Monday October 30 * 6pm * RSVP (Suggested donation $5)
Join us for a discussion with invited guest composer Agustín Castilla-Avila and local composer Lewis Krauthamer on their journeys in microtonality and nonconventional instrumental techniques.
Agustín Castilla-Avila: “Between Silence, Microtonality and Instrumental Techniques' Interchange”
In 1996, during my guitar studies, I read for the first time about microtonal guitars. I was so fascinated about it. Trying to experiment to hear microtones in my instrument, I created a 36EDO scordatura system, which I have been using now for more than 25 years. In this lecture, I would like to present my ideas in a personal and biographical way about how I decided to create my 36-divisions system and to compose with it. I would also like to explain about the challenges and the decisions I took as a composer during this time.
Agustín Castilla-Ávila is a composer, guitarist, improviser, graphic artist, author and artistic researcher. He worked as a composer in Europe, Asia and USA. His music was conducted by D. Russell-Davies, J. Kalitzke, T. Ceccherini, A. Soriano, H. Lintu and H. Schellenberger among others. He has written solo and chamber music, orchestral, theater plays, choreographies and opera. He has published for Doblinger Verlag, Bergmann Edition, Mackingerverlag, Da Vinci Edition, Verlag Neue Musik and Joachin Trekel. His music has been recorded on sixteen CDs and three DVDs. He has been awarded with the Music Prize 2013 (Jahresstipendium) from the Region of Salzburg. He is president of the Internationale Gesellschaft für Ekmelische Musik in Salzburg and director of the symposium “Mikrotöne: Small is Beautiful” in Salzburg. He has lectured more than a hundred times in thirty countries, including at universities such as Juilliard School in New York, Mozarteum in Salzburg, Yong Siew To Conservatory in Singapore, Boston University, etc. He has been visiting professor at the Instituto de Investigaciones Artísticas Katarina Gurska in Spain. His exhibition "Still Life with Silence" was shown in countries such as Japan, Ukraine, Latvia, Estland, Lithuania, Denmark, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, USA and Mexico.
Lewis Krauthamer: “Microtonal Demonstration and Hearing Experiment”
I have been working (like Dr. Castilla-Avila) in a 36EDO/sixth tone system for a long time. People not used to microtonal music sometimes find the sound world perplexing. I’ll demonstrate how I’ve adapted the guitar to play sixth tones. I’ll also engage the audience in a “hearing experiment” where we compare microtonal and nonmicrotonal versions of the same music, side-by-side, to see if the microtonal versions have anything special to offer. Maybe I’ll prove the value of sixth tone microtonality or maybe the experiment will backfire. As an artist I’ve never worried too much about others’ feedback – my aim is to follow my own conscience, and it doesn’t sit well that I’d rewrite my music to sound more conventional and familiar then invite people to prefer the easier alternative… but it’s worth trying at least once. Maybe you’re also curious to see what happens.
Lewis Krauthamer is a composer, professor, pianist and author. He was born in New York but grew up in Wheaton, Maryland. As an undergraduate, he studied composition at the New England Conservatory and the Longy School of Music, finishing at Longy. He pursued graduate studies in France, receiving a Master's of Music in Musicology from the Université Jean Monnet in Saint-Étienne. Lewis has received numerous awards as a composer, including grants from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts and Meet the Composer. Lewis' article, "An Analysis of Two Large-Scale Works by Christian Wolff," is published in Perspectives of New Music, vol. 55, no. 1 (Winter, 2017). Since 2014, Lewis has served on the faculty of the University of the District of Columbia, where he teaches music theory, analysis, orchestration, music history, chamber music and piano. In addition, he teaches privately and directs the Washington D.C. - based Off the Beaten Path Music Series (OBPMS).