Theresa Wong & DunkelpeK
7:30pm Doors / 8pm Sound
Tickets $12
Discounted or free for members (https://withfriends.co/the_lab/join)
As a solo performer,
Theresa Wong takes the listener into the molecules of the materials at hand, revealing a relentless digging to unearth the raw vibrations of the cello and voice. Her work draws upon the questions: how can I rediscover the core of the cello as wood and string and hair, or even simply as a tree; and how can the voice take flight in all its infinite possibilities? Like a microscope set to an object, Wong focuses on the elemental qualities of her instruments through amplification, extended techniques and the interplay of improvisation and composed forms. Drawing upon sounds of the natural world, pure harmonies, transient melodies, noise and sensations of genetic sonic memory, Wong offers a timbral merging of the voice and cello, giving birth to new acoustically synthesized sounds.
Wong will also perform O Horizon, an improvised performance in which audience members are invited to bring objects of any kind (common or otherwise) as instruments for her sound making. She will perform a sonic ritual that brings awareness into the sensual microcosm and fantastic qualities of everyday materials. O Horizon refers to the nutrient rich area of a forest floor, where fallen materials are transformed into new ones through decomposition.
Theresa Wong is a composer, cellist and vocalist active at the intersection of music, experimentation, improvisation and the synergy of multiple disciplines. Her works include The Unlearning (Tzadik), 21 songs for violin, cello and 2 voices inspired by Goya's Disasters of War etchings, O Sleep, an improvised opera for an eight-member ensemble exploring the conundrum of sleep and dream life and Venice Is A Fish, a collection of solo songs. Wong's commissioned pieces include works for Vajra Voices, Splinter Reeds, Del Sol String Quartet and pianist Sarah Cahill. She has collaborated with many singular artists, including Fred Frith, Ellen Fullman, Chris Brown, Luciano Chessa, dance pioneer Anna Halprin and filmmaker Daria Martin. In 2018, she founded fo’c’sle, a record label dedicated to adventurous music from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, featuring inaugural releases by Ellen Fullman with David Gamper and Stuart Dempster, Chris Brown, Powerdove and the Lijiang Quintet. She has performed internationally in venues including: Fondation Cartier, Paris; FOCO Festival in Morelia, Mexico, Cafe Oto in London, Fabbrica Europa Festival in Florence, Italy, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; and The Stone and Roulette in New York City among many others. She currently works and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.theresawong.org & focslemusic.com
DunkelpeK is Japanese born percussionist
Nava Dunkelman and Canadian-American guitarist
Jakob Pek. This iconoclastic duo creates an experimental improvised music that reimagines the possibilities of the duo and music itself. Visceral, organic, and spontaneous in nature, DunkelpeK’s sound transfigures and transmutes, offering listeners a holistic exploration into the essence of listening and musical experience. At times cathartic and pronounced, meditative and serene, the music of DunkelpeK is unlike anything else. dunkelpek.bandcamp.com
Videos featuring musicians playing at this event
Fred Frith and Nava Dunkelman