Sound artist, media artist and composer for both humans and computers. So much banjo, too
I’m looking forward to performing tomorrow on a concert highlighting free improvisation and electronic music. The show will include Sam Herman, Aaron Johnson, and LaDonna Smith.
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 7pm
An Evening of Free Improvisation and Electronic Music
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Hulsey Recital Hall
950 13th Street South
Birmingham AL
I’ll be performing material similar to the pieces on my 2021 Tell A Gossip recording from Tape Drift Records.
Trombonist Jacob Elkin is coming to Alabama this week for two concerts featuring music by Alabama composers. The programs include the premiere of my piece By Wit and Reason, Which We Call Science for trombone and live electronics. The concerts are presented by the Birmingham Art Music Alliance and supported in part by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
Monday, February 17, 2025
Jacob Elkin: Music by Alabama Composers
Moody Recital Hall
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa AL
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Loud at the Library: Jacob Elkin
Birmingham Public Library
Birmingham AL
By Wit And Reason, Which We Call Science is informed by the music of Renaissance composer John Dowland. The piece uses a custom microtonal scale similar to Dowland’s scheme for tuning the lute. The performer’s musical gestures and improvised variations drive the electronic sounds: extending pitches, shifting resonant frequencies and triggering repeated tones.
I’m thrilled to have been invited to work on the Terreno Tejido de Piel project that culminates tomorrow with an installation and performance at Maxwell Hall on the campus of the University of Alabama. The project is led by UA Assistant Professor of Scenic Design Soledad Sanchez Valdez with Peruvian guest artists Cecilia Borasino (choreography/dance) and Alejandra Ortiz de Zevallos (sculpture/fiber arts). I’m providing sound for the installation and performance.
Thursday November 14 2024 5-7pm
Terreno Tejido de Piel
Maxwell Hall
420 Stadium Drive
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa AL
The next concert in my Birmingham New Music Festival schedule is The Next Moment, tonight at East Village Arts in Birmingham, Alabama. I’m playing a new piece for extended banjo and live electronics that uses automated phone system samples (“To speak with a customer representative…press 9…”). Craig Hultgren will premiere As Safe As If It Were In The Fire for ecello and live electronics.
Saturday, May 11, 2024 5pm
The Next Moment: Mostly Improv
2024 Birmingham New Music Festival
East Village Arts
7611 1st Ave N
Birmingham AL 35206
Other composers and improvisers on the program include Rob Voisey, the festival’s guest composer visiting from NYC, LaDonna Smith, Michael Coleman, and Joshua David Davis.
Here’s a lovely performance of my piece A Long Line of Clouds Just Above the Trees for violin duo and live electronic. The piece was played by Miolina: Lynn Bechtold and Mioi Takeda, violins, at their recent concert at The Skyscraper Museum in New York.
See more Miolina videos–including other works from the same concert–on their channel on YouTube.