Winter
In December I did a duo concert with Ghédalia Tazartes at the Théâtre Municipal Berthelot Jean-Guérrin in Montreuil, France. The house was packed and we had a great time, here is a link to an excerpt from the concert:
For booking or enquiries about this concert or my other projects, you can contact Pascal at Julie Tippex Arts and Music Agency for European booking, or for outside Europe you can contact us at Rhys Chatham contact.
For upcoming projects, I have been commissioned to do the music for a new work by Pascal Gravat entitled Quelqu’un d’autre, to be premiered at Théatre Galpon in Geneva this April featuring the danser Pascal Merighi, with staging by Syvie Kleiber. More on this as the date approaches!
I recently got together to play with the organist Hampus Lindwall, who plays the organ at Eglise Saint-Esprit in Paris. We did a jam to see how the timbres would mix between the instruments that I play and the organ, we thought that it sounded quite well. Here is a brief excerpt to give you an idea:
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We plan to continue this collaboration, normally culminating in recordings and performances in the not-to-distant future.
For the moment, I am putting my nose to the grindstone and working on the commission for Pascal Gravat, stay tuned to these pages for more news and music.
Videos from the winter:
Autumn:
We started the season off with the presentation of a dance theater piece by Pascal Gravat. I worked on the music all summer and we put the finishing touches on the piece at Théâtre Galpon in Geneva, rehearsing every day there the first two weeks of September.
The performances were on 15-20 September, which we were able to do despite Covid-19 by practicing strict social distancing and everybody wearing masks.
I was lucky, I arrived in Geneva from Pars just before the quarantine on people living in France, so I didn’t have to isolate during the rehearsals, although I wear a mask.
Here was the lineup:
Chorégraphie Pascal Gravat
Danse Pascal Merighi
Musique Rhys Chatham
Lumière Loïc Rivoalan
Collaboration à la chorégraphie Mélissa Cascarino
Costumes Toni Teixeira Administration Anaïde Ohannessian Image Pascal Gravat
Here is a link to a film excerpt of the piece:
And here are some photos:
Other news:
I am back in Paris, where we are largely in quarantine. I recently did some music for a sound sculpture by the visual artist Angie Eng, which is now finished. All my tours and concerts have been canceled, so I am actively looking for work.
If you have a project that needs music, this would be a good time to ask me. For enquiries, contact me at rhyschathamnews@gmail.com
Summer/Spring:
Here is where I was on the first day of summer last year, or maybe it was the year before. Anyway, it was a performance of les 100 guitares in Le Havre, France. Photo is by Anonia Enos.
For this year, we are, of course, just coming out of lockdown here in France. I spent the spring working on a piece for choreographer Pascal Gravat, to be presented in Geneva this September. Further details to be announced.
For other news, a piece I wrote back in 2016 has finally been released! It is about 10-minutes and is called “For Bob”. It is a piece written in memory of the composer Robert Ashley, who was a composer I looked up to while coming of age.
It’s finally out on vinyl as part of a double compilation album with various artists, the proceeds of which benefit the Alzheimer’s Association, you can give it a listen at the link below.
The limited vinyl edition is for USD$ 50 (or more), the CD version is $30, and the MP3 (and similar) version is $25.
Here is the link to order it: The Longest Day Order link.
Aside from that, in related news, I’ve decided to get back to my roots in electronic music. Back in the nineties, I did extensive programming in Max and performed widely at the time on trumpet and interactive electronics programmed in Max. At the start of the mid-2000s I decided to get back into electric guitar and abandoned electronic music at that point… until now!
So this summer, I’ll be getting back into electronic music with a view to having a new live set ready to go for the autumn involving electronic sounds combined with the various live instruments that I play.
Watch these pages for updates!
For booking any of my projects, from les 100 guitares, to my various smaller ensembles, to my solo and duo projects, you can contact us at this address:
Or for Europe and France contact Pascal at Julie Tippex
—ooOoo—