The Fig and The Wasp (2021)

Electronic score for CalArts Theater Production

90 minutes

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Performed at the Walt Disney Modular Theater, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
December 3-10, 2021

Written by Samantha Behr
Directed by Josh Sobel
Composition by Sam Wells

Running Time: 2 hours 30 mins, with a 15 minute intermission.

program note

How do you fight hopelessness? A senator from a well-known political family, Rosaura Flagg promotes stability to her fellow citizens, even as the country is crumbling. As a mysterious disease starts to spread, her daughter lies in a hospital room in a coma-like sleep. The Fig and The Wasp explores the destruction caused by isolation and the power of care and connection, against the backdrop of a world on fire.

Loom Telling (2021)

single-channel video, 3840 x 2160, binaural audio

10 minutes and 20 seconds

Wearing headphones is strongly recommended to fully experience the binaural audio.

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Recorded in The Dizzy Gillespie Recording Studio, California Institute of the Arts
Filmed in C113, California Institute of the ArtsStarting December 1st, 2021, haegeum performer/composer

Jeonghyeon Joo, producing & haegeum performance
Sam Wells, music composition, audio mixing & mastering
Max Harper, director of photography & editing
Alex Buck, recording engineer

program note

Jeonghyeon Joo presents new work under the theme of The Art of Bowing every first day of the month until May 2022. Featured works include her solo compositions and collaborative works with composers, performers, and filmmakers based in Los Angeles and Seoul. Each of the six chapters will consist of an audiovisual piece, performance recording, or writing.

The Art of Bowing explores aesthetics and the world beyond the action of bowing, questioning what is beyond the body, sound, and movement of herself and her instrument. It first draws the aesthetic meaning of the bowing itself by putting a microscopic lens to the physicality of the haegeum and the performing body. It then captures the moment of connection and disconnection between them and expands its perspective to the environment and socio-cultural context surrounding the haegeum and body.

The Art of Bowing is made possible through the generous support from the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture.

Collaborators: Sam Wells, Max Harper, Tim Feeney, Sangbin Patrick Rhie, Ulrich Krieger, and Yoona Kim.

Scarp Records →

https://scarprecords.bandcamp.com

Cabinet by Sarah Belle Reid

"A cabinet of curiosities is a room in ones house, in which collections of oddities and special treasures are stored. These items are preserved and displayed on shelves upon shelves, lining the walls from floor to ceiling. As you wander through these spaces, down corridors that connect rooms together in unexpected ways, the items you notice and dwell upon weave together a peculiar story—one that is deeply personal and ever-changing, made up of precious items, secret memories, and overlapping moments in time." - Sarah Belle Reid

Sam Wells, trumpet & video processing

Christopher Biggs, electronics & audio editing/mastering