Currents
Class
Article
College
Caine College of the Arts
Department
Music Department
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
Last spring, I was introduced to the idea that performers can use their art form to address social issues. Yo Yo Ma, one of the most celebrated cellists of our time, refers to this as citizen musicianship. Although the idea of using music to engage with the larger community appealed to me, it was difficult to find an issue that I connected with. This changed when I learned about ocean plastic pollution through a general education course I was taking. That class inspired a multidisciplinary project that in its final form will feature a string quartet interwoven with a short play. Stephen Mitton, an alumnus of Utah State University, was commissioned to write the string quartet which he titled Currents in reference to the project's subject. Kaylee Dudlee, also an alumnus of Utah State, has written the play The play is the story of a young journalist who is writing an environmental piece for the news station where she works. In the full performance, there will be visual representations of her research projected as the music is playing. The movements-- consume, fragment, produce, gyrate, and synthesize-- are representations of what the journalist is learning as she researches. Consume depicts our unsustainable use of plastic and is also a plea for the animals who mistake plastic fragments for their native food sources. Produce symbolizes our constant production and use of plastic. Fragment is the journey of plastic as it enters the ocean and begins breaking down. Gyrate continues this image, personifies the large garbage patches where this plastic is deposited. The last movement, synthesize, is a plea to take all we know and protect our oceans. The aim of this project is to inspire the audience to reconsider their use of plastic and perhaps inspire a personal change.
Location
Room 101
Start Date
4-11-2019 12:00 PM
End Date
4-11-2019 1:15 PM
Currents
Room 101
Last spring, I was introduced to the idea that performers can use their art form to address social issues. Yo Yo Ma, one of the most celebrated cellists of our time, refers to this as citizen musicianship. Although the idea of using music to engage with the larger community appealed to me, it was difficult to find an issue that I connected with. This changed when I learned about ocean plastic pollution through a general education course I was taking. That class inspired a multidisciplinary project that in its final form will feature a string quartet interwoven with a short play. Stephen Mitton, an alumnus of Utah State University, was commissioned to write the string quartet which he titled Currents in reference to the project's subject. Kaylee Dudlee, also an alumnus of Utah State, has written the play The play is the story of a young journalist who is writing an environmental piece for the news station where she works. In the full performance, there will be visual representations of her research projected as the music is playing. The movements-- consume, fragment, produce, gyrate, and synthesize-- are representations of what the journalist is learning as she researches. Consume depicts our unsustainable use of plastic and is also a plea for the animals who mistake plastic fragments for their native food sources. Produce symbolizes our constant production and use of plastic. Fragment is the journey of plastic as it enters the ocean and begins breaking down. Gyrate continues this image, personifies the large garbage patches where this plastic is deposited. The last movement, synthesize, is a plea to take all we know and protect our oceans. The aim of this project is to inspire the audience to reconsider their use of plastic and perhaps inspire a personal change.