Chicago-based non-profit arts organization Homeroom presents new collaborative multi-media performative work as its latest expression of multi-arts performance and collaboration.

Blank Box is new and ongoing initiative by Homeroom to commission new multimedia work that is collaborative and performative. One of the goals is to encourage artists of all platforms and media to think, work, and collaborate with the ease and spontaneity of improvising musicians. Conceived by composer/pianist Paul Giallorenzo, this is the first original program that he brought to Homeroom since joining them as their first Artistic Director in 2019.

New Dimensions in Sense-uality is a work by composer Paul Giallorenzo that uses contemporary methods of avant jazz/new music composition/arranging/conducting of improvisation-laden music, extended into a multimedia, collaborative “ensemble” framework. This piece is set in abstract installation environments of video and dynamic lighting collaborated with music and dance/movement, utilizing a compositional framework that includes graphic scores, written music, musical and visual motifs and cues, and verbal instructions.

Originally intended to be presented live in a black box theatre, New Dimensions in Sense-uality was created in 2020/2021 for the streaming medium as a composition for “live abstract cinema”.  At the onset of the pandemic, Homeroom continued its work to maintain programming and engagement throughout the lockdown. Like so many others, we adapted to the (re)new(ed) medium of streaming, and conceived of this project as a film as much as a documented performance. As we found new ways to participate in art and interaction, we came to the realization that during this time, and still into the present, we are all broadcasters and we are all filmmakers.

This piece premiered in 2021, recorded with a 5 piece ensemble and streamed. This piece is now being revisited and reinterpreted with a larger ensemble and will be performed as originally intended – live – at Elastic Arts on May 22nd 2022.
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Sunday May 22nd 2022 @ Elastic Arts 3429 W Diversey Ave 2nd Fl, Chicago IL 8pm doors, 8:30pm show, $15

Blank Box
New Dimensions in Sense-uality

composition for multimedia ensemble

Hyun Kim – movement
Sara Zalek – movement
Hunter Diamond – reeds/percussion
Macie Stewart – violin
Paul Giallorenzo – piano/electronics + composition/videography
Samuel Lewis – lighting
Tselanie Townsend – video projections

About Homeroom Homeroom is an independent, nonprofit resource for creative Chicagoans to develop and produce original arts programming, free from financial and artistic constraints. Homeroom supports an array of artistic practices from music, dance, and film to visual arts, and literature. Homeroom’s programming promotes experimentation and artistic growth by encouraging multidisciplinary approaches and collaborations.

About Paul Giallorenzo

As the Artistic Director of Chicago non-profit Homeroom, Paul Giallorenzo works to connect local creative communities of diverse performative media, sharing resources and practices, while building audiences and increasing sustainability. Additionally he is a co-founder of the Avondale/Logan Square-based music and arts organization Elastic Arts, where he served as Executive Director for 15 years and now chairs its programming committee.

As an improviser, composer, producer, and sound designer using piano, synthesizer, keyboards, and electronics, Giallorenzo works in a diverse range of contexts with a wide array of Chicago and international musicians. He performs improvised, avant-jazz, experimental, and electro/acoustic music locally and throughout North America and Europe with work on the Chicago-based Delmark Records and Austin-based Astral Spirits labels, as well as various other imprints including Leo Records (UK), Not Two Records (Poland), and 482 Music (NY).

for questions / more information:

Homeroom, info@homeroomchicago.org

Paul Giallorenzo, paulgiallorenzo@gmail.com

$15 – Tickets Available at the Door