Bowerbird presents the Arcana New Music Ensemble in a centenary celebration of Earle Brown and Morton Feldman, two pioneering American composers born in 1926 whose radical experiments in the 1950s and 60s transformed how music could be notated, performed, and experienced.

Brown’s selections represent his most radical period of graphic notation. December 1952 and Four Systems present performers with abstract visual fields rather than traditional staff notation, inviting spontaneous decisions about pitch, duration, and intensity. One Through Five continues this exploration of open form, where the score becomes a framework for collective improvisation rather than a fixed composition.

Feldman’s early pieces chart his move toward what he called a “physical sound-world.” Only, from 1947, predates his meeting with John Cage and the artistic breakthrough that followed. His graph notation works like Projection 1 and King of Denmark give performers freedom within defined registers and time frames, creating fields of shimmering color and texture. A Very Short Piece for Trumpet, though composed later in 1986, distills his aesthetic into concentrated form.

The performance is part of Icebox Project Space’s Light and Sound Series.

PROGRAM

Earle Brown: Four Systems (1954)

Earle Brown: December 1952 from Folio I (1952)

Earle Brown: One Through Five from Folio II (1970)

Morton Feldman: Only (1947)

Morton Feldman: A Very Short Piece for Trumpet (1986)

Morton Feldman: King of Denmark (1964)

Morton Feldman: Projection 1 (1950)

ARCANA NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE:

Carlos Santiago, violin
Melinda Rice, viola
Tom Kraines, cello
David Middleton, electric bass
Tessa Ellis, trumpet
Jay Krush, tuba
Aaron Stewart, saxophone
Noa Even, saxophone
Nicholas Handahl, flute
Jonathan Leeds, clarinet
Anne Ishii, percussion and electronics
Tara Middleton, voice
Andy Thierauf, percussion

This program is supported by the Penn Treaty Special Services District