborators have included the Atlanta and Seattle Symphony’s, Basel Ballet, Berlin Staatsballet, Ictus Ensemble, Tate Modern, Aldo Tambellini, and Adam Pendleton. His latest body of work and research revolves around intersections of interdisciplinary performance, acoustic ecologies, migration storytelling, as well as choreographic archiving, translation, and performance. At present, he is at work on his first monograph, ICED BODIES: A Performative Rebirth, which chronicles the evolution of his performance/sound installation with collaborator Spencer Topel. He is also developing new musical works for his solo show Difficult Grace, which serves as a commentary on The Great Migration, translation, acts of adornment, and the human condition.
