“A” tunings / attuning, 2023
Memories of a feeling and a conversation with my mom sparked this artwork. As a child of an orchestral musician, sometimes more interesting to me than the actual concert was was when all of the musicians on stage tuned their instruments together to an A note.
In a recent conversation with my mom, she told me about an experience she had as a young musician with a painting. While she didn’t remember the artwork title or the artist’s name, she remembered the impact. She compared the feeling of its composition to the pause or space before a concert begins. The painting, she said, felt like everything was about to happen.
To start this piece, I asked my mom to write a list of her favorite composers. Using this list, I searched for live concert recordings and pieced together sound from five different orchestras tuning and pausing before each concert began. I combined the sound collage with video footage I recorded at Alameda Beach, a place that my mom loves, a few minutes after sunrise on a foggy day.
This piece is about being in-sync. It’s about adjusting, pausing, and anticipating together. It is also about a serendipitous attunement between me and my mom.
sound from
William Grant Still- Mother and Child Suite for Violin
Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Tito Munoz
Recording uploaded to YouTube on Nov. 24, 2008
Ludwig Van Beethoven- Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Pastoral
National Orchestra of France, conducted by Daniele Gatti Recording uploaded to YouTube on Dec. 15, 2017
Samuel Adler- Trio, Eastman School of Music
ECSM String Chamber Music
Recording uploaded to YouTube May 27, 2022
Johann Sebastian Bach- Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major
Le Concert des Nations, conducted by Jordi Savall
Recording uploaded to YouTube on Oct 23, 2013
Joseph Haydn- Symphony No. 45 in F Sharp Minor, Farewell
Berlin Philharmonic, Violin & Direction: Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Recording uploaded to YouTube on Jun 20, 2022