Electronic musician and composer Amy X Neuburg debuts new works created for Virginia Tech’s Cube
Genre-crossing composer, vocalist, and electronic musician Amy X Neuburg will present a new poetry-based work designed exclusively for the unique spatial audio environment of the Moss Arts Center Cube, along with re-workings of her solo repertoire and a gesture-controlled collaboration with a Virginia Tech professor.
Culminating a week-long residency at Virginia Tech, Neuburg will perform on Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Moss Arts Center Cube, located at 190 Alumni Mall.
Neuburg has been developing her unique brand of music for more than 30 years. One of the earliest performers to work with live digital looping, she is known for her innovative looping style using electronic percussion, as well as her four-octave vocal range and colorful lyrics.
Her performances will feature her longtime “avant-cabaret” repertoire that she has spatialized for the Cube and the world premiere of “Midnight in Sirkka,” a simple repeating song arranged for the Cube that builds in density as it progresses.
Her work “Entitled” was commissioned by Virginia Tech specially for this concert. Featuring her own voice, Neuburg will explore every possible placement in the Cube, ranging from a single sound from one speaker to 124 discrete sounds from all of the Cube’s speakers simultaneously.
“Duet” is a piece Neuburg will develop with Eric Lyon, associate professor of music technology and composition in Virginia Tech’s School of Performing Arts and Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) senior fellow, during her Cube residency.
“We have discussed using gestural controllers,” Neuburg said. “So be prepared for some theatrics and any number of sonic and visual surprises. The text is a sort of sound-poem onslaught, in which the utterances create the rhythms and textures, sometimes making sense, sometimes not.”
Neuburg has performed at such diverse venues as the Other Minds and Bang on a Can new music festivals, the Berlin International Poetry Festival, New Zealand jazz festival, the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, and colleges, rock clubs, and concert halls throughout the U.S. and abroad. As a composer she has worked with a huge range of ensembles and media artists, including San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Paul Dresher Ensemble, Pacific Rim and San Francisco Girls Choruses, Del Sol String Quartet, MondoMedia animations, and numerous modern dance groups.
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Immediately following her performance on April 6, engage with Neuburg during a question-and-answer session moderated by Lyon.
In addition to her residency work, she will also visit a music composition class and a computer music and multimedia class led by Charles Nichols, assistant professor of composition and creative technologies in the School of Performing Arts, and participate in a poetry workshop led by Erika Meitner, associate professor of creative writing in the Department of English and director of the creative writing master of fine arts program.
Tickets
Tickets are $10 for general admission and $7 for students and youth 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.
While Virginia Tech students can always attend any Moss Arts Center performance for only $10, the center also offers free last-minute rush tickets for students who sign up for text notifications. To receive these notifications, text “arts” to 31996. Availability of rush tickets varies by performance and tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last in the box office. Virginia Tech ID will be required for admission.
Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street. Virginia Tech faculty and staff possessing a valid Virginia Tech parking permit can enter and exit the garage free of charge. Limited street parking is also available. Parking on Alumni Mall is free on weekdays after 5 p.m. and on weekends.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Kacy McAllister at 540-231-5300 or email kmcallis@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to an event.
