FLOODESIGN

Seeing Haunt of Last Nightfall staged for the first time was overwhelming. To return to this piece after time away is to allow for healed wounds to be reopened. Even six years after writing it, I find listening to it to be a very moving, intense, and ultimately upsetting experience. The staging, lighting, and sound design amplified its tragedy even further. —David T. Little, composer, Haunt of Last Nightfall basically one chord progression played tremolo on marimbas with soft mallets, and it makes this humming sound, almost like an organ. CB: It's very calming, and because it is so delicate, it tunes our ears to listening. The stillness with which TCP plays Apple Blossom is extraordinary; they hardly move. DS: The piece sets the intention for the evening, inviting everyone to lean in and listen a little bit closer to David T. Little's work and the story his piece brings to light. PP: How would you describe The Other Side of the River? DS: It's an incredibly ambitious, expressive piece that focuses on two marimbas but also has these bell toll sounds. I hear it as almost an elegy, which of course makes a lot of programmatic sense. It's beautiful. I can't imagine a better piece to go with Haunt of Last Nightfall. PP: What inspired the title for the program, "See You Later"? CB: Laura Colmenares Guerra introduced me to the work of Eduardo Galeano, a prominent Uruguayan writer who chronicled centuries of economic exploitation in Latin America. He said, "History never really says goodbye. History says, see you later." PP: David, a "staged concert" must be a new experience for TCP. What is that like? DS: Cathie's work is not about tagging something onto a musical performance, but really reshaping the whole evening and reimagining the impact of these musical works within a broader, multidisciplinary event. Creating this new, larger artistic experience is a thrill. CB: It was genius of Jed to bring us together. TCP is a brave ensemble. They take risks. Not all musicians are willing to do this, to let someone push them. I have to thank them for that. Their musicianship is extraordinary, and it's a joy to work with them. " " Peter Garland, a lifelong student of Native American musics, has written pieces for pianists Aki Takahashi and Herbert Henck, percussionists William Winant and Chris Shultis, accordionist Guy Klucevsek, the Abel-Steinberg-Winant Trio, and the Kronos Quartet. He edited and published Soundings Press for 20 years, and has written two books of essays on American music and culture. C O David T. Little is "one of the most imaginative young composers" on the scene, "a young radical" (The New Yorker) with "a knack for overturning musical conventions" (The New York Times). His operas JFK (Fort Worth Opera), Dog Days (Peak Performances/Beth Morrison Projects), and Soldier Songs (Prototype Festival) have been widely acclaimed, proving "beyond any doubt that opera has both a relevant present and a bright future" (The New York Times). D A V I D T . L I T T L E Gavin Bryars studied philosophy but became a jazz bassist and pioneer of free improvisation. His early iconic pieces The Sinking of the Titanic and Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet achieved great popular success. Bryars's works include four operas and a large body of chamber music, concertos, and vocal music. He has collaborated widely with visual artists (Juan Muñoz, Bruce McLean), choreographers (William Forsythe, Merce Cunningham, Édouard Lock, David Dawson, Carolyn Carlson), and theater directors (Robert Wilson, Atom Egoyan). David T. Little photo by Merri Cyr; Gavin Bryars photo by Doug Marke; Peter Garland photo by Michael Chipman G A V I N B R Y A R S P E T E R G A R L A N D www.peakperfs.org 27

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