9/11 alphorn at the Getty

photo credit: Katie Bergin – CARS

I’ll be at the Getty Center with Machine Project on October 22 to perform a spatialized piece for two alphorns. A dream come true. Here is a photo of our sound check at the Getty. I’m performing on a buchel, a midland cousin to the alphorn.

Terrain Music: for two alphorns
with Loren Marsteller

The Getty Center is built upon two naturally-occurring ridges that diverge at a 22.5 degree angle. Architectural grids were imposed upon each one of these ridges, and it is through this relationship that I could like to create a piece for two alphorns.

The alphorn is a long, wooden instrument used in mountain regions in Europe for means of communication. The project will feature three, 22.5 minute performances with each alphornist on separate walkways above the grounds of the Getty. Warm melodies will be directed from one hornist to the other. Additionally, gentle sounds will float into the public spaces of the Getty, setting a frame around the closer and more delicate sounds of the many water features, children, the arrival of the tram, etc. . . The vast system of walkways and balconies serve as prime performance spaces, and allow distance between the alphorns and the audience.