#What2020SoundsLike (2022)

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#What2020SoundsLike (2022)

2020 was a year with unprecedented emotional, mental, physical, and sociological effects. During that time, HOCKET conceived this project to figure out how to make music together, make sense of what was happening in the world, and to provide an artistic and musical outlet for the new music community to express themselves.

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The Fig and The Wasp (2021)

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The Fig and The Wasp

Written by Samantha Behr

Directed by Josh Sobel

Composition by Sam Wells

How do you fight hopelessness? A senator from a well-known political family, Rosaura Flagg promotes stability to her fellow citizens, even as the country is crumbling. As a mysterious disease starts to spread, her daughter lies in a hospital room in a coma-like sleep. The Fig and The Wasp explores the destruction caused by isolation and the power of care and connection, against the backdrop of a world on fire.

Running Time

2 hours 30 mins, with a 15 minute intermission.

polymyth № 645 (2021)

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for eight trumpets

Sam Wells – composer, trumpeter, audio & video editor

“polymyth № 645” was originally premiered as "polymath 1" on Episode 85 of Metropolis Ensemble’s "House Music" video series.

“Composer and Trumpeter Sam Wells first moved to Los Angeles 18 months ago. It was there that he began to immerse himself in desert ecology, exploring the vast, dusty landscape of the Mojave Desert. He’s always been an outdoorsy person, traversing the mountains of the east coast, but the desert is new to him. Its wide open, barren land seems like a cradle of history—you can see the volcanoes and ancient rock formations of Earth’s past—but at the same time, standing there it feels as if there’s no time at all. So, he’s set out to make music that evokes that feeling of endlessness and interwoven past and present. “polymyth 1” is a movement from a larger, still untitled work that unites these ideas.

Wells began working with Metropolis Ensemble in 2017 when he performed works by electroacoustic composer Paula Matthusen. Since, he’s played with the group at a festival at Bryant Park and at Symphony Space for Bill Brittelle’s Spiritual America. He looks back on each experience fondly, remembering the performances for their high quality and the engaging music he played. 

Beyond its desert inspiration, “polymyth 1” is an exploration of how stories are passed down generation-to-generation, using translucent, layered video and sonic effects to illustrate the ways that stories morph and transform throughout time while maintaining the same core threads. Increasingly, Wells’s practice equally involves recording, editing, and performing, and here, he puts this multimedia style on display. The piece is essentially a trumpet octet, where Wells plays each part. Four of the parts are notated, while four are improvised. What we hear is a weaving, intricate chorale; what we see is an image of Wells that moves in and out of focus alongside the music to illuminate the ways that mythologies are constantly in motion.” – Vanessa Ague

Source: https://metropolisensemble.org/updates/sam...