Fragmented Realities
Mnemosyne Quartet with video artist Eric Souther presented Fragmented Realities, an immersive performance installation, where the sonic properties and the iconic imageries of favorite Kansas City locales were recontextualized inside La Esquina. These environments were enhanced and augmented through electronic manipulation and live improvisation. Those in attendance were the option to participate in the performance, by streaming and projecting a unique audio track from their mobile devices. . Check out our Blog for more info! |
Transient Harmony
Transient Harmony was a sound installation and performance that encompassed the streetcar line from 9th and 14th street. Members of the quartet traveled with passengers presenting live music, while a newly created mobile app allowed them to connect with participants both on and off the streetcar. |
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Anomalous City
Anomalous City was Mnemosyne Quartet’s idea a two hour long show of new music in an expansive space. Our initial idea was to create a continuous two hour performance that took multiple environments and superimposed them onto a city landscape. We also wanted to map those sounds throughout the park. The a result of creating a three-dimensional space was that it ended up interacting with the city itself. The music could be faintly heard on the streets below, adding to the natural environment. The sounds not indigenous to the city, like animals from the zoo, were merged with city life. Likewise, we could hear the sounds of the city on the rooftop. Police sirens, flocks of birds and the cicadas hiding in the grass influenced what we played, and how the listeners perceived their environment. We used birdsong, cars, trains, and heavy machinery in our pieces, but it was great that those sounds came from the streets below us too. With this event, we were able to achieve a fully immersive performance. |
Celestial Metamorphosis
This was a collaborative audio-visual performance that depicted various interactions between light, nature, and humans with the sky. It took place in an evolving space that was comprised of Epperson Auditorium, Cafe Nerman, and the hallway in between. This allowed Mnemosyne to play with Ensemble of Irreproducible outcomes antiphonally. The audience was encouraged to wander throughout the performance space during the show, allowing for a truly individual experience. |
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Going Up! CSF Open Studios
We performed in the elevators and the lobby at Town Pavilion downtown Kansas City on April 24th. We surprised guests, as we rode up and down the elevators as they were arriving for the Charlotte Street Open Studios night. We setup in the lobby of the 6th floor, where the studios were, and started riding the elevators as guests arrived. |
Story Time: Listen Local
For our performance at the Johnson County Library we wanted to create something that involved the use of books and text. We eventually settled on the idea of creating an auditory palimpsest. We created an electronic soundtrack that would serve as the backdrop for our readings from 4 randomly selected books. Each member of the quartet was given a unique set of instructions that allowed for the readings to be read alone and overlapped. The main idea behind structuring the piece as such was to challenge the audience's threshold for understanding what they are listening to. |
Analog Drift
Analog Drift has 13 performers, surround sound, and three projections. It is an immersive performance installation that tells the story of an artificial intelligence and its journey to learn the audio-visual language of its creators. The AI decodes audio-visual data in order to synthesize its own creative voice. As the AI learns, it starts a dialog with the performers and eventually collaborates along side its creators. Analog Drift represents the work of four collaborators who learned to reconcile disparate ideas in order to arrive at a single shared artistic vision. We have worked to develop a story that is based upon how we approach learning, and how memory affects what we come to expect of the future. It features: Mnemosyne Quartet, Eric Souther (video artist), and Ensemble of Irreproducible Outcomes. Full Documentation can be found here: https://vimeo.com/143726923 |
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Migratory Sounds
We played for the inaugural Art in the Loop at Oppenstein Brother’s Memorial Park, 12th and Walnut Streets on August 28th during lunch time. Mnemosyne Quartet's performance forced bystanders realize the auditory environments they interact with on a daily basis. We improvised music inspired by the surrounding environments of Downtown Kansas City. Our goal was to nudge the listener towards a moment of peaceful contemplation in the middle of their hectic lives. We utilized native birdsongs and the idea of migration to construct our music. We let the audience participate, or just pass by as they were getting lunch. |
American Montage
Mnemosyne Quartet played for the opening of Adam Cvijanovic’s American Montage at the Kemper Museum of Art on May 15th. We worked closely with him as well as the curator of the Kemper Museum while developing the show. Before the opening night, we played for Adam and made changes to the program based upon his suggestions. We also adapted our show after viewing the large scale artworks in person. When composing the show, we drew upon his methods which include fracturing, cutting, and sequencing imagery and applied them to our process. We strived to create a sound environment that Adam’s art could exist within. While some of it was pre-composed, we also responded live to the installation. |