{"id":8,"date":"2017-11-05T18:00:40","date_gmt":"2017-11-05T18:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2019-11-01T18:20:37","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T18:20:37","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/","title":{"rendered":"Music inspired by Andy Goldsworthy&#8217;s Presidio installations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Transforming Forest<\/strong><\/em> is a work of chamber music inspired by\u00a0<strong>Andy Goldsworthy<\/strong>&#8216;s four site-specific land art installations in the Presidio of San Francisco, California. Santa Fe chamber ensemble <strong>Montage Music Society<\/strong>\u00a0commissioned San Francisco-born, Brooklyn-based composer<strong>\u00a0Nell Shaw Cohen<\/strong>\u00a0to create this piece, which was premiered in Spring 2019 and will tour as part of evening length concert programs of new chamber music inspired by visual art.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"music\">Watch &amp; Listen<\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-size: .8em;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5IuxzC4wd3c\" width=\"100%\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nSTUDIO VIDEO: Performed by Montage Music Society\u00a0(Elizabeth Baker, violin; Sally Guenther, cello; Debra Ayers, piano). Audio Recording, Mixing, Editing, and Mastering: Rick Bolton (<a href=\"mailto:Rick_Bolton@iCloud.com\">Rick_Bolton@iCloud.com<\/a>).\u00a0Photography and Video Editing by Nell Shaw Cohen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: .8em;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZrCaFBedKg8\" width=\"100%\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nLIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO: Performed by Montage Music Society\u00a0(Elizabeth Baker, violin; Sally Guenther, cello; Debra Ayers, piano). Video\u00a0by Vincent Stenerson. Photography by Nell Shaw Cohen.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 id=\"music\">About the Music<\/h2>\n<p>The composer writes:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In\u00a0<em>Transforming Forest<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>for violin, cello, and piano, each short movement is inspired by one of four site-specific installations created by British artist Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio of San Francisco: a park and former U.S. Army military fort in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. These remarkable installations were created by Goldsworthy between 2008 and 2014 using organic, on-site materials such as tree branches and soil.<\/p>\n<p>Goldsworthy\u2019s four Presidio installations are transformed through the growth of surrounding vegetation, the elements, the passage of time, and visitor interactions. In my response, I sought to evoke different kinds of transformation connected to each of the four installations.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-76\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2748-3-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Wood Line\" width=\"137\" height=\"220\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Wood Line<\/em> is a long, curving line of eucalyptus branches (1,200 feet) placed along the forest floor. Many times, I\u2019ve traced this path with my own feet\u2014walking alongside it, or balancing on top of the branches themselves, the surfaces of which have become smooth from the wear of footsteps over the years. In my response, \u201cTracing,\u201d a musical motif is continually \u201ctraced\u201d through heterophony: picked up by each of the instruments in different tempi and registers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-31\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2737-1-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Tree Fall\" width=\"225\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2737-1-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2737-1-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2737-1-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2737-1-1-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2737-1-1-660x440.jpg 660w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2737-1-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Tree Fall<\/em> is a tree trunk suspended from the roof of a small, disused military building. The trunk and roof were covered in wet clay, which developed intricate, cracking patterns on its surface while drying. In \u201cCracking,\u201d a dark, chorale-like music, conveying the womb-like interior of the building, \u201ccracks\u201d open into a rhythmically dynamic middle section.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-74\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2707-2-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Earth Wall\" width=\"225\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2707-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2707-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2707-2-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2707-2-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2707-2-660x440.jpg 660w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2707-2.jpg 1028w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Goldsworthy created <em>Earth Wall <\/em>by burying and then excavating a sculpture made of eucalyptus branches from within a rammed earth wall at the Presidio O\ufb03cers\u2019 Club. A lively third movement, \u201cExcavating,\u201d evokes the spherical tangle of branches at the core of the wall through a building contrapuntal texture.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-73\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2626-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Spire\" width=\"150\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2626-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2626-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2626-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2626-1-660x990.jpg 660w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_2626-1.jpg 1028w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In the final movement, \u201cObscuring,\u201d climbing gestures in the piano are juxtaposed with sustained notes in the strings to capture the spatial quality of <em>Spire<\/em>: a 100-foot structure made from Monterey cypress trunks thrusting dramatically into the open sky. Contrasting material in triple meter\u2014tender at first, becoming increasingly robust\u2014gradually takes over. This music reflects the stand of young trees surrounding <em>Spire<\/em>, which will eventually obscure it in years to come as these cypresses grow and mature.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>\u2014Nell Shaw Cohen, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 id=\"ensemble\">The Ensemble<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/montagemusicsociety.com\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-43 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Montage-logo750.png\" alt=\"Montage Music Society logo\" width=\"750\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Montage-logo750.png 750w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Montage-logo750-300x87.png 300w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Montage-logo750-660x192.png 660w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/store.cdbaby.com\/cd\/montagems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u25ba Hear samples of Montage Music Society&#8217;s music inspired by visual art<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Founded in 2004, <a href=\"http:\/\/montagemusicsociety.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montage Music Society<\/a> has established itself as a versatile ensemble primarily dedicated to music inspired by visual art. Their projects have resulted in a variety of commissions and performance venues and an acclaimed recording, \u201cStarry Night,\u201d on the MSR label. MMS has been heard at the Library of Congress, Washington DC\u2019s Corcoran Gallery, the Chautauqua Institute and the International Piatti Festival. In 2007 they commissioned composer Andrew List to write a new work based on a centerpiece of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts collection. Funded by a grant from The Argosy Foundation Contemporary Music Fund and Greg DePrince, \u201cNoa Noa, A Gauguin Tableau\u201d is now performed by groups internationally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Montage Music Society is currently touring programs including newly commissioned works by Bruce Wolosoff and Ofer Ben-Amots. Wolosoff\u2019s piece was based on paintings of renowned abstract expressionist painter Milton Resnick, whose centennial was in 2017.\u00a0View two new documentaries about the evolution of these works at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.montagemusicsociety.com\/recordings.html\">Montage Music Society&#8217;s website<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_42\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-42\" style=\"width: 231px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-42\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Ayers3-full-231x300.jpg\" alt=\"Debra Ayers\" width=\"231\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Ayers3-full-231x300.jpg 231w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Ayers3-full.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-42\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Debra Ayers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our group has a deep commitment to exploring the possibilities for chamber music to increase appreciation of visual art\u2014as well as reaching museum-based audiences who may not have had prior exposure to New Music. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I share Nell Shaw Cohen&#8217;s enthusiasm for Andy Goldsworthy\u2019s art and the possibilities for interpreting his work through music.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">-Debra Ayers, Director &amp; Pianist, Montage Music Society<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 id=\"composer\">The Composer<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-103 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/NellShawCohen-AltWide-780px.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/NellShawCohen-AltWide-780px.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/NellShawCohen-AltWide-780px-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/NellShawCohen-AltWide-780px-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/NellShawCohen-AltWide-780px-660x371.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brooklyn-based, San Francisco-born composer <a href=\"https:\/\/nellshawcohen.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nell Shaw Cohen\u00a0<\/a>evokes landscapes, visual art, and the lives of mavericks in her lyrical works for the stage, concert hall, and digital media. <\/span>Cohen has presented several concerts of music inspired by visual art at the Parrish Art Museum, Harwood Museum of Art, and Peabody Essex Museum, among others. As Founder &amp; Director of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/landscapemusic.org\">LandscapeMusic.org<\/a>, she advocates for music engaging with landscape, nature, and place.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cohen has been commissioned by Houston Grand Opera to write <em>Turn and Burn<\/em>, a chamber opera (premiere 2021) for HGOco\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song of Houston<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0initiative. Her chamber opera\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mabel\u2019s Call<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0(2017) received readings in New York City and New Mexico and in 2018, the University of New Mexico presented a workshop production of the full score. Her monodrama\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Coming of Spring<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0(2014) was given a workshop staging in NYC. Cohen is an alumna of the Composers &amp; the Voice fellowship with American Opera Projects and the Composer-Librettist Studio at New Dramatists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Cohen&#8217;s residencies have included Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, NYU Symphony, and a Page 73 Yale Summer Residency with playwright Mashuq Mushtaq Deen.\u00a0She studied at New York University and New England Conservatory. <a href=\"https:\/\/nellshawcohen.com\">www.nellshawcohen.com<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-105 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/NellShawCohen-Headshot-340px-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/NellShawCohen-Headshot-340px-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/NellShawCohen-Headshot-340px.jpg 255w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sites of urban wilderness in the Bay Area have frequently served as points of reference in my creative process. The Presidio\u2019s landscape of eucalyptus and cypress was particularly formative: my childhood home was steps from the site where Goldsworthy\u2019s WOOD LINE was later created. Having made countless pilgrimages to Goldsworthy&#8217;s Presidio installations, I feel impelled to formulate a musical response to these powerful places.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">-Nell Shaw Cohen, Composer<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Past Performances:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Friday, March 1, 2019 at 6:00pm<br \/>\nSITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/sitesantafe.org\/event\/montage-music-society-world-premiere-of-transforming-forest\/\">Event Website<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Saturday, March 16, 2019 at 3:00pm<br \/>\nAltazano Salon Series,\u00a0Santa Fe, NM<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/montagemusicsociety.com\/upcoming.html\">Event Website<\/a><\/p>\n<p>We are currently seeking additional venues, collaborative partnerships, and financial support for\u00a0<em>Transforming Forest<\/em> and Montage Music Society&#8217;s national tour of the accompanying program of music inspired by visual art. For more information, please contact the composer at <a href=\"mailto:nell@nellshawcohen.com\">nell@nellshawcohen<\/a> and the ensemble at <a href=\"mailto:info@montagemusicsociety.com\">info@montagemusicsociety.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transforming Forest is a work of chamber music inspired by\u00a0Andy Goldsworthy&#8216;s four site-specific land art installations in the Presidio of&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/\">Read more <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Music inspired by Andy Goldsworthy&#8217;s Presidio installations<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions\/106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/montagemusicsociety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}