A 2010 Dog Star concert in Vasquez Rocks.
Now it in its eighth iteration, the Dog Star Orchestra’s summer concert series expands beyond the Los Angeles County line.
Beginning today (Aug. 28), the loose collective of CalArts’ musicians and composers, led by CalArts faculty member and composer Michael Pisaro, continues the tradition of performing music and pieces in nontraditional concert spaces, which this year includes several streets and plazas in Mexico City.
In an “extended concert of voices” in Mexico, the TRACTO ensemble performs co-curator Camina Escobar (Music MFA 10) piece Linderos on Thursday in and around the Plaza de las Tres Culturas. As the main square within the city’s Tlatelolco neighborhood, the area lies at the intersection of three distinct eras: pre-Columbian, Spanish colonial and the modern era and seems a fitting setting for a composition that translates loosely into “bordering” and “outlying.”
With more than a dozen other concerts scheduled during the next two weeks, Dog Star Orchestra members will also perform at private residences, along the banks of the LA River and at the wulf performing arts space near Downtown Los Angeles.
Here are a few other highlights:
- At the wulf on Friday, Casey Anderson (Music BFA 09) curates the concert, Almanacs, which is cryptically described in programming notes as: “New works, for no instrumentation or objects, organized around almanacs. Performed by various persons. All information will be announced at the show….”
- Dog Star Orchestra members present Rock Music for a Giant Rock on Sept. 1 in Moon Canyon in Mt. Washington. Curated by Archie Carey (Music MFA 11), the pieces include Pebble Music by composer and electronic music pioneer Pauline Oliveros.
- On Sept. 2, Colin Wambsgans (Music MFA 11) curates a soundwalk to the LA River banks with participants listening to pre-recorded compositions and field recordings by composers Chaz Underriner (Music MFA 12), G. Douglas Barrett (Music MFA 06) and Wambsgans himself.
For a complete listing of Dog Star Orchestra 8 events, please visit the Facebook events page.
Here’s a set from the 2010 Dog Star Concerts: