Using absurdity, humor, and non-narrativity to redefine notions of music and memory,Time With People is an hour-long music and theatre work by British composer Tim Parkinson (b. 1973). As Parkinson writes, “TIME WITH PEOPLE, an opera in seven scenes, for ten people and assorted objects, redefines fundamentals of opera from its 16th century origins . . . reconceived from elements of 21st century post-historical culture.”
The piece hearkens back to the traditional sense of an opera as a collection of works, yet upends tradition by largely removing music and the orchestra, leaving behind only fragments, both musical and literal: recorded excerpts of Handel and Rossini begin and end the work, while a trash-strewn set serves as an orchestra of found objects as the performers wade through it.
a.pe.ri.od.ic is a Chicago-based performance collective featuring post-Cagean notated, acoustic, experimental music. Founded in 2010*, a.pe.ri.od.ic's repertoire explores the indeterminacy of various musical elements including instrumentation, structure, pitch, and/or duration. Drawn to works of sparseness, contemplation, and quietude, this "daring group" (Chicago Reader) focuses on scores primarily notated with prose. Led by Nomi Epstein, the ensemble has commissioned, premiered, and recorded works by composers such as Michael Pisaro, Eva-Maria Houben, Jurg Frey, James Saunders, and Pauline Oliveros. a.pe.ri.od.ic released its debut album, more or less, featuring the music of Jurg Frey in 2014 under New Focus Recordings.
