Simulacra
by Amy Brandon
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about
Recorded in January of 2023 with acclaimed cellist Jeffrey Zeigler and Symphony Nova Scotia, Simulacra was conducted by Karl Hirzer in a live performance as part of the Upstream Music Association’s Open Waters Festival at St. Andrew’s United Church in Halifax.
The dramatic and sonically shifting work was commissioned by Zeigler with assistance from Arts Nova Scotia and Canada Council for the Arts, and recorded by John DS Adams of Stonehouse Sound.
Cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, a former member of the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet, lives in New York and is Assistant Professor of Chamber Music and Innovation at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. He is considered one of the most innovative and versatile cellists of our time, described by the New York Times as “fiery,” and a player who performers “with unforced simplicity and beauty of tone.”
The title of the cello concerto, Simulacra, refers to Baudrillard’s famous book on semiotics, and the concept of ‘a copy that does not have an original’, or the idea that sometimes we create our identities out of nothing, becoming hyperreal, says composer Brandon. Throughout the piece, timbral elements undergo continuous transformation, eventually ending in an uneasy balance.
Composer Amy Brandon's pieces have been described as “...gut wrenching and horrific” (Critipeg), and "otherworldly, a clashing of bleakness with beauty" (Minor Seventh). Her performances, installations and acoustic works have been presented at the Gaudeamus Festival (Screen Dive), National Sawdust (NYC), Trinity College (Dublin), and the Winnipeg New Music Festival. She has received Canadian and international composition awards and honourable mentions including the Leo Brouwer Guitar Composition Competition (Grand Prize 2019) and an East Coast Music Award 2022 for Composer of the Year. She teaches composition at Dalhousie University at the Fountain School of Performing Arts.
For more information, please visit amybrandon.ca
The dramatic and sonically shifting work was commissioned by Zeigler with assistance from Arts Nova Scotia and Canada Council for the Arts, and recorded by John DS Adams of Stonehouse Sound.
Cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, a former member of the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet, lives in New York and is Assistant Professor of Chamber Music and Innovation at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. He is considered one of the most innovative and versatile cellists of our time, described by the New York Times as “fiery,” and a player who performers “with unforced simplicity and beauty of tone.”
The title of the cello concerto, Simulacra, refers to Baudrillard’s famous book on semiotics, and the concept of ‘a copy that does not have an original’, or the idea that sometimes we create our identities out of nothing, becoming hyperreal, says composer Brandon. Throughout the piece, timbral elements undergo continuous transformation, eventually ending in an uneasy balance.
Composer Amy Brandon's pieces have been described as “...gut wrenching and horrific” (Critipeg), and "otherworldly, a clashing of bleakness with beauty" (Minor Seventh). Her performances, installations and acoustic works have been presented at the Gaudeamus Festival (Screen Dive), National Sawdust (NYC), Trinity College (Dublin), and the Winnipeg New Music Festival. She has received Canadian and international composition awards and honourable mentions including the Leo Brouwer Guitar Composition Competition (Grand Prize 2019) and an East Coast Music Award 2022 for Composer of the Year. She teaches composition at Dalhousie University at the Fountain School of Performing Arts.
For more information, please visit amybrandon.ca
credits
released November 1, 2023
Jeffrey Zeigler (violoncello) with Symphony Nova Scotia
Holly Mathieson, Music Director
Karl Hirzer, conductor
Amy Brandon, composer
Stonehouse Sound, recording (John DS Adams, Rod Sneddon and John Janigan-Mills). Mixed and mastered by John DS Adams.
Production Consultant, Jeff Reilly
Susan Roston, sculpture (Nub 2 - Studio Sixty Six)
Andrew Rashotte, photography
Jeffrey Zeigler (violoncello) with Symphony Nova Scotia
Holly Mathieson, Music Director
Karl Hirzer, conductor
Amy Brandon, composer
Stonehouse Sound, recording (John DS Adams, Rod Sneddon and John Janigan-Mills). Mixed and mastered by John DS Adams.
Production Consultant, Jeff Reilly
Susan Roston, sculpture (Nub 2 - Studio Sixty Six)
Andrew Rashotte, photography
license
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about
Amy Brandon
Composer Amy Brandon's pieces have been described as “...gut wrenching and horrific” (Critipeg), and "otherworldly, a clashing of bleakness with beauty" (Minor Seventh).
discography
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Nov 2023 -
Jun 2016
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