Mayo students' part in 'extraordinary' multi-media composition for sound and video
Music Network has opened its autumn season with the world premiere of Oscailt, a new Music Network commission by Jennifer Walshe.
Developed by Walshe and her ensemble with the help of secondary school students in Mayo and other parts of the country, this show draws on their experience of growing up in a world mediated by technology, incorporating installation, film, improvisation, artificial intelligence (AI) and live performance.
As technology continues to change the way we live in Ireland and we find phone towers planted next to a holy well and Facebook employees in data centres tending to beehives in a nod to medieval monks, Walshe and her ensemble take us on a musical journey that not only reflects on our technological past but also inspires us to dream of the futures we would like to construct.
Students from Davitt College in Castlebar, Mayo, as well as Loreto Abbey Secondary School in Dalkey, Dublin, Patrician Secondary School in Newbridge, Kildare, Limerick Educate Together Secondary School, and Glanmire Community College, Cork, have worked with Walshe and her team of musicians over a number of weeks on the composition.
Through a series of workshops together they explored and created sounds using the instrumental, vocal and computer improvisation techniques that will be incorporated into the final live performances.
As part of the Oscailt tour, the students join Walshe and her ensemble on stage to perform some of their co-created material for audiences at their local venues.
For this project, Walshe has been filming at iconic sites across the country, including Valentia Island, the Hill of Tara, Giant’s Causeway and Silicon Docks in Dublin. Oscailt incorporates visuals and electromagnetic sound recorded at these sites and her fascination with AI and all its applications for music and performance will also be evident in the piece, transforming the Giant’s Causeway into a towering mass of marshmallows among other things.
Having premiered at the Samuel Beckett Theatre during Dublin Fringe Festival on Tuesday, the Oscailt tour will conclude next Tuesday evening in the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now, with booking available at MusicNetwork.ie. Funded by The Arts Council and supported by ESB’S Energy for Generations Fund, Oscailt is commissioned by Music Network.