Exquisite Drones
premiered in by Pickman Concert Hall’s “Seen / Unseen” digital series at The Longy School of Music at Bard College in Boston.
a work for cello & electronics composed by inti figgis-vizueta, Conrad Tao, Jack McGuire, & projections by Laurie Olinder after the surrealist drawing game “exquisite corpse,” a collaborative game played by artists to create bizarre & intuitive drawings while not knowing the other participants contributions.
Wick turns the “group-work” of the drawing into three compositions written separately in isolation by three composers expressing their personal relationships to sustained tones. Their disjointed juxtaposition leaves Wick the task of connecting them with his cello in spaces of humming, growling, a cloud of Morse code, and words that cease to mean anything.
This work about “not knowing,” as the irregular vibrations of a relentless hum create unpredictability in a long-held tone. Within the vibrating stillness of these drones exists a whole world of possibility, where melody & rhythm may separate & unite again in a generative way.
“Nacht und Träume”
Wick plays Schubert’s “Nacht und Träume” with Elizabeth Pridgen at First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA.
Suzidil Saz Semai
Wick Simmons & Kane Mathis play Sedat Öztoprak’s “Suzidil Saz Semai,” recorded at Schubert Studios in San Francisco, CA