SoNA Premieres Latency Canons, Collaborates with Musicians Near and Far for Digital Symphonic Release
Latency Canons by Ray Lustig Features Bay Area’s Friction Quartet, The Opus 76 Quartet of Kansas, University of Arkansas Artists and More
In the final virtual performance of its 2020-21 Reimagined Season, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) debuts a new multimedia production, Latency Canons by composer Ray Lustig, in collaboration with musicians near and far – from San Francisco and England, to local music students at the University of Arkansas.
The work is being premiered as a digital performance and be available for free on SoNA’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and here on the SoNA website.
Performed under the direction of SoNA Music Director Paul Haas, Latency Canons is a multimedia work meant expressly for the digital space, using the latency inherent in digital communication platforms for musical effects. Connecting with the current moment, Latency Canons takes the unintended and artfully reframes it into musical splendor.
“Ray Lustig’s Latency Canons is a breathtakingly beautiful, inventive symphonic work that creatively reimagines the concept of a musical canon,” Music Director Haas said. “With the pandemic and our reliance on digital platforms, the meaning of the work has more impact than ever – it’s a perfect fit to end our Reimagined Season. Just as we’ve had to rethink how to present orchestral music, the piece artfully reframes the digital experience for an uncompromising orchestral experience.”
SoNA Executive Director D. Riley Nicholson explains that Lustig wrote Latency Canons as a series of virtually connected string quartets. “Each of those connected ensembles gets further behind the orchestra, creating a ‘canon’ effect with the audience hearing the aggregate,” Nicholson said. “The piece is essentially about connection near and far – a timely theme, as connection across barriers is so meaningful after a period of extended social isolation and cultural divides.”
Lustig, a genre-fluid composer/performer based in New York, said his intent with the piece was to not only allow for the Internet’s imperfections (i.e. delays), but to employ them to create a unique sound directly shaped by them.
“Latency Canons poses the question of how we make music together in our world, how that may be changing, and what this will mean for the musical experience,” Lustig said. “Our technology is drawing us closer and closer together in so many ways, and the attitude of the work is one of communion over distances. This is a different kind of music making that, along with its limitations, has the potential to bring people together.”
Nicholson said Latency Canons is a collaboration by SoNA with the San Francisco Bay Area’s critically acclaimed Friction Quartet; The Opus 76 Quartet of Kansas City, Kan., featuring SoNA Associate Concertmaster Zsolt Eder; a string quartet in Staffordshire, England, led by SoNA Concertmaster Winona Fifield; and a string quartet of music students at the University of Arkansas organized by UA faculty and esteemed local violinist/educator/performer, Er-Gene Kahng.
“This production is the latest example of SoNA’s ongoing commitment to bringing creative content to audiences during our Reimagined Season, in spite of the challenges of the moment,” Nicholson said. “This season, we’ve been able to seize upon some powerful opportunities to test out new ideas, reach new audiences, and rethink how we can serve our community. This digital release of Latency Canons is a perfect way to close an impactful, inventive season.”
Sponsored by Marti and Kelly Sudduth
