CalArtians Perform in SILENCE at Descanso Gardens

‘Silence’ is a multigenre music series that starts at Descanso Gardens this weekend. | Image: Courtesy of Descanso Gardens

CalArtians are among the performers for SILENCE, a new multigenre music series held over three Saturdays this month (Sept. 7,  21 and 28) at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.

Descanso Gardens is an internationally renowned floral park with scores of botanical displays, a gallery and a historic mansion. Founded by self-made publisher E. Manchester Boddy, the site is “distinguished by its specialized botanic collections, historical significance, and rare natural beauty.” Held underneath the garden’s oak trees, SILENCE explores the themes of Ritual, Light and Listening.

The site-specific music series was created by artistic directors Christopher Rountree (conductor, composer and founder of music collective wild Up) and Anna Bulbrook (violinist, indie rock musician and founder of inclusive music festival GIRLSCHOOL).

Julia Holter | Photo: Tammy Nguyen

Singer-songwriter Julia Holter (Music-IM MFA 09) is a featured performer in the Listening theme, held on Sept. 28. Holter’s style is described as “multi-layered and texturally rich,” courtesy of a practice that employs rich instrumentals as it investigates “free song structures, atmosphere, and the impulses of the voice.” In addition to performing in festivals and venues internationally, Holter has written music for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the score for 2016 film Bleed for This and the television show Pure. In 2018, she released her fifth studio album Aviary (Domino Records), characterized by Rolling Stone as both melancholic and comforting.

During the Ritual show on Saturday (Sept. 7) show, Filipino composer Jonas Baes will be accompanied by several CalArtians in his celebrated work Patangis Buwaya: Bassoonist and composer Archie Carey (Music MFA 11), experimental vocalist and composer Odeya Nini (Music MFA 11), clarinetist and educator Brian Walsh (Music BFA 06, MFA 08) and trumpeter Jonah Levy (Music 11).

Descanso Gardens enjoys a 10-year tradition of outdoor summer evening concerts, primarily in jazz and world music. The SILENCE series seeks to draw new audiences to the gardens by introducing new and unexpected sounds.

“We aim to explore this unique area in between: new music, avant-pop, and interdisciplinary arts, all in a space without walls,” said Rountree. “Among ancient trees that have stood for centuries, we invite people together around new sounds, and new ways of looking at what art-making means right now.”