AETHER

Dec 4, 2021 · Peggy Corkum Music Room · Halifax, Nova Scotia

AETHER opened Alkali Collective’s second season with a program exploring light, atmosphere, and the changing natural world. Taking its title from the once-theorized element believed to fill empty space and carry light through the universe, the concert brought together works by Jordan Nobles, Anna Höstman, Carmen Braden, Christine Burke, Sointu Aalto, and Katherine Bergman.

Across the program, these works approached environmental ideas through images and processes drawn from the natural world: trees bending and growing toward sunlight, changing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and melting Arctic ice. AETHER was the second Alkali Collective concert to focus specifically on relationships between music and the natural world, using contemporary chamber music as a space for reflection on environmental change.

From the Artistic Directors

Aether was once thought to be an element of the universe; an intangible medium through which light could travel that fills the empty spaces and connects all matter.

This evening’s programme of contemporary chamber music explores the movement of light and its effects on our ever-changing climate. These works bring forth imagery of trees growing towards the sun, the varying density of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere as it absorbs and radiates heat, and of ice melting in the Arctic.

We are excited to present our second concert concerning music’s relationship with the natural world. We believe that live music has a unique ability to encourage self-reflection and spark conversation. In this global period of transformation and uncertainty, it is our hope that you find tonight’s musical offerings both enjoyable and thought-provoking.

We are so grateful to be bringing new music and ideas to our audiences for our second concert season. We sincerely thank you for your support, and look forward to this exciting new season of contemporary music.

– Megan Thibeault & Shauna DeGruchy