7:30pm. $15 ADV / $20 DOS
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Robbie Lynn’s haunting melodies are born of protest both personal and political. This concert begins with the premiere of Pavane for Palestine Lachrimae and audiovisual chamber works Catalyst and Eclipse. The ensemble showcases many of Chicago’s top classical and new music performers including conductor Alexandra Enyart, mezzo soprano Angela Born, harpist Julie Spring and pianist Mabel Kwan.
For the second set, Robbie Lynn will perform Synthesesia Suite, an epic multiple movement structured improvisation for live looped instruments and voice with audio and video synthesizers. This concert is made possible by a generous Individual Artist Grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.
Concert Preview at this link http://robbiehunsinger.com/intermedia2026
1st Set
Pavane for Palestine, Lachrimae was written in 2023, after the Hamas attack and just as Israel was beginning to ramp up the annihilation of Gaza with the help of the United States. Commissioned by Nashville’s Intersection ensemble and the National Endowment for the Arts, it was set to premiere March 2024 on a program titled Arts and Activism, but the players refused to play it and the premiere was cancelled. Tonight will be its first performance. Traditionally notated score for oboe/English horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, harp and percussion.
Catalyst starts as a requiem for bees but it does not end there. Sharper emotions eventually break the surface making way for an aggressive and syncopated musical debate with an explosive spinning globe keeping time. Traditional score for clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano and electronic percussion. Video and sound generated visuals by the composer and coded with extensive midi, pitch and volume interactions via MaxMSP and Ableton Live.
Eclipse was commissioned by Nashville’s chatterbird ensemble in 2017. Trump had been elected for the first time, Robbie Lynn’s mother was ill, and Nashville - where she was living, hosted a total solar eclipse which she recorded. Eclipse is an audiovisual expression of the other worldly experience of a total eclipse, in chronological order from pre-totality, totality and to post-totality, with lyrics taken with permission from Annie Dillard’s beautiful essay. The notated and improvised score is written for mezzo soprano, flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, bass, piano, Himalayan singing bowls and electronic percussion. Imagery, sound responsive generative animations and coding created by the composer in VDMX.
Alexandra Enyart - Conductor
Angela Born - Mezzo Soprano
Airan Wright - Flute & Bassoon
Vincent Change - Oboe & English Horn
Jack Kartsotis - Clarinet & Bass Clarinet
Dan Galet - Violin
Traci Huff - Viola
Kelly Quesada - Cello
Tyler Wagner - Bass
Mabel Kwan - Piano
Julie Spring - Harp
Bill Harris - Percussion
DAF - Media & Projection VJay
2nd Set
Synthesesia Suite is an electro-acoustic, live looped multi-instrument and voice improvisation for music and video synthesizers. Contrasting imagery is fed into an analog video mixer while complex layers of acoustic and live looped sound blend with immersive eye candy for a uniquely expressive and immersive performance.
Synthesesia Suite provided some needed traction and an expressive outlet during a time which included the loss of Robbie Lynn’s mother, the break up of a very long relationship, Covid, months on a cane with a leg injury, and a bruising week at a NY composers event. She got a new videosynth, was gifted a video mixer, combined these with a new synthesizer rig and the composition came quickly. Written for oboe, JSax, alto sax, shehnai, suona and voice with Critter and Guitari videosynths, a Panasonic AV mixer, midi controllers and Ableton Live.
Robbie Lynn Hunsinger - Oboe, Indian Shehnai, Chinese Suona, Alto Saxophone, Voice, Fiddle, Synthesizers and Video Synthesizers all mixed live from the stage.
About the Artist
Robbie Lynn Hunsinger is a composer, classical oboist, multi-instrumentalist, improviser and visual artist. A long time activist and Founder of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, she often creates art as a form of protest.
She has toured and recorded with the Chicago Symphony, played at Marlboro Music Festival and with the Metropolitan Opera, and has been featured at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Chicago World Music Festival and the Robert Shaw Choral Institute (France). She led a highly reviewed improvised music project with Joseph Jarman and Tatsu Aoki and recent recordings include Greta Van Fleet’s “Palace for the People” on suona and shehnai, and “Julia Belle: The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 2” on oboe. Robbie Lynn’s new media and compositions have been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Metro Arts Nashville and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. She is a vegan, a runner, and a proud member of the queer community.
http://robbielynnhunsinger.com
https://www.instagram.com/robbiehunsinger
https://www.facebook.com/robbie.hunsinger
