Today’s video premiere heirlooms comes to us from composer Ashlin Hunter, cellist Matt Magerkurth, and videographer Nick Zoulek.
Here’s what Ashlin had to say about the project:
When I told cellist and longtime friend Matt Magerkurth that the film was about a girl who plants her childhood heirlooms to watch them grow into flowers, he said, “That is the most Ashlin thing I’ve ever heard.” I wrote this piece for Matt, a person who has been a vibrant presence in my life since we met when we were 15- and 16-years old at a summer composition workshop in Kansas City. As I wrote the piece, I would pretend I was in a small room with Matt and his cello. The energy of the piece began as imaginings of sitting in that room, and the music as it exists now shares the intimacy and visual physicality of that experience.
Saxophonist and multimedia artist Nick Zoulek and I crafted the narrative of the film to retain the themes of familiarity and childhood while vividly expressing other ideas that are central to my identity as a composer: memory and blossoming. Many of the heirlooms seen in the film are personally meaningful to me: the metal fish is my mother’s, and the key is from my childhood key collection. heirlooms presents a captivating narrative of innocence, remembrance, and growth through a girl and her music box.
About Ashlin Hunter
Ashlin Hunter values writing music that is whimsical, poetic, and explores the performer and audience experience in live and recorded mediums. Her interest in unidirectional development, geometric forms, and proportional relationships convey her captivating musical voice. Ashlin’s recently completed projects include a large chamber ensemble piece that changes color over time and a vibraphone solo with live electronics. In addition to pursuing music, Ashlin enjoys gardening and crossword puzzles.
Ashlin’s compositions have been performed across the United States and in Europe, including performances at the University of Nebraska-Kearney New Music Festival, the OK Electric Festival, the Cortona Sessions for New Music (Cortona, Italy) and the National Opera Center (NYC). Her music has been performed by esteemed performers and ensembles such as kla (Carlos Cordeiro and Dorothy Chan), Origin Brass, and the Chimera Concert Series. Ashlin received her Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Bowling Green State University where she studied with Christopher Dietz, Mikel Kuehn, and Marilyn Shrude.
About Matt Magerkurth
Matt Magerkurth is a composer and cellist currently based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As a a composer, his work has been performed across the US and Europe by university and professional ensembles, including commissions for the University of Tulsa Wind Ensemble, loadbang, Ascending Duo, among others. As a performer, he actively commissions and performs new solo works, as well as having collaborated with Matthew Gold, Steve Beck, and members of Mivos Quartet. He also is an avid improviser, and is a touring member of a number of Tulsa acts including Combsy, Kalyn Fay, and Dane Arnold and the Soup. He is in process on a full-length solo cello album of his own music, due for release in early 2019.