Photo courtesy of olaerik's on Flickr.
Learning that Ottawa has its very own Balloon Orchestra just made my day. Apparently the orchestra, which uses nothing but latex balloons to create music, started as a class project in 2008 at Carleton University and has continued to perform around the city, even scoring a couple of appearances on the CBC. The ten members of the group rub, deflate, stretch, hit and pop the balloons to create a remarkable range of sounds. For example, I was convinced that the beginning notes of Clair Balloon, one of the songs available on the group’s MySpace, was made by a clarinet. While not all the other songs are quite as enchanting (Three Breaths for Three Balloons kind of sounds like a bagpipe that’s inhaled helium) the group will definitely expanding your idea of what music can be made from.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
The Balloon orchestra is just one of the innovative Ottawa musicians being featured by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society’s upcoming concert, New Music in New Places. The show, which is taking place at the Carleton University Art Gallery (St. Patrick Building, 1125 Colonel By Drive), features the works of seven local composers, at least two of which incorporated visual arts into their work. Ryan Purchase’s The 53 Stations of the Tokaido consists of five suites of miniatures inspired by a series of prints created in 1833 by Japanese printmaker Utagawa Hiroshige. Hiroshige’s work, based on sketches he made while traveling the Tōkaidō road, have inspired Western artists like Vincent Van Gogh. Chan Na Kin’s and the masks evoke will be performed by the Gryphon Trio as the audience is led through a fantastic journey inspired by the ceremonial masks of Canadian aboriginal peoples.
New Music in New Places is being presented in partnership with the Ottawa New Music Creators and Carleton University on Saturday, April 10 at 8pm. Tickets are $15 adult / $10 students and can be purchased at the OCMS Box Office, by calling 613-234-6306, or at the door. For more information, please contact the OCMS office at 613-234-6306 or www.chamberfest.com.
Info and some of the text for this post came courtesy of Artengine Artlistings. Full list of composers after the break:
