Television
Appearance with my dear friend Pepe (José Víctor Gavilondo Peón) on the "Portland Today" show on KGW TV (May 2017)
I was very lucky to be among five composers from the Pacific Northwest who traveled to Cuba in 2016 to hear our works performed by Cuban musicians (and, in my case, also to perform with the wonderful Cuban musicians) as part of the 29th Annual Festival of Contemporary Music in Havana. This historic trip, complemented by reciprocal concerts in Portland, Oregon honoring Pepe and his Cuban colleagues, was the first exchange of classical art music composers between the two countries since the Cuban Revolution.
When Pepe visited Portland in May 2017, we were inspired to take a few of my toy pianos into Oregon's Columbia River Gorge to make some impromptu music at Multnomah Falls. We were invited to drop by the live "Portland Today" show on KGW TV to talk about our "random act of culture" and how we, along with composer colleagues and friends on both sides of the ninety mile divide, are working to create lasting cultural connections between the US and Cuba.
I was very lucky to be among five composers from the Pacific Northwest who traveled to Cuba in 2016 to hear our works performed by Cuban musicians (and, in my case, also to perform with the wonderful Cuban musicians) as part of the 29th Annual Festival of Contemporary Music in Havana. This historic trip, complemented by reciprocal concerts in Portland, Oregon honoring Pepe and his Cuban colleagues, was the first exchange of classical art music composers between the two countries since the Cuban Revolution.
When Pepe visited Portland in May 2017, we were inspired to take a few of my toy pianos into Oregon's Columbia River Gorge to make some impromptu music at Multnomah Falls. We were invited to drop by the live "Portland Today" show on KGW TV to talk about our "random act of culture" and how we, along with composer colleagues and friends on both sides of the ninety mile divide, are working to create lasting cultural connections between the US and Cuba.
Promo Reels
The promo reel I created for Cascadia Composers in June 2020 highlights several of my performances with the organization:
Clips of my work with the site-specific dance company Heidi Duckler Dance NW appear in several of the company's short reels:
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Radio
"A Different Nature" program on KBOO radio (90.7 fm in Portland/104.3 fm in Corvallis/91.9 fm in Hood River)
Program: A Different Nature
Air date: Mon. 03/31/2014
Four-hour expanded programming: recordings from Portland's new music festival, March Music Moderne IV
Live recordings from "Piano Bizarro" and The Free Marz String Trio's performance of my "Tango Ineffectuel" (part of a series of commissions based on Erik Satie's "Tango Perpetuel"). Co-hosted by Andy Hosch & Daniel Flessas.
Program: A Different Nature
Air date: Mon. 03/31/2014
Four-hour expanded programming: recordings from Portland's new music festival, March Music Moderne IV
Live recordings from "Piano Bizarro" and The Free Marz String Trio's performance of my "Tango Ineffectuel" (part of a series of commissions based on Erik Satie's "Tango Perpetuel"). Co-hosted by Andy Hosch & Daniel Flessas.
Print: Previews & Reviews
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2023
‘To build something, you have to knock something down’: Jennifer Wright’s ‘Body/Language’
The local composer assembled a cast of artists and musicians for an environmentally conscious arts and culture festival.
"Wright described...with some poetic resonance...her ethos towards music: “to build something, you have to knock something down.” Though she doesn’t seem at all concerned with knocking down anything as daunting or abstract as “the Western Canon,” but specific instruments and approaches to musical composition, it takes an eye and ear for resourcefulness and creativity to look at something half-broken and see it as potential for new growth.
One thing that is remarkable about Wright’s work is that the environmentalist message avoids two of the common tropes of the genre: utter pessimism and indifference to humanity. The music is not austere and inhuman, but rather full of joy. Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, Wright’s music envisions a new, better future emerging from whatever chaos may come in the next decades. It is music that grapples with our responsibility towards the environment, not as stewards but as co- inhabitants with the plants and animals we depend on."
‘To build something, you have to knock something down’: Jennifer Wright’s ‘Body/Language’
The local composer assembled a cast of artists and musicians for an environmentally conscious arts and culture festival.
"Wright described...with some poetic resonance...her ethos towards music: “to build something, you have to knock something down.” Though she doesn’t seem at all concerned with knocking down anything as daunting or abstract as “the Western Canon,” but specific instruments and approaches to musical composition, it takes an eye and ear for resourcefulness and creativity to look at something half-broken and see it as potential for new growth.
One thing that is remarkable about Wright’s work is that the environmentalist message avoids two of the common tropes of the genre: utter pessimism and indifference to humanity. The music is not austere and inhuman, but rather full of joy. Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, Wright’s music envisions a new, better future emerging from whatever chaos may come in the next decades. It is music that grapples with our responsibility towards the environment, not as stewards but as co- inhabitants with the plants and animals we depend on."
Jennifer Wright and her “deconstructed piano” at the Body/Language arts and culture festival. Photo by Matias Brecher.
Joshua Cheek, music writer, 2023
You had me at “Skeleton Piano!”
"There are some amazing composers you NEED to know. Like... Jennifer Wright!
Equal parts whimsy, surrealism, social commentary, “feels”, grotesquery and naughtiness, Jennifer Wright is a woman who would most likely serve as the Court Composer to the Bubblegum Princess on Adventure Time and is probably the most entertaining, exciting and important composer you haven’t heard of! ...In addition to numerous academic accomplishments, Wright’s ambitions are in NO way limited to either the tempered musical scale or conventional instruments and she boldly goes where only a handful of musical creatives have dared venture, fabricating and repurposing instruments, all wrapped up in a mend-and-make-do-and-make some goddamn-change aesthetic that includes video art, sound sculptures, extended performance techniques, trash instruments, theatricality, the natural world, movement and dance, fashion, science, silliness, electronics, found sound, live art-making, and site-specific artistic responses. Whew! Her trademark instrumental innovation/invention is the aforementioned Skeleton Piano, “a keyboard backed by a soundboard with bent metal bowls at its back and an umbilical cord of wiring linking itself to a looping pedal."
...Suffice it to say, Wright has a mind-boggling array of credentials, awards, accomplishments and creative engagements to boast...Her artistic vision is wholistic and an embodiment of ‘Reach One - Teach One,’ ...the most noble path a creative persona may follow...Much of Wright’s music is visual and theatrical, but it doesn’t rely solely on gesture and artifice: I have come to appreciate a consistent and distinctive sound, which to my ears, sites comfortable in the multi-cultural, modal, somewhat amorphous/improvisatory sound world of other Northwest coast composers such as Lou Harrison, Alan Hovhanness and Janice Giteck...In summary, Jennifer Wright is an expansive soul, who, when watching her in action and hearing her speak of her mission, makes me want to join her – and perhaps feel a little remorse that I had not spent more time becoming a better person myself."
You had me at “Skeleton Piano!”
"There are some amazing composers you NEED to know. Like... Jennifer Wright!
Equal parts whimsy, surrealism, social commentary, “feels”, grotesquery and naughtiness, Jennifer Wright is a woman who would most likely serve as the Court Composer to the Bubblegum Princess on Adventure Time and is probably the most entertaining, exciting and important composer you haven’t heard of! ...In addition to numerous academic accomplishments, Wright’s ambitions are in NO way limited to either the tempered musical scale or conventional instruments and she boldly goes where only a handful of musical creatives have dared venture, fabricating and repurposing instruments, all wrapped up in a mend-and-make-do-and-make some goddamn-change aesthetic that includes video art, sound sculptures, extended performance techniques, trash instruments, theatricality, the natural world, movement and dance, fashion, science, silliness, electronics, found sound, live art-making, and site-specific artistic responses. Whew! Her trademark instrumental innovation/invention is the aforementioned Skeleton Piano, “a keyboard backed by a soundboard with bent metal bowls at its back and an umbilical cord of wiring linking itself to a looping pedal."
...Suffice it to say, Wright has a mind-boggling array of credentials, awards, accomplishments and creative engagements to boast...Her artistic vision is wholistic and an embodiment of ‘Reach One - Teach One,’ ...the most noble path a creative persona may follow...Much of Wright’s music is visual and theatrical, but it doesn’t rely solely on gesture and artifice: I have come to appreciate a consistent and distinctive sound, which to my ears, sites comfortable in the multi-cultural, modal, somewhat amorphous/improvisatory sound world of other Northwest coast composers such as Lou Harrison, Alan Hovhanness and Janice Giteck...In summary, Jennifer Wright is an expansive soul, who, when watching her in action and hearing her speak of her mission, makes me want to join her – and perhaps feel a little remorse that I had not spent more time becoming a better person myself."
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2023
Preview: ‘Break to Build’ at Zidell Yards
The site-specific performance combines dance, music, puppetry, and film in an exploration of the cyclical nature of life and ideas, as well as the evolving identity of the historic shipbuilding location.
"Break to Build" is the brainchild of dancer and choreographer Laura Cannon and Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellow (2023) and new music composer Jennifer Wright. The title “Break to Build” refers to the natural cyclical evolution of life and ideas, the breaking down of boats to build barges, the primary industry at Zidell Yards for many years, and the evolving identity of the Zidell Yards physical location.
Inspired by rusty cranes and industrial relics, the performance will explore the history and archeology of Zidell Yards through the eyes of a dancer in an immersive mobile show that incorporates movement, sound, and visual art.
“Break to Build” is a feast for the senses, one with many surprises...It is a fully immersive experience that will leave you seeing the world a little differently at the end...Cannon...explored the grounds and its objects for two years, discovering extraordinary ways to interact and dance with their findings...new music composer Jennifer Wright...invented a large-scale instrument using industrial debris excavated from piles of old ship parts and barge-building materials. She also wrote a brand new aria titled “Luminous like Phosphorus,” that will debut in “Break to Build.”
Preview: ‘Break to Build’ at Zidell Yards
The site-specific performance combines dance, music, puppetry, and film in an exploration of the cyclical nature of life and ideas, as well as the evolving identity of the historic shipbuilding location.
"Break to Build" is the brainchild of dancer and choreographer Laura Cannon and Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellow (2023) and new music composer Jennifer Wright. The title “Break to Build” refers to the natural cyclical evolution of life and ideas, the breaking down of boats to build barges, the primary industry at Zidell Yards for many years, and the evolving identity of the Zidell Yards physical location.
Inspired by rusty cranes and industrial relics, the performance will explore the history and archeology of Zidell Yards through the eyes of a dancer in an immersive mobile show that incorporates movement, sound, and visual art.
“Break to Build” is a feast for the senses, one with many surprises...It is a fully immersive experience that will leave you seeing the world a little differently at the end...Cannon...explored the grounds and its objects for two years, discovering extraordinary ways to interact and dance with their findings...new music composer Jennifer Wright...invented a large-scale instrument using industrial debris excavated from piles of old ship parts and barge-building materials. She also wrote a brand new aria titled “Luminous like Phosphorus,” that will debut in “Break to Build.”
ProLab dancers inside the barge building sharing weight with old ship chains as part of “Break to Build,” a new work by Laura Cannon and Jennifer Wright. Photo courtesy of Laura Cannon.
Which Sinfonia, 2023
The Phoenix Project
link to complete article PDF here
"Coming into New Music Gathering (NMG) in Portland, I decided to opt out of writing any reviews or features... And then I saw Portland-based creator Jennifer Wright perform a show on her Post-Apocalyptic Instruments. ...The sheer range of Wright’s creations is remarkable...a golden oil barrel atop a series of black flanks...known as “The Egg,” ... “sonic body armor”...a dedication to truth and beauty...The instruments exuded an overwhelming aura of muchness. The Skeleton Piano was as mysterious as can be...the sheer physicality of these instruments could easily have overtaken the importance of the sound. But Wright built them in a way that when she played them, they seemed almost frugal. Every sound had its place and nothing was wasted...Wright has such a fluidity with these subtly microtonal and metallic beings and her compositions carefully consider choreography and sound alike. I was particularly taken by how she navigated large physical gestures, like wrapping herself in a shroud or pulling keys out of the Skeleton Piano and throwing them on the floor. They never seemed out of place, rather a surprising route for the piece to naturally take. I left thinking about what it takes to go the full mile, the profound power of transformation, and greatly looking forward to ... Wright’s evening drag extravaganza – "Fierce, Fabulous and Fully Coiffed!"
The Phoenix Project
link to complete article PDF here
"Coming into New Music Gathering (NMG) in Portland, I decided to opt out of writing any reviews or features... And then I saw Portland-based creator Jennifer Wright perform a show on her Post-Apocalyptic Instruments. ...The sheer range of Wright’s creations is remarkable...a golden oil barrel atop a series of black flanks...known as “The Egg,” ... “sonic body armor”...a dedication to truth and beauty...The instruments exuded an overwhelming aura of muchness. The Skeleton Piano was as mysterious as can be...the sheer physicality of these instruments could easily have overtaken the importance of the sound. But Wright built them in a way that when she played them, they seemed almost frugal. Every sound had its place and nothing was wasted...Wright has such a fluidity with these subtly microtonal and metallic beings and her compositions carefully consider choreography and sound alike. I was particularly taken by how she navigated large physical gestures, like wrapping herself in a shroud or pulling keys out of the Skeleton Piano and throwing them on the floor. They never seemed out of place, rather a surprising route for the piece to naturally take. I left thinking about what it takes to go the full mile, the profound power of transformation, and greatly looking forward to ... Wright’s evening drag extravaganza – "Fierce, Fabulous and Fully Coiffed!"
"Songs of Post-Apocalyptic Instruments" PC: Matias Brecher
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2023
No one’s experience is the same: New Music Gathering 2023 from the inside
"There were some fantastic showcases of local talent:...a reprise of the Fabulous, Fierce and Fully Coiffed show by Jennifer Wright, Nicholas Yandell, Timothy O’Brien and Saint Syndrome."
No one’s experience is the same: New Music Gathering 2023 from the inside
"There were some fantastic showcases of local talent:...a reprise of the Fabulous, Fierce and Fully Coiffed show by Jennifer Wright, Nicholas Yandell, Timothy O’Brien and Saint Syndrome."
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2021
MusicWatch Monthly: Out of darkness into marvelous light
Christmas concerts, drag shows, música latina, doom metal, and everything in between
"Draggy, brassy, nutty, classy...Everybody knows that area composer Jennifer Wright is mad, quite mad. You recently read Bennett Campbell Ferguson’s profile of Wright’s latest Skeleton Piano concert, The Phoenix Project: Art in the Time of Climate Emergency. Next up, the restless composer partners with fellow Cascadia Composers Nicholas Yandell and Timothy Arliss O’Brien for “a dragtastic concert celebrating queer identity and expression”–Fierce, Fabulous, and Fully Coiffed, a one-night show at Clinton Street Theater on Dec. 10. Local drag performer Saint Syndrome and Zeloszelos “suspended in midair” Marchandt–along with Wright, Yandell, and O’Brien in their drag personae “Tartie FaLouze,” “The Midnight Maestro,” and “Tabitha Acidz”–will perform original music by the headlining trio as well as compositions by Linda Woody, Lucas Marshall Smith, and Bonnie Miksch."
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2021
The Phoenix Project rises: Jennifer Wright and the Skeleton Piano at BodyVox Theater
Composer and pianist Wright explains how she and her students are fighting climate change using instruments made from trash
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2019
Cascadia Composers: crimes against conformity
10th anniversary season-closing concert offers clues to organization’s success
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2018
Dance review: ‘Waters of the World’ is a liquid love story
"...live pianist Jennifer Wright’s melodies carry the work...The projector fills the white costumes with images of choppy waters, and soon the movements of the dancers and the water merge...[the] choreography is sometimes frantic, sometimes smooth… unpredictable and satisfying. Wright is just as innovative with her music as she plays her “destroyed” piano—all of the woodwork stripped away revealing the inner workings of the instrument. After the show, how she accomplished her wonderfully experimental sounds during the show. After removing her shoes, she can position her foot in such a way on the strings beneath the keys so that the pressure of her foot against them creates a full range of sounds within just those notes. Her exploration of the creative potential of the instrument brought the whole performance full circle—an amazing collaboration among dancers, musician, choreographer, and lighting designer."
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2018
MusicWatch Weekly: wonder women
"...And yes, Wright’s Skeleton Piano will rattle its bones."
The Oregonian, 2017
Composers Journey from Oregon to Cuba and Back
The Oregonian, 2017
"Burn After Listening" is on a Mission to Reinvent the Classical Music Experience
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2017
'Fire and Ice' preview: Accessible Adventure
New Portland composers' collective's debut performance includes aerial dance, sculpture, poetry, icy instruments - and a close connection to audiences
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2017
Cascadia Composers reviews: Lights, Poetry, Music
Concerts Seek Meaning Beyond Music Through Complementary Art Forms
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2017
Cascadia Composers Fall Concerts: Spanning the Spectrum
Quartet of concerts reveals rich diversity in contemporary Oregon classical — or is that 'classical' ? — music
Eugene Register-Guard, 2016
A study in composure: Northwest composers’ works make up a multimedia program
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2016
Cascadia Composers reviews: The Color of Magic
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), 2015
Skeleton Piano Strikes Whimsical Chord with Dance Troupe
Portland Monthly, 2015
This is What Happens When You Strip a Piano to its Elemental Parts
Classical Pianist Jennifer Wright has found a new instrument - an old piano, stripped to its bare parts, played with everything from shot glasses to wire brushes. She calls it the Skeleton Piano, and it's gracing a Portland stage near you this weekend.
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2015
Skeleton Piano Dances
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2014
March Music Moderne Reviews: Cascadia Composers' Piano Bizarro
“What I care about is telling a story,” said pianist Jennifer Wright after last week’s Piano Bizarro concert. “I was getting bored of becoming a technical machine. How interesting is that to me or anyone else? In my concerts I want to present the story of the music in some sort of context that makes it meaningful so that people learn something, have fun, and go home wanting to share how the experience changed them. These little ripples make a huge difference cumulatively.”
...Piano Bizarro was a tidal wave of, yes, bizarre sounds created by toy pianos, amplified harpsichord, prepared piano, percussion, music boxes, electronic delay effects, four people on one piano, and four pianos played all at once. Wright and company succeeded in engaging the audience for two hours(!) of wild music by immersing the listeners in a story. The term “piano bizarro” plays off Planet Bizarro from Superman. “Everything that exists on Earth also exists on Bizarro in opposite form,” says Wright’s brightly colored comic-style program. “Pianos exist there, but as anti-pianos…. Piano Bizarro is about redefining what a keyboard instrument is and what the proper way to play it might be. It celebrates the elements of choice and chance, and questions what sounds are acceptable.”
Wright and her composer/pianist colleagues...acted out brief theatrical vignettes for each piece. For example, in Wright’s performance of Stephen Montague’s Dark Train Comin’, Clifford acted as a mail man delivering a package to Wright. Wright excitedly opened this present only to reveal the ominous portent of a skull. With a fearful “Oh no!” and a quivering clutch at her throat, Wright sat down at her harpsichord to perform Montague’s piece, which calls for tone-bending moaning, plucking of strings, and playing the harpsichord body like a percussion instrument.
Wright’s focus on narrative as a means to engage the audience came directly from her dissatisfaction with the culture experienced while pursuing degrees in classical piano performance. “I had been led to believe that classical music is more serious and thus more legitimate,” said Wright about finding her way to nontraditional music, “and I had a hard time relating the strict classical music tradition to anything else.”
Wright’s mission of liberating the keyboard from these strict classical traditions led her to the world of composition. As she began performing works by living composers, she was invited by Cascadia Composers to try her own hand at composing. “Instead of suffering over ‘How do I interpret this piece?’ or ‘How do I get that right?’ I ask, ‘How do I create that emotion?’” she explained. “My compositions always lead me in directions that I never would have gone if I had just been performing or just listening or just researching. Every aspect of composing is a journey where I learn more about what kind of musician I am and what I listen for; I bump into these barriers or preconceived notions that I didn’t even know I had.”
Wright overcame a few of these barriers with her “skeleton piano,” an old upright with a cracked soundboard that Wright acquired for free from Craigslist. The mystery and intrigue surrounding this piano was one of the main draws for listeners, particularly for the younger listeners who took advantage of the free admission for those under 12. Wright had stripped away most of the frame from the piano, exposing the strings. She began the piece by removing two of the keys from the upper register and using them like mallets on the strings.
“I thought I was being new and exciting by stripping down the piano, but as my piano students kept guessing what I meant by ‘skeleton piano,’ one asked, ‘Are you gonna take parts of the piano and throw them at each other during the performance?’ I never would have thought of that! Here was a barrier I didn’t even know was there. Piano parts belong on the piano, don’t they? Why?” This piece was the most successful composition on the program for its presentation and performance.
MusicWatch Monthly: Out of darkness into marvelous light
Christmas concerts, drag shows, música latina, doom metal, and everything in between
"Draggy, brassy, nutty, classy...Everybody knows that area composer Jennifer Wright is mad, quite mad. You recently read Bennett Campbell Ferguson’s profile of Wright’s latest Skeleton Piano concert, The Phoenix Project: Art in the Time of Climate Emergency. Next up, the restless composer partners with fellow Cascadia Composers Nicholas Yandell and Timothy Arliss O’Brien for “a dragtastic concert celebrating queer identity and expression”–Fierce, Fabulous, and Fully Coiffed, a one-night show at Clinton Street Theater on Dec. 10. Local drag performer Saint Syndrome and Zeloszelos “suspended in midair” Marchandt–along with Wright, Yandell, and O’Brien in their drag personae “Tartie FaLouze,” “The Midnight Maestro,” and “Tabitha Acidz”–will perform original music by the headlining trio as well as compositions by Linda Woody, Lucas Marshall Smith, and Bonnie Miksch."
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2021
The Phoenix Project rises: Jennifer Wright and the Skeleton Piano at BodyVox Theater
Composer and pianist Wright explains how she and her students are fighting climate change using instruments made from trash
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2019
Cascadia Composers: crimes against conformity
10th anniversary season-closing concert offers clues to organization’s success
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2018
Dance review: ‘Waters of the World’ is a liquid love story
"...live pianist Jennifer Wright’s melodies carry the work...The projector fills the white costumes with images of choppy waters, and soon the movements of the dancers and the water merge...[the] choreography is sometimes frantic, sometimes smooth… unpredictable and satisfying. Wright is just as innovative with her music as she plays her “destroyed” piano—all of the woodwork stripped away revealing the inner workings of the instrument. After the show, how she accomplished her wonderfully experimental sounds during the show. After removing her shoes, she can position her foot in such a way on the strings beneath the keys so that the pressure of her foot against them creates a full range of sounds within just those notes. Her exploration of the creative potential of the instrument brought the whole performance full circle—an amazing collaboration among dancers, musician, choreographer, and lighting designer."
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2018
MusicWatch Weekly: wonder women
"...And yes, Wright’s Skeleton Piano will rattle its bones."
The Oregonian, 2017
Composers Journey from Oregon to Cuba and Back
The Oregonian, 2017
"Burn After Listening" is on a Mission to Reinvent the Classical Music Experience
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2017
'Fire and Ice' preview: Accessible Adventure
New Portland composers' collective's debut performance includes aerial dance, sculpture, poetry, icy instruments - and a close connection to audiences
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2017
Cascadia Composers reviews: Lights, Poetry, Music
Concerts Seek Meaning Beyond Music Through Complementary Art Forms
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2017
Cascadia Composers Fall Concerts: Spanning the Spectrum
Quartet of concerts reveals rich diversity in contemporary Oregon classical — or is that 'classical' ? — music
Eugene Register-Guard, 2016
A study in composure: Northwest composers’ works make up a multimedia program
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2016
Cascadia Composers reviews: The Color of Magic
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), 2015
Skeleton Piano Strikes Whimsical Chord with Dance Troupe
Portland Monthly, 2015
This is What Happens When You Strip a Piano to its Elemental Parts
Classical Pianist Jennifer Wright has found a new instrument - an old piano, stripped to its bare parts, played with everything from shot glasses to wire brushes. She calls it the Skeleton Piano, and it's gracing a Portland stage near you this weekend.
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2015
Skeleton Piano Dances
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2014
March Music Moderne Reviews: Cascadia Composers' Piano Bizarro
“What I care about is telling a story,” said pianist Jennifer Wright after last week’s Piano Bizarro concert. “I was getting bored of becoming a technical machine. How interesting is that to me or anyone else? In my concerts I want to present the story of the music in some sort of context that makes it meaningful so that people learn something, have fun, and go home wanting to share how the experience changed them. These little ripples make a huge difference cumulatively.”
...Piano Bizarro was a tidal wave of, yes, bizarre sounds created by toy pianos, amplified harpsichord, prepared piano, percussion, music boxes, electronic delay effects, four people on one piano, and four pianos played all at once. Wright and company succeeded in engaging the audience for two hours(!) of wild music by immersing the listeners in a story. The term “piano bizarro” plays off Planet Bizarro from Superman. “Everything that exists on Earth also exists on Bizarro in opposite form,” says Wright’s brightly colored comic-style program. “Pianos exist there, but as anti-pianos…. Piano Bizarro is about redefining what a keyboard instrument is and what the proper way to play it might be. It celebrates the elements of choice and chance, and questions what sounds are acceptable.”
Wright and her composer/pianist colleagues...acted out brief theatrical vignettes for each piece. For example, in Wright’s performance of Stephen Montague’s Dark Train Comin’, Clifford acted as a mail man delivering a package to Wright. Wright excitedly opened this present only to reveal the ominous portent of a skull. With a fearful “Oh no!” and a quivering clutch at her throat, Wright sat down at her harpsichord to perform Montague’s piece, which calls for tone-bending moaning, plucking of strings, and playing the harpsichord body like a percussion instrument.
Wright’s focus on narrative as a means to engage the audience came directly from her dissatisfaction with the culture experienced while pursuing degrees in classical piano performance. “I had been led to believe that classical music is more serious and thus more legitimate,” said Wright about finding her way to nontraditional music, “and I had a hard time relating the strict classical music tradition to anything else.”
Wright’s mission of liberating the keyboard from these strict classical traditions led her to the world of composition. As she began performing works by living composers, she was invited by Cascadia Composers to try her own hand at composing. “Instead of suffering over ‘How do I interpret this piece?’ or ‘How do I get that right?’ I ask, ‘How do I create that emotion?’” she explained. “My compositions always lead me in directions that I never would have gone if I had just been performing or just listening or just researching. Every aspect of composing is a journey where I learn more about what kind of musician I am and what I listen for; I bump into these barriers or preconceived notions that I didn’t even know I had.”
Wright overcame a few of these barriers with her “skeleton piano,” an old upright with a cracked soundboard that Wright acquired for free from Craigslist. The mystery and intrigue surrounding this piano was one of the main draws for listeners, particularly for the younger listeners who took advantage of the free admission for those under 12. Wright had stripped away most of the frame from the piano, exposing the strings. She began the piece by removing two of the keys from the upper register and using them like mallets on the strings.
“I thought I was being new and exciting by stripping down the piano, but as my piano students kept guessing what I meant by ‘skeleton piano,’ one asked, ‘Are you gonna take parts of the piano and throw them at each other during the performance?’ I never would have thought of that! Here was a barrier I didn’t even know was there. Piano parts belong on the piano, don’t they? Why?” This piece was the most successful composition on the program for its presentation and performance.
Pianos — including this “skeleton piano” — took center stage at two March Music Moderne concerts last week.
Articles
Oregon ArtsWatch, 2017
Composing in the Wilderness 3: Song of Beginnings
Oregon Musician, 2013
"New Voices" column: A Pirate's Life for Me
OMTA Music News, 2013
Member Highlight: Fighting Words
Composing in the Wilderness 3: Song of Beginnings
Oregon Musician, 2013
"New Voices" column: A Pirate's Life for Me
OMTA Music News, 2013
Member Highlight: Fighting Words
Give me a shout!
jenniferawright (at) yahoo.com | 503-475-2406 | 3656 SE Morrison Street, Portland, OR 97214
ASCAP writer / publisher
Check out skeletonpiano.com to see what I've been up to with my Skeleton Piano!
jenniferawright (at) yahoo.com | 503-475-2406 | 3656 SE Morrison Street, Portland, OR 97214
ASCAP writer / publisher
Check out skeletonpiano.com to see what I've been up to with my Skeleton Piano!