Scratch the Grand Finale
| Nov ’09 |
| 22 |
| 8:00 pm |
The Scratch Orchestra was an experimental musical ensemble founded in London in the spring of 1969 by Cornelius Cardew, Michael Parsons and Howard Skempton. The Orchestra reflected Cardew’s musical philosophy at that time. This meant that anyone could join, graphic scores were used (rather than traditional sheet music), and there was an emphasis on improvisation. The Scratch Orchestra arose from Cardew’s ‘Experimental Music’ class at Morley College, London, which served as a venue for extra rehearsals for Scratch Orchestra concerts, but Scratch Orchestra rehearsals were also held separately. The first meeting of the Scratch Orchestra was at St. Katharine’s Dock, London, 1 July 1969. It was announced by means of a ‘Draft Constitution’, published in “The Musical Times” in June 1969. The Draft Constitution set out categories of musical activity: Improvisation Rites, Popular Classics, Compositions, and Research Projects.
Performa’s Grand Finale for 09 adopts and adapts such an approach, creating a ‘Draft Constitution’ that responds to the Futurist themes of the ’09 biennial. Invited artists, musicians, writers and poets will present work related to the seemingly disparate topics of food, lust, noise, architecture and magic. Scratch the Grand Finale suggests the spirit of the Futurist Synthetic Theater and Filippo Marinetti’s assertion “spectators will be made to ‘forget the monotony of everyday life’ through a ‘labyrinth of sensations’ characterized by the most exasperating originality combined in unexpected ways.”
Invited artists will be asked to present a five to ten minute work responding to the following subtitles: Dining on Radio Waves; Lust is a Force; Between Noise & Silence; Songs for Architects; and Motion & Magic.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Ari Benjamin Meyers with Chris Spencer (Unsane), Luciano Chessa, Davide and the Balulalas, Didier Fiuza Faustino, Nick Hallett, Xiao He, Jonas Mekas, Kalup Linzy, Kay Merryweather, Katie Paterson, Shannon Plumb, Daisy Press, Zhang Shouwang, Beau Sievers, Mai Ueda, Imani Uzuri with Marika Hughes.
Tickets: $15 / $11 Performa Members
