Extremities
Move through time, space, and sound.
Listen to: The smooth, languid world of French impressionism, a brook running through a meadow, starlight sparkling.
Busy New York streets, confrontational instruments replacing honking horns and pushy crowds.
A 14th century gothic cathedral, echoes bouncing off stone walls, candlelight flickering.
Explore how music evolves in physical space in a completely new, immersive setting.
SoundBox’s uniquely designed Meyer Sound Constellation system transforms an industrial backstage cavern into any desired acoustic. The shifting environment and live performances bring you from one moment in time to the next. The music ranges from the threshold of audibility to chaos. Simple rhythmic elements or lone voices build into lush, even extreme soundscapes. Musicians move from one stage to the other, then surround you in the space for a complete perspective shift. Intermissions between sets give you the chance to grab a drink or something to eat, peer into the sunken exhibit of performance art—and talk with friends about what you just experienced.
Go wherever the music takes you.
Michael Tilson Thomas takes listeners through a "musical tasting menu" that showcases the venue's Meyer Constellation Sound System, which can alter the space's acoustics to mimic a variety of different environments. "This first concert will have music that goes all the way back to the Middle Ages, to some of the most luscious and impressionistic periods of music, to some completely off-the-wall works by Meredith Monk and John Cage," MTT explains. "Some of music will take the volume level of the room to its absolute limit, and some will be on the threshold of audibility. We will also experiment with visual possibilities of the room, using video projection and environmental installations."
Visual components of this opening show include Steina's 1986 video Voice Windows, featuring the voice of Joan La Barbara. Voice Windows is co-presented at SoundBox by the SF Symphony and SFMOMA. Prior to the show's start, guests will experience a soundscape installation derived from John Cage's Branches (music for amplified plants), accompanied by plant-based imagery from video designer Adam Larsen.