TIDELINES

Sept 17, 2022 · Peggy Corkum Music Room · Halifax, Nova Scotia

TIDELINES launched Alkali Collective’s third season with a program inspired by water, landscape, and the natural world. At the centre of the concert was the world premiere of Affine by Nova Scotia composer Amy Brandon, commissioned through Alkali Collective’s Cross-Canada Commissioning Project and developed collaboratively through workshops and discussions between Brandon and the ensemble.

Brandon’s Affine takes its title from the geometric concept of affine transformation, in which relationships such as lines and parallelism are preserved while other properties change. Beginning with a small rhythmic and dynamic gesture, the work creates waves of sound as that material passes between performers, changes pitch and timbre, and gradually transforms. The commission was supported by Arts Nova Scotia.

The surrounding program approached the concert’s coastal theme from different perspectives, bringing Affine together with works by Malle Maltis, Jean Ahn, Fjóla Evans, Liam Hayes, and Anna Höstman.

Guest Composer: Amy Brandon

Composer and guitarist Amy Brandon creates acoustic, electroacoustic, and interdisciplinary work spanning composition, performance, installation, and augmented reality. Her work has been presented at the Gaudeamus Festival, National Sawdust, Trinity College Dublin, the mise-en Festival, and the Winnipeg New Music Festival, and she was a 2020 JACK Quartet Studio Artist. Her research also encompasses music cognition, improvisation, augmented reality, and guitar performance. At the time of TIDELINES, she was completing an interdisciplinary PhD at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

From the Artistic Directors

Thank you for joining us this evening for the launch of Alkali Collective’s third concert season. As an ensemble we strive to program and present compelling works from composers both in Canada and around the world, showcasing music that reflects the environmental, polictial, and social climate of today.

This evening’s concert features the world premiere of “Affine”, a new work by Nova Scotian composer Amy Brandon. This piece was written as part of our ensemble’s ongoing Cross-Canada Commissioning Project. Its creation was a collaborative process, involving workshops and discussions between the composer and ensemble. It has been a joy for the ensemble to collaborate so closely with one of our province’s leading musical voices. We are thrilled to present this new piece as part of an entire progam of music that explores themes of water and nature.

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

– Megan Thibeault & Shauna DeGruchy