Meet the Composer

Christine Southworth

Two years after winning a commission for a new work inspired by the loss of a dear friend and the addition of some 40,000 honeybees into her life, Boston-based Christine Southworth returned to Southern California in April of 2009 to perform the West Coast debut of acclaimed Honey Flyers' on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. As part of both public performances Southworth and the Calder Quartet discussed the process of learning and premiering the work, and engaged the audience in a lively Q&A about the piece. A unique component of the composition, the performance, and the Q&A was Southworth's use of a device she designed for her compositions called the Bot(i)Cello. The Bot(i)Cello is a tree-shaped electric string robot that uses fans to pluck guitar strings of changing lengths. There was also a post-performance Honey Tasting & Discussion where audience members participated in a honey and cheese tasting prior to the first performance while they discussed the inspiration of her new work as well as the creation of the Bot(i)Cello. Additionally, Southworth conducted a Tech Talk at the UCSD Center for Research in Computing & the Arts (CRCA) that supported new technology approaches to music performance and composition.