Artists-in-Residence Alaina Ferris and Eamon Goodman present: The Lydian Gale Parr
Thursday, January 25th | 6:00pm
The Lydian Gale Parr is a surreal and poetic chamber oratorio with ballet: a child emissary sent from a city under siege to deliver a letter to the attacking general. But the emissary cannot find him; at every place of arrival, the general has just left. Traveling through space and time, the emissary begins to shapeshift, to manifest freely: as boy, as girl, as man, as woman, as the Lydian Gale Parr, who journeys from ancient cities to cargo ships on an infinite errand to ask for an end to violence. They slip in and out of disparate webs of belonging, yet hold fast to their quest: a ghost child of war.
Alaina Ferris is an interdisciplinary composer, poet, and performer who specializes in choral works, opera, and contemporary theater. As an active pianist and Celtic harpist, her music is inspired by a love of Renaissance chorales and her former work as a music therapist. She is the recipient of fellowships and grants from Hermitage Artist Residency, NYC Women’s Fund, New Music USA Creator Development Fund, Cité International des Arts residency in Paris, & The Norman Mailer Center; she was a composer Fellow at The American Opera Project, a co-winner of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Composer Competition, and a National Sawdust Summerlab Musician. Alaina’s work has been presented at HERE, SoHo Rep, Barnard College/Columbia University, Abrons Arts Center, The Connelly Theater, and St. Ann’s Warehouse. She wrote the music and arrangements for Mac Wellman’s The Offending Gesture, directed by Meghan Finn, and Joshua William Gelb’s adaptation of The Black Crook, both New York Times critic picks. She has worked with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, artists César Alvarez, Sarah Hughes, Coco Karol, Sxip Shirey, Ellen Winter, Amanda Palmer, Timothy Stoddard, Jason Webley, Steve Earle, Anne Waldman, Eliza Bent, Mia Rovegno, William Burke, Mac Wellman, Tyler Gilmore (Blank For.ms.), and more.
Eamon Goodman is a composer, sound artist, and designer based in Brooklyn. After studying classical flute and dance, he worked as a sound designer and multi-instrumentalist for off-broadway theater. Lydian Gale Parr will include a continuation of his thesis installation, Sound Suspension No. 2, advised by Luisa Pereira at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. Recent projects include The Whitney Album (Soho Rep), A Jury of our Queers (Exponential Festival) and Noise (Dartmouth/Northern Stage). wp.nyu.edu/eamon_goodblog
Doors open at 5:30 PM and MeMoSa begins at 6:00 PM
Capacity in the lab is capped at 40 audience members. Attendees who have RSVP'd before the event will have priority, and admission will be determined on a first come first serve basis on arrival. If you RSVP before the event but you arrive late, we reserve the right to give your spot to someone on the waitlist.
Attendees who have not RSVP'd will be put on a standby waitlist if they arrive in-person before the event.