Marathonologue (Balinese Gamelan, Japanese Taiko Drumming, Highland Bagpipe)

Marathonologue, an interdisciplinary production inspired by this ultra-marathon runner energized by killer hornet extract, combines highland bagpipe, Japanese taiko and Balinese gamelan music by composers Michael O'Neill, Boyd Seiichi Grealy and I Wayan Sudirana, in live synchronization with computer-animated projections by Kenneth Newby and Aleksandra Dulic. The production brings to life the interplay between the physical landscape and a runner's internal 'mindscape' as it develops and transforms in the experience of running a global marathon.

The three composers creating music for Marathonologue are each immersed in rich cultural music traditions; Balinese gamelan, highland bagpipe and Japanese taiko. The music in Marathonologue gives the composers an opportunity to explore the relation between these musical styles both in theory and in practice.

I Wayan Sudirana was born in Ubud, Bali and is regarded as one of Bali's most gifted musicians. He has composed and taught actively in Bali and abroad and has been artist in residence at the University of British Columbia since 2004.

Vancouver composer-performer Michael O'Neill is a founding member of Gamelan Madu Sari and performs both Javanese gamelan and Balinese gender wayang. Michael also performs with and composes for his own highland bagpipe ensemble Mearingstone.

A native of Victoria, Boyd Seiichi Grealy is a multifaceted taiko drummer and percussionist. He has spent seventeen years as an international touring artist and co-artistic director of Vancouver ensemble Uzume Taiko, Canada's first professional taiko group.

Together, in collaboration with musicians Sylvia DeTar, Elaine Ng, and Eien Hunter-Ishikawa, they create a mesmerizing river of sound and texture, trance-like and rhythmic, expanding the sonic landscape.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• gamelan
• collaboration
• vancouver
• ISI Denpasar
• gong kebyar
• Javanese gamelan
• taiko
• japanese
• drumming
• madu sari
• gita asmara
• Uzume Taiko