Composition Commissions issued to Schubert, Bailie and Trapani

Zwerm, Antwerp, Belgium

For the project Our Ears Felt Like Canyons the Zwerm ensemble drew inspiration from pioneer Pierre Schaeffer’s idea of “acousmatic listening” and “musique concrète”. The focus here lies on listening without visual influences, similar to Pauline Oliveros’ “deep listening”. To make this extended listening possible Zwerm chooses a special concert arrangement: the four musicians sit opposite each other in the middle with electric guitars but are not visible for the spectators sitting around them. The sound comes from loudspeakers that are positioned around the audience.

Supported by the EvS Music Foundation Zwerm issued composition commissions for this project to Alexander Schubert, Joanna Bailie and Christopher Trapani. This means new pieces of work will be written for the still small repertoire for electric guitar quartet. During the creative process up until the premiere Zwerm will work closely with the composer in Australia to familiarize himself with the line-up and the technical specificities. The end product will not be so much a concert in the traditional sense but more a sound sculpture.

September 4, 2017
Bendigo International Festival for Exploratory Music, Bendigo

October 25, 2017
Transit Festival, Leuven

May 2018
SPOR Festival, Aarhus

Further concerts are planned in Germany.

Further Information
www.zwerm.be