X Avant XXI: Night 1
Ghost Grain
Brooklyn based experimental guitarist Ava Mendoza returns to Toronto for a visceral solo performance. Guitarist Andrew Noseworthy & harpist Grace Scheele bring Christopher Mayo’s compositions to life, along with their own storied improvisations.
Ava Mendoza (Natural Ways, Bill Orcutt’s Guitar Quartet) creates raw angular guitar pathways with an array of electronic effects mutating her virtuosic busted blues techniques into an all encompassing sonic spectrum. Mendoza’s vocals wind over these twisted landscapes. Andrew Noseworthy & Grace Scheele open the night with some custom made pieces by composer Christopher Mayo from their latest album “Walk the Darkness Down”. Employing rattling tones, dissonant guitar howls and haunting rhythmic unease the Toronto based duo manifest the perfect score to an October night.
Curated by Tad Michalak
INSTALLATION
Outside of performances, attendees can interact with sound sculptures from Night 2 artist Stephanie Orlando.
Inspired by everyday sounds from her time working as a bike mechanic, Stephanie Orlando’s Sonic Bikes installation invites attendees to interact with the spectrum of noises and musical textures of recycled bike parts.
ABOUT AVA MENDOZA
Ava Mendoza is a guitarist, songwriter and composer. Best known for her solo guitar/voice performances, and as leader of the experimental rock band Unnatural Ways, she has received critical acclaim for her guitar work’s compelling combination of technique and visceral impact.
Performing/recording credits include work with William Parker, the Bill Orcutt Quartet, Marc Ribot, Hamid Drake, Carla Bozulich, Fred Frith, Malcolm Mooney, Mike Watt, Nels Cline, John Zorn, Negativland, the Violent Femmes, and more. She has received composition commissions from film distributor Kino Lorber, Jazz Coalition, New Music Creator Development Fund, and John Zorn’s Stone Commissioning Series at National Sawdust, as well as an FCA Grant to Artists award.
ABOUT ANDREW NOSEWORTHY & GRACE SCHEELE
Andrew Noseworthy
Noted for being “supremely delicate” (The Whole Note) as much as it is “aggressive… and whirring” (Bandcamp) yet “complex and rich” (Bandcloud), the output of multifaceted musician Andrew Noseworthy (he/they) coalesces wide-ranging styles and distinct creative practices. Often highlighted by “fascinating electric guitar acrobatics” (Take Effect Reviews), his genre-fluid projects and community-focused collaborations span composing and arranging for contemporary classical ensembles; fronting hardcore and experimental rock groups in DIY venues; commissioning and premiering new works with the electric guitar; backing indie-pop artists at clubs; scoring music for dance and film; audio production roles and educational initiatives.
Grace Scheele
Grace Scheele is an unconventional harpist noted for her innovative take on experimental and ambient forms. She masterfully interweaves harp rumblings, cinematic drones, textural loops, and candid tape confessions into music that celebrates that liminal ‘in-between’; a place of question, blank existence, or wonder.
An interdisciplinary artist, electroacoustic harpist, and composer, she works across a wide range of disciplines.
About “Walk the Darkness Down”
Grace Scheele and Andrew Noseworthy will perform composer Christopher Mayo’s piece “A Sick, Sly Age” as part of a duo set, surrounded by new, semi-improvisatory ambient music co-composed by the duo. “A Sick, Sly Age” was recently released on Mayo, Noseworthy and Scheele’s latest collaborative album, “Walk the Darkness Down,” a portrait album showcasing Mayo’s works for electric guitars and harps.
Mayo is known for his increasingly experimental works for instruments and voices as much as his work as an orchestrator for artists including Carly Rae Jepsen, Charlotte Day Wilson, dvsn, and Goldie. Walk the Darkness Down collects three works composed between 2019 and 2023 for various combinations of harp and guitar which push the instruments from gentle twang to overwhelming, clattering noise.
In “A Sick, Sly Age” the rattling thud of prepared harp punctuates an agonizingly slow guitar glissando in an intense hyperfixation on a single musical gesture.
REFUND, NO-SHOW, LATE & RUSH LIST POLICY
Sometimes our shows sell out, and that can be a bummer for folks who didn’t get a ticket. We’ve developed a new ticketing policy that applies to advance ticket holders and those wanting tickets to ensure a fair, transparent process for releasing additional tickets to a sold-out show. Please read our full policy here.
TICKETING & ACCESSIBILITY INFO
TICKETING
Our new ticket type invites you to Pay What You Can Afford (PWYCA) which means that you can choose an appropriate level and where possible, help to offset community members attending at a discounted rate. Levels are decided by you based upon your income and financial flexibility and are not verified at the door.
ACCESSIBILITY
Music Gallery’s general accessibility policies are available here. Masking and social distancing is strongly recommended for attendees who are able to and audience members are encouraged to arrive scent-free to the performance.
VENUE
First Unitarian is an accessible venue, with ramp and automatic sliding door access at the entrance on Oakwood. The event space is on the second floor, accessible by elevator and stairs on the right side of the entrance hallway.
There are individual gender neutral washroom stalls adjacent to the event space on the second floor.
TRANSIT
You can reach First Unitarian by taking the 90 Bus from St. Clair West Station (Line 1), the 63A Bus North from Ossington Station (Line 2) or 63A South from Oakwood Station (Line 5).
PARKING
Some street parking is available along Oakwood Avenue.
COVID POLICY
We strongly encourage masking at all times. For our full policy, click here.
SAFER SPACE
We expect all attendees and community members to respect one another, and to respect the work that was created for you to explore. We will not tolerate harm or harmful behaviour of any kind. View our policy here.
