An original avant-garde opera composed and produced by University of Chicago fourth-year student Michał Dzitko.

Following its premiere at 6018|North this spring, ‘Soundscapes of Color’ comes to the Smart Museum in a new iteration: an opera within a museum, using as its stage the exhibition ‘Expanding Narratives: The Figure and the Ground.’ The performance will be followed by reception and a discussion with the composer, the conductor, and musicians, moderated by Seth Brodsky, Associate Professor of Music and the Humanities.

FREE, open to all.

SOUNDSCAPES OF COLOR
In his work as an experimental composer Dzitko questions the very principles of musical staging. He believes that the frontier of artistic performance is to create an immersive experience in which audiences move through the space, musicians’ positions are exploded, and the conductor may be viewed by some only through mirrors. Earlier renditions of the work experimented with “remote conducting,” a technique that puts the conductor in an isolated space, and asks them to conduct to cameras which were then live-streamed onto screens in front of live musicians.

At the Smart Museum, performers will be positions around the galleries and may have to peek around artworks and walls, or use carefully positioned mirrors to see the conductor and play in sync. By distributing musicians across ‘The Figure and the Ground,’ the space of the exhibition now becomes performance space for sound. The audience is free and encouraged to roam and explore this space, guided by the sounds and sights that captivate them most. Thus, the audience is the figure, the museum the ground, and the musicians the sound.

Originally commissioned by author Esther K. Smith and fine-print publisher Purgatory Pie Press, the opera is based on a libretto of an 1874 typography and ink catalog, ‘Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type.’ Since the words of the libretto do not describe a story or plot, but rather constitute brilliantly-illustrated poetry, the music itself becomes the only plot an audience member can follow. The pervasive subjectivity of the musical experience is thus brought to the surface.

Dzitko is also collaborating with lighting and stage designers to create a subtle light show that highlights his music, and will serve to heighten the immersive quality of the experience.

COMPOSER
Michał Dzitko is a Polish contemporary composer and fourth-year student at the University of Chicago, studying Economics and Music. Dzitko was born in Lublin, Poland in 1995.

Dzitko has been trained in the classical tradition since a young age, but stretches it to find its modern limits. His education in piano performance started in Poland where he studied at the National Institute of Music (PIM). He moved to Bedford, U.K. at the age of thirteen, and composed his first album, entitled ‘Bokeh,’ in 2015 while attending high school there. Bokeh is a collection of modal post-minimalist music for organ performed by Stephen Farr, director of music at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Dzitko is the laureate of the Tagore prize in piano performance and runner-up in the Ronald G. Pogorzelski and Lester D. Yankee prize in organ composition. Dzitko will graduate this June from the University of Chicago, where and continues his musical studies under professor Marta Ptaszyńska.

PROGRAM
2:30 PM
Doors
Explore the museum, enjoy a coffee or tea before the performance.

2:50 PM
Introduction
Erik L. Peterson, Manager of Student Engagement at the Smart Museum

3 PM
Performance
MVT. I – OFF-WHITE
Tuning in…

MVT. II – BURNT VIOLET
Listen for the solos…

MVT. III – BLUE & YELLOW
Or Pink & White…?

MVT. IV – DEEP BLUE
Slow down and think…

MVT. V – VERMILION
Whisper…

MVT. VI – MOSS GREEN
Up & Down…

3:30 PM
Discussion & Reception
A moderated discussion between and Michał Dzitko and Seth Brodsky, Associate Professor of Music and the Humanities. Learn more about the piece and hear from the artist and his musicians while enjoying some light snacks and sparkling beverages.

Official Website

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Tags: Chicago, Erik L. Peterson, Hyde Park, Illinois, Michał Dzitko, Smart Museum of Art, Soundscapes of Color