Ekmeles with Bruce Brubaker
Charlotte Mundy, soprano
Amber Evans, soprano
Jeffrey Gavett, baritone
Steven Hrycelak, bass
Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra is the first sound-based installation commissioned by The Met. Hybrid by design, it is a musical instrument, a series of live performances, and an installation composed of thirty-two sculptures, utilitarian vessels, and decorative objects from the Museum collection. Selected for their natural pitches, which range from low C to high G on the chromatic musical scale, they form an arresting and unexpectedly versatile instrument, similar to an organ with multiple pipes.
The Vessel Orchestra has two distinct modes. During Museum hours, a pre-programmed audio interface will play a new composition written by Beer, activating the vessels in real time—"player piano-style." On Friday evenings, the exhibition will feature a diverse group of guest artists who will perform new compositions and improvisations on this radical musical instrument in a series of intimate concerts.
Free with Museum admission
See the full schedule of performances.Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra.
This performance installation is made possible in part by Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky.
This program is made possible by Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac.
