2009 Tower Sounds

Tower Sounds: Ancient Voices and Electronics (2009)

This video is an excerpt of the “Tower Sounds: Ancient voices and Electronics” performance on July 11 and 12, 2009, by Shahrokh Yadegari in Tower by Ann Hamilton on Nancy and Steven Oliver’s ranch in Sonoma County, California. This piece was originally commissioned by the Judah L. Magnes Museum as an installation piece called “Through Music” in honor of Cantor Reuben R. Rinder. “Through Music” and “Tower Sounds” were curated by Lawrence Rinder.

See Program notes below

Berkely Art Museum / Pacific Film Archive – Tower Sounds Program Notes
Magnes Museuem – Tower Sounds Program Notes
Persian Arts Society Tower Sounds Program Notes

Performed by

Siamak Shajarian: Vocals
Kate St. Pierre: Vocals
Keyavash Nourai: Violin
Dmitris Mahlis: Oud
Satnam Ramgotra: Tabla
Shahrokh Yadegari: Lila (Live electronics)

Video by: Tara Knight and Norbert Shieh.

Tower Sounds Musician Placement Chart

Tower Sounds System Design

Tower Sounds Press Release

Meyer Sound’s News Release

 

 

FOUR NONPROFITS COLLABORATE TO CO-PRESENT
COMPOSER/SOUND DESIGNER SHAHROKH YADEGARI’S TOWER
SOUNDS, A MULTI-CHANNEL SOUND COMPOSITION, ON SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY, JULY 11 AND 12 AT ARTIST ANN HAMILTON’S TOWER
AT OLIVERRANCH, GEYSERVILLE

UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Judah L. Magnes Museum,
Persian Arts Society, and Congregation Shomrei Torah will
each host a unique fundraising event in conjunction with
one of four separate performances.
Berkeley, CA, May 28, 2009–Continuing a centuries-old dialogue between Jewish and  Islamic musical traditions, composer/sound designer Shahrokh Yadegari’s work, Tower  Sounds, will receive four performances at artist Ann Hamilton’s Tower, a 78-foot tall  alternative performance space, on Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, at Oliver  Ranch in Geyserville, Calif.

Tower Sounds, a groundbreaking multi-channel sound piece, interweaves traditional  Jewish and Islamic music, poetry, and song, combined with digitally-derived  compositional structures and stunning live performances by the Persian vocalist Siamak Shajarian, and performers Kate St. Pierre, Vocals; Keyavash Nourai, Violin; Dimitri  Mahlis, Oud; and Satnam Ramgotra, Tabla, Percussion.