PRESS RELEASE

October 12th, 2005

For Immediate Release 
Contact: 
Sarah Norris 
sarah@newmusiccoop.org
512-626-1777

AUSTIN NEW MUSIC CO-OP PRESENTS: BEYOND THE PAST: NEW MUSIC FOR EXTINCT
INSTRUMENTS

In an ambitious program more than two years in the making, the Austin
New Music Co-op will resurrect innovative instruments designed at the
turn of the century (the 20th century, that is) for an exciting concert
of new music. Modeled after the inventions of Luigi Russolo, these
hand-crafted instruments will be premiered alongside other traditional
instruments in eight new works by member composers of the NMC. This
combination performance, art exhibit, and history lesson is a rare
opportunity to experience "futuristic" music of the past.

NMC PRESENTS: BEYOND THE PAST: NEW MUSIC FOR EXTINCT INSTRUMENTS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 8PM BALLET AUSTIN ACADEMY (3002 GUADALUPE ST)
TICKETS: $12 IN ADVANCE AT WATERLOO RECORDS $15 AT THE DOOR, $10
STUDENTS AT THE DOOR

Detailed information and press photos on the NMC web site at:
(http://www.newmusiccoop.org/upcoming/)

How did artists of the past view music of the future?  And what would
that music sound like today?  One group of musicians and composers in
Austin seeks answers to these questions in the concert hall and the
carpentry shop.  Led by Sarah Norris, the New Music Co-op has used scant
historical evidence and rare recordings to recreate the "intonarumori,"
('noise instruments' in Italian) a series of instruments invented in the
early 1900s by bombastic Italian Futurist composer Luigi Russolo. The
intonarumori were meant to elevate the environmental sounds of an
emerging urban world to a high art, with suggestively named models like
the "roarer," "crackler," and "gurgler."  Our all-volunteer group has
been designing and building from scratch for over two years, and will
present a concert of original new music for these lost and forgotten
instruments on November 12.  This concert presents a unique intersection
of art and music, history and modernity.  For more information and press
photos, please visit http://www.newmusiccoop.org/upcoming/

About the 'Beyond the Past' Project
At the heart of the New Music Co-op's Russolo project is the act of
re-creation.  Re-creating these instruments, however, presents a number
of unique challenges.  Though praised by composers like Ravel and
Stravinski in their time, none of the original instruments or their
design plans remain.  Further, Russolo's descriptions of his instruments
are intentionally vague because he feared design imitations.  As a
result, the New Music Co-op has worked from only Russolo's descriptions,
the few remaining recordings, and rigorous testing to piece together its
own designs for the intonarumori.  Because of the project's intuitive,
design-intensive nature, progress has been hard-won.  However, under the
leadership of project manager Sarah Norris and the skillful eye of
carpenter Kirk Laktas, the many months of challenging work have produced
a brand new set of roarers, rubbers, cracklers, and gurglers.  With the
addition of the Co-op's new compositions for the instruments, this
presentation will be a unique marriage of concert, art exhibit, and
history lesson.

About the 'Futurists'
The Futurists' world is one that is at once familiar and foreign to the
modern eye.  In early 20th century Italy, cars, machines, and factories
were exciting innovations that promised great things for humanity. 
Accordingly, the Futurists wished to shake audiences from their sleepy
appreciation of old world fineries, and to jolt them into relishing the
beauty of the new, urban sounds around them.  As Russolo said in his
treatise, The Art of Noise:

"We Futurists have deeply loved and enjoyed the harmonies of the great
masters. For many years Beethoven and Wagner shook our nerves and
hearts. Now we are satiated and we find far more enjoyment in the
combination of the noises of trams, backfiring motors, carriages and
bawling crowds than in rehearsing, for example, the 'Eroica' or the
'Pastoral.'"

This emphasis on sound as music presents one of the earliest
outcroppings of the 20th century avant-garde, and foreshadows the much
later work of John Cage.  Absurdist Futurist performance was a great
influence on Dada, and the movement shared its forceful visual
depictions of motion with Futurism in Russia, Cubism, and even the work
of Marcel Duchamp.

About Austin New Music Co-op
The New Music Co-op is a community of composers and performers from the
Austin area dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of new
music.  Since 2001, the NMC has presented a wide range of innovative and
compelling new works and created a unique environment for collaboration
and the free exchange of musical ideas.  Notable New Music Co-op
concerts have included John Cage's Songbooks, Pauline Oliveros' Four
Meditations for Orchestra (with the composer in attendance), a three-day
series of the works of the New York School, and Terry Riley's In C.  New
Music Co-op members come from highly diverse backgrounds, from classical
performance to electronic music to formal composition to rock bands. 
The group runs by consensus, and gains its strength from its members'
varied experiences and interests.  The New Music Co-op is proud to
announce that is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all
donations to the group are tax-deductible.

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For more information contact: 
Sarah Norris 
sarah@newmusiccoop.org
512-626-1777