Preview
JOHN CAGE CONFERENCE
Lectures
January 28 to 29
University of Calgary
Concerts
January 27 and 28
University of Calgary
Avant-garde composer John Cage changed perceptions about music and sound. The nature and meaning of music is broader and freer because of his art, but there aren’t many opportunities to hear his work. Some people claim Cage "destroyed" music, with the way he challenged traditional harmony and melody, and perhaps this is why his music is not often played.
As part of the University of Calgary’s Happening festival, the music department is holding a John Cage conference and it offers a great opportunity to hear his music performed live and gain an understanding of his work.
The student-run conference is being organized by music student Jean-Louis Bleau, who felt a need to organize an event to advance education and touch on interdisciplinary topics not covered in the curriculum. "This event goes beyond the classrooms," he says, "and gives different perspectives we may not be getting from the professors at the University of Calgary. It is a way of making ourselves worldly without having to leave."
As a farmer as well as a composer, Bleau raises dogs and Kashmiri goats north of Calgary – he can leave his animals for long periods of time. And being a student, he is short on financial resources to travel to other conferences, so hosting a local event was the perfect solution.
"Cage is a dynamic artist, not limited to music." Bleau says. "He explored art and also dance with his partner Merce Cunningham. This gave us the opportunity to invite other disciplines in the university to become involved. There are many issues we wouldn’t necessarily have considered in music studies such as philosophy, literature and dance."
Some conference highlights include: Jean Freebury, representing the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, will give a workshop for university dance students, and composer Gordon Mumma, who worked with Cage at Cunningham Dance from 1966 to 1974, will deliver a lecture that looks at Cage from a "composite view. " Christian Bök, from the Department of English, will read sound poetry as part of the performances. In addition, the festival will feature one of Cage’s most famous conceptual pieces, 4’33" (in which the pianist sits motionless at the instrument for the required time, permitting all sounds in the concert hall to be considered and appreciated as music, whether composed and intentional or not).
Cage’s theories and practices are far-reaching and influential for every aspect of artistic expression. Fortunately, the ambitious Bleau has initiated this conference here – undaunted by the amount of work it takes, he hopes to make it an annual event. |
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