Today, I CARE IF YOU LISTEN premieres The Sound of Science, a new project from Austin’s composer laboratory Golden Hornet and cellist Jeffrey Zeigler. The album features eight new works from seven composers, each drawing inspiration from a scientist of their choosing.
Composers Graham Reynolds, Foday Musa Suso, Yuka C. Honda, Paola Prestini, Sarah Lipstate, Felipe Pérez Santiago, and Maja S.K. Ratkje each selected a scientist for inspiration, creating music that reflects the scientist’s life and practice.
Here’s what Graham Reynolds had to say about the project:
Motivated by the severe funding cuts to and rhetorical attacks on the arts and sciences in recent years, I conceived of The Sound of Science to invite composers to engage directly in this critical conversation with scientists. Now more than ever, the two communities need to unite behind our common values of learning, discovery, and the search for truth.
The Sound of Science is out on National Sawdust Tracks on November 9th, and you can pre-order the album here. You can also purchase tickets for the album release celebration and world premiere at National Sawdust on Saturday, November 10th.
About Golden Hornet
Drawing on the collaborative spirit of rock bands and the composer-led nature of classical music, Golden Hornet is an Austin, TX based non-profit that commissions new music, fosters young and emerging composers, and presents adventurous works in non-traditional settings. Led by Artistic Director composer-bandleader Graham Reynolds and Managing Director Kate Murray, their programming ranges from youth-produced concerts to large scale, high caliber commissioning endeavors.
About Jeffrey Zeigler
Jeffrey Zeigler is among the most versatile cellists of our time. Acclaimed for his independent streak, he has commissioned over three dozen works, and is admired as a potent collaborator and unique improviser. Zeigler has been described as “fiery,” and a player who performs “with unforced simplicity and beauty of tone” by the New York Times.
As cellist of the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet for eight seasons, Zeigler worked with a diverse group of collaborators including John Adams, Noam Chomsky, Damon Albarn (Gorillaz), Trimpin, Henryk Gorecki, Steve Reich, and Tom Waits. Since his time with Kronos, Zeigler has enjoyed a uniquely multifaceted career which has led to collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Laurie Anderson, Hauschka, Roomful of Teeth, Philip Glass, Foday Musa Suso, John Corigliano, Vijay Iyer, Tanya Tagaq, Terry Riley, Vladimir Feltsman, and John Zorn.
Mr. Zeigler has released dozens of recordings for Nonesuch Records, Deutsche Grammophon, Cantaloupe and Smithsonian Folkways among others. In 2014, he released his first solo album, Something of Life. A collaborative release with Innova Records and National Sawdust, the album features world premiere recordings of works by Philip Glass, Glenn Kotche, Felipe Perez Santiago, Paola Prestini, Gity Razaz and John Zorn.