GREAT FALLS – The Montana Improvisers Orchestra will perform on Dec. 8 at Great Falls College MSU, 2100 16th Ave. S.
The group will perform a visual score titled “Tetractys Study,” composed by Sam Krahn, an adjunct music instructor at GFC MSU.
Tetractys Study is a completely graphic score inspired by the ancient 10-pointed Pythagorean symbol of the same name. The score is made up of 15 sketches.
“This score, unlike many of my previous compositions, does not use traditional notation,” Krahn explained. “Instead, I created a series of 15 charcoal and graphite sketches that performers react to in the moment and simultaneously choose how to musically interact with the other members of the group.”
The Improvisers Orchestra will perform the score using a mixture of toy instruments, home-made string instruments, guitars and violins. During the one-hour performance, the images that make up the score will be projected on the screens in Heritage Hall.
The Montana Improvisers Orchestra typically performs text-based scores, Krahn said. This is the first time the group has used a graphic score. Graphic scores were a common style in the 1960s.
“They’re usually more in the vein of experimental music,” he said. “The sketches allow the performers to create music in new ways that are not limited by one’s ability to read a score.”
The Montana Improvisers Orchestra performance is free and open to the public. It begins at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8 in Heritage Hall.
GFC MSU will also host a reception for the Tetractys Study on Dec. 1 from 4-5 p.m. in the Administrative Suite as part of First Friday. The images that make up the Tetractys Study are currently on display in the Administrative Suite at Great Falls College MSU. The event on Dec. 1 will include a short performance by Krahn and other members of the Improvisers Orchestra.
For more information, contact:
Erin Granger
Marketing Specialist
Phone: 406-771-4314
[email protected]
Lewis Card
Executive Director—Development, Communications & Marketing
Phone: 406.771.4412
[email protected]
