Heroes and Villains/Donald Sales

Choreographer and Ballet BC dancer Donald Sales has commissioned me to write the music for an upcoming piece of his called Heroes and Villains. After some discussion on Donald’s conception for the piece, how we mask our true identities, obscure our hidden desires and genuine natures, I decided I would write him a double string quartet with found sounds and text.  A SUPER MEATY proposition! I finished writing the bulk of the through-written material at the beginning of December, hired a stellar quartet in Rebecca Whitling and Jesse Zubot – violins, Reg Quiring – viola, and Peggy Lee – cello, and they laid down some gorgeous performances and fierce improv during the Dec 4th recording session. The next phase is to sift through the takes, organize the sampled material, and start building the piece by section. I’m looking to deliver the final piece to Donald by the middle of January, and then we’ll wait to see where it premieres. There’s been talk of it landing with Germany’s Ballet Mannheim, or here in Vancouver during the 2012 Hutzpah Festival. Would be nice to head over to Germany for a premiere, wouldn’t it?