Kenney, Kang, GoGwilt, Oram
Blank Forms
Brooklyn, NY 11238
This evening marks the first show of a new quartet whose work draws from shared interests in planetary string traditions and poetics in song. Through the interplay of voices, violin, and viola, the quartet synthesizes each artist’s distinct approaches to tuning, polyphony, and heterophony, while exploring the ethereal properties of tangible materials (strings, wood, flesh) alongside the raw possibilities of electronic sound. For over two decades, Jessika Kenney and Eyvind Kang have created a duo music shaped by their collaborative study of sonic resonances, musical forms, and transcultural dialogues. Composers Keir GoGwilt and Celeste Oram focus on reinterpreting historical forms, from a violin concerto staged in the imaginary space of a burning cathedral to lecture-recitals that delve into alternative musical histories of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Together, these four artists have formed an ensemble which crafts a distinctive sound world that merges tradition, innovation, and cultural exchange.
A vocalist, composer, and sound artist, Jessika Kenney has developed a vocal practice at a unique intersection of haptic and aural sensibilities. Utilizing imaginative approaches to oral traditions and the one-on-one transmission of texts and sounds, as well as the spatialized experience of diffuse listening, she hones timbral and microtonal awareness while defying clinical approaches to sound.
On his part, Eyvind Kang—a multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger—works across genre and discipline, bringing subtlety, fluidity, and emotional intensity to each of his varied projects.
Keir GoGwilt’s work often takes research as a starting point, inflecting historical forms with collaborative experimentation. A current project, Zarabanda Variations, assembles a group of composers, performers, and poets to explore musical-colonial legacies of “New Spain,” or present-day Mexico and the United States. He is an artist-in-residence with the JACK Quartet Studio, a founding member of AMOC, and a frequent soloist with Ruckus Early Music.
Celeste Oram frequently uses music-making as a catalyst to explore sonic and social histories and micro-cultures. Her recent work has spanned radio plays, orchestral music for dance-theater, chamber music for period instruments, and creative reimaginings of vocal polyphony.
Blank Forms is located on the first floor of 468 Grand Ave in Clinton Hill. There is one step down from the entrance to the building. If you require help accessing the space or would like to use our wheelchair ramp, please contact izzy@blankforms.org.