Composition Commission issued to Jennifer Walshe

Sonic Acts, Amsterdam, Netherlands

“I would like to make an opera about time, deep ecological time, evolutionary time, digital time, time travel, time expansion and contraction, alternative timelines and parallel universes. The different timekeepers within our brains, the monitoring of every second through our devices.” J. Walshe

Combining Jennifer Walshe’s compositional and theatrical rigor with the groundbreaking philosophy of soloist and writer of the libretto Timothy Morton, TIME TIME TIME is a bold and thought-provoking operatic experience that will rethink traditional operatic structures. Written for an ensemble of classical players that have a strong track record in improvisation, and working with soloists who cross genres and forms, TIME TIME TIME draws on Walshe’s experiences within and outside the opera house, bringing narrative musico-dramatic forms to spaces and audiences outside of the opera house. Supported by the EvS Music Foundation and commissioned by Sonic Acts, a cross genre arts festival in Amsterdam, TIME TIME TIME will premiere as part of this festival at the renowned Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ. The composition draws on Walshe’s singular and acclaimed composer and performer aesthetic, bringing her compositional and performative ‘new discipline’ to a larger cast. It is inspired by the experience of performing to great success with the Arditti Quartet during Sonic Acts in 2016, seeing how bold new composition can be presented to a large and diverse audience. Building on Walshe’s previous EvS Music Foundation commission, A History of the Voice – Self Care I, this new work explores how her singular performance vision can be expanded to incorporate grand narrative ideas and create an opera that will appeal to audiences in new composition, visual art, free improvisation, performance and philosophy.

February 24, 2019
Sonic Acts Festival, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam, Netherlands

March 9, 2019
Borealis Festival, Studio Bergen, Norway

March 24, 2019
Maerzmusik, Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Germany

September 13, 2019
Ultima Festival, Oslo, Norway

December, 2019
London Contemporary Music Festival, United Kingdom

Further Information:
sonicacts.com