Meet the Composer

Margaret Brouwer

Margaret Brouwer collaborated with video/sound artist Kasumi to create Breakdown, a sample-based hybrid opera in one act. These two artists integrated experimental film with ACO s groundbreaking Orchestra Underground. The sampled audio/visual/film materials and live orchestral music are mixed to create a multilayered narrative flow that revealed intriguing structural formations and compelling meanings. Each sample is a portion or fragment of audio and visual material extracted from its original found footage source like movies or early television. These are chosen on the basis of one or more formal elements: movement, gesture, color, tempo, pitch, timbre, texture, emotion, content, etc. The acoustical music strengthens and deepens the meaning in the visual/audio elements, and the music sometimes suggests underlying emotions or observations that are not apparent on the screen. In addition to the two performances, Brouwer and Kasumi participated in a Meet-the-Artist event and previewed parts of Breakdown at the Maya Stendhal Gallery in New York City. This event was open to the public, that attracted audiences interested in music compostion as well as video and sound art. The event included much discussion of the impetus and details of their collaboration. Brouwer and Kasumi participated in a pre-concert discussion at the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia and masterclasses at Brooklyn College and the University of Pennsylvania. Like the Meet-the- Artist event, these masterclasses were open to enrolled students and the public.