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MUTED PREMIERES AT ORANJEWOUD FESTIVAL
For ENGLISH click here
 
I am thrilled to announce the premiere of MUTED, a collective work by 4 composers for violin, voice, whisperviolin, frame violin, a multitude of mutes, and light. 

Premiere & tickets: 8 June at 20.00 & 22.00 & 9 June at 20.00 & 22.00 
Try-out performances on 7 June 
Oranjewoud Festival,
Museum Belvedere, Oranjewoud, NL

Composers: Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia WolfeLouis Andriessen

Stage design & lighting: Floriaan Ganzevoort, Theatermachine
Text: excerpts from Archy and Mehitabel by Don Marquis

MUTED on TV: watch live broadcast of Podium Witteman here
Quick link to excerpt by Louis Andriessen here
monica & mutes.     photo Anne Reinke
A note about MUTED
MUTED has its roots in the reaction from composers to my high sensitivity to sound and having to cut down the amount of decibels pouring into my ears. Many of you know that I used to play some fairly hard-hitting music, much of it newly commissioned. And as Mehitabel* would say, “I have no regrets!” For those who want to know everything: read more about the inside story here.
It’s new territory for me, there’s an uncharted development process ahead, and a completely new sound world to figure out. My work has always been composer driven, and I am extremely moved by the active role composers are taking in this enforced, bewildering, and somehow increasingly exciting development in my creative path as a musician. There is an enormously talented and resourceful pool of people involved, including stage and light designer Floriaan Ganzevoort, executive producer Neil Wallace & de Doelen, numerous mute creators, filmmakers, audiologists, commissioners, colleagues, as well as a swath of venues and festivals. The list** is long and heartwarming.
Special thanks to luthier Bas Maas and designer Marcel Wanders, who are making an entirely new, lower-decibel instrument, a ‘whisperviolin,’ inspired by and loosely modeled on the ‘pochette,’ created to explore the world of quieter sounds. Besides unmatched creativity and unparalleled skill, both bring a sense of adventure and a palpable excitement to the process.
 
*parts of MUTED borrow from the masterpiece Archy & Mehitabel by Don Marquis
**See the credits below and here
read more: Decibels & Instruments & Mutes: the backstory
Monica playing Jacob TV's Jacob TV's SUITES OF LUX for Violectra & soundtrack

In the meantime, the experimenting continues...
Pictured above: a 'virtual bubble' concert presented by the Oranjewoud Festival, who is also presenting the premiere of MUTED, during the opening weekend of Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018 Cultural Capital of Europe. The audience entered this virtual bubble in the pop venue Neushoorn by putting on a wireless headset and sitting in close proximity to the performer.
pictured here: the frame violin, also known as a mute violin, ca. 1870. It has a beautiful, intimate, overtone-rich sound. Surprisingly little is known about these striking instruments. One resource is the National Music Museum at the University of South Dakota, whose collection houses what could be this frame violin's sister...

Pop-up artist-in-residence at Red Sofa's Spring Loaded festival 

Those who took part in the de Doelen's Red Sofa city cycle tour were treated to an amazing array of concerts, including a season highlight for me: the premiere of Knowing Rose, by Vanessa Lann, together with Michaela Riener and Saskia Lankhoorn. 

In the press:
NRC Handelsblad: Red Sofa celebrates 10 years, opens 6-day festival with Monica Germino’s quiet violin   
Complete article here (in Dutch), by Joep Stapel

"...As the pop-up artist, Monica Germino will decide what she will actually play in the moment. It will certainly be soft... Playing quietly opens up a whole new dimension; and apart from a reflection on silence and listening it can also be "an antidote to the relentless noise of our world." She has amassed a huge collection of mutes (sourdines) and plays a rare 'frame violin' from ca. 1870... Germino: "Neil Wallace wants me to play the frame violin in the Main Hall without any amplification; for me that's a thrill, an adventure." Wallace: "You will be able to hear a pin drop.”
Read more: translated excerpts here (in English)

Visiting artist Monica Germino addresses students during an intensive violin studio

I put on my familiar, much-loved teaching gloves on and had a fantastic time as visiting professor at USF's School of Music for the 2017-18 academic year. Thank you, wonderful colleagues and students! You can read about just one of our experiments here...."Violinist Monica Germino wraps up an exciting semester as visiting artist at the USF School of Music" 

MUTED on tour

MUTED will travel to De Doelen (on location) in Rotterdam, National Sawdust in NYC, HCMF in Huddersfield, November Music in Den Bosch, Music on Main in Vancouver, & more.
Watch this space!

**Cast of credits, MUTED

Commissioners
De Doelen, Rotterdam (Neil Wallace, Executive Producer)
Oranjewoud Festival, Oranjewoud
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, New York
Music on Main, Vancouver
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival

Partners and presenters
Wonderfeel Festival
Korzo, Den Haag
Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam
November Music, Den Bosch

With thanks to
Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Louis Andriessen
MassMoCA, Massachusetts, USA
Kenny Savelson, Bang on a Can All-Stars
Phillipa Thompson, Bang on a Can Summer Festival
Vera Kuiper, Dutch Consulate, New York
Neil Wallace, Programme Director, de Doelen
Bas Maas, luthier
Marcel Wanders, designer
Niek Versfeld and Jaap Peter Kronemeijer, Audiologisch Centrum Hilversum
Stijn Hoogeboom, Oorwerk, Hilversum
Jacqueline & Serge Stam, Stam Vioolbouw

photos Anne Reinke

GDPR Update
By now, you have probably heard about the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), that came into effect May 25, 2018.
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