EMERGENTS IV: ROOM TONE EXHIBIT

The Music Gallery presents
EMERGENTS IV: ROOM TONE – Part Two, Online VR Exhibit

June 26-27, 2021

Online

FREE

EMERGENTS IV: ROOM TONE is a workshop and exhibit focusing on community-rooted archival techniques and digital placemaking. 

Facilitated by artists Lilian Leung and Dan Tapper, the workshop culminates in a public online exhibit of virtual-reality installations, created by six early-career musicians from across Toronto to showcase their music online.

This May and June, T.J. Banate, Maddie Bautista, Camille Kiku Belair, Morgan-Paige Melbourne, Stephanie Orlando, and Ilana Waniuk worked with digital artists Lilian Leung and Dan Tapper to build virtual online spaces for audiences to interact in virtual reality with their music. A link to the online exhibition of everyone’s creations, along with details on how to access the artists’ work in VR, will be made available for one week, beginning June 26 at 7pm.

HOW TO ENJOY THIS DIGITAL GALLERY:

• These virtual rooms work best on a computer using the web browser Firefox or Google Chrome.
• Navigate the rooms using your WASD keys to move around, use your QE keys to change your view.
• Each virtual room has a capacity of 20 people.
• If a room is full, you can hang out in the lobby for check back later.
• When you enter a room, please mute your mic.
• You will only be able to experience one room at a time.
• It may take up to 1 minute to load a room.
• If you aren’t sure which room to check out first, try checking out the room ‘welcome back’ to get your bearings, test the controls, and see a preview of each project.

Welcome Back- your home screen

Sara Constant, curator

sinkhole

Stephanie Orlando

music: 2 from big, 1 from small (2019) (excerpts)

“sinkhole is a virtual exploration of isolation spaces and their impact on mental health. The past year has brought to light the inequalities of living spaces when they become isolation spaces–primarily people who live in large metropolitan areas, who don’t have access to private outdoor spaces, who live alone, or who live in “shoebox” apartments (an apartment of 400 square feet or less). These spaces can have a negative effect on one’s emotional wellbeing by denying them regular access to amenities, such as fresh air and human contact, that are required for a healthy life.

The global sample heard is an excerpt from my work “2 from big, 1 from small” (2019), performed and recorded by percussionist Gloria Yehilevsky in February 2020. The remaining samples heard were recorded by the composer.”

Stephanie Orlando (b.1993) is a composer based in Toronto. Her work has been performed by ensembles such as Femmeldoy Chamber Music Collective, Stereoscope Saxophone Duo, junctQin Keyboard Collective, Thin Edge New Music Collective, Penderecki String Quartet, and Duo D’Entre Deux. Her current interests include mixed media composition, creative coding, and using technology in combination with classical instruments.

X-Terra

Morgan-Paige Melbourne

music: X-Terra (2021) – new work for piano and electronics

“So often we are caught up in our own world that we get lost in our thoughts, and sometimes we need an escape. This room features a new work for piano and electronics by Morgan-Paige called X-Terra, which is a piece on her latest EP “Requiem’s End”. Welcome to X-Terra, a little warped reality.”

Morgan-Paige Melbourne is a Toronto based pianist, composer and singer. Morgan has performed extensively in Toronto, GTA, Guelph, Bahamas, and recently Montreal and France.

Rust

Ilana Waniuk

music: solo improvisations, violin and electronics

Ilana Waniuk is a violinist with interests ranging from improvisation to visual arts. Along with pianist Cheryl Duvall, Ilana is a founding member and co-artistic director of Tkarón:to – based Thin Edge New Music Collective. Ilana is currently a doctoral student in contemporary performance at the University of California San Diego.

the air is like a fine tulle

Camille Kiku Belair

music: the air is like a fine tulle (2021)

Camille Kiku Belair is a Toronto based composer, classical guitarist, artist and writer. Interested in working with field recordings, experimenting with mixed media within visual arts is also a large part of their practice.

Running Running Running Running Room Room Room Room

Maddie Bautista / xLq

music: Running (2021)

Running Running Running Running Room Room Room Room is the afterlife for discarded heels. After years of service, abuse, parties, walks, and runs, these pieces of fur, glitter, and leather have an eternity to spend, but nowhere else left to go.

The music featured in the room is Running (2021) by xLq from their pop song/blueprint series Plastic Wails.”

Maddie Bautista is a Bi, Filipinx sound designer and composer. Her sound design and compositions have been featured in theatre companies and festivals across the country, including Luminato, Theatre Passe Muraille, Aluna Theatre, b current, rEvolver Festival in Vancouver, High Performance Rodeo in Calgary, and more. She is 1/2 of pop-art duo xLq with Jordan Campbell.

Journey to the Horizon

TJ Banate / THENOISEWITCH

music: Child of the Divine, The Noise Witch

“Journey to the Horizon” is a mixed-media digital collage accompanied with an original piece, “Child of the Divine”, a modern day prayer to honour our connection to forgotten Ancestors. This piece is embedded with concealed scripts and sound healing frequencies.”

T.J. Banate (alias: The Noise Witch) is a Filipinx artist, educator and healing practitioner, based in the Greater Toronto Area. Their art is inspired by drag, burlesque and experimentation within digital media. They are a practicing Reiki Master, Teacher, Tarot reader, and Astrologer, with a focus on Ancestral healing and reclamation. Their work is centred around decolonization, healing, Trans rights, sexuality and Spirituality, while also aiming to provide joy and inspiration for those experiencing their offerings.

The Emergents Series is generously supported by Ann Atkinson.