Water Explored through Music, Dance, Video and Audio

Betsy Goolian

October 2008

A multi-media installation at the video studio in the Duderstadt Center on North Campus will open on Wednesday, November 5 at 6:00 p.m. and run through Friday, November 7.  The work, part of the ongoing Arts on Earth project now exploring the overarching theme of Arts & the Environment, takes as its theme the endless cycle of water: from rain to earth to river to lake to ocean to sky and back to rain again. A video immersion installation will be on display over the course of the three days interwoven with dance and music performances that will enhance and augment the experience.

The installation draws on both recorded and live music. Evan Chambers, composition faculty, will contribute a chamber version of his orchestral work Headwaters which will be conducted on the evenings of November 5 and 6 by the School’s own dean, Christopher Kendall. Joseph Gramley, member of the percussion faculty, conducts Water Percussion Quartet by composer Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero), a work performed on water in specially fabricated basins. Jessica Fogel, choreographer and dance faculty member, has threaded movement throughout the installation. Spoken word is also a part of the experience, with Keith Taylor of the U-M’s MFA writing program reading from his Huron River: Voices from the Watershed. Click here for a full schedule of performances.