Augmented Aurality (2020) - Karen Yu & William Kuo

*Update: Digital Album now available on Bandcamp // Contact me directly for the LP

Commissioned by 02022020.SPACE

02022020.SPACE is a collective art project in response to the international palindrome date, 02-02-2020. Artists that work with diverse artforms were invited to create works exploring the hidden meanings of the date in relation to our society, culture and our planet, not limited to the impact of the once-in-a-lifetime event, but also the attraction of highly repetitive and reversible numeric effects, and the global influence of timezones.

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Augmented Aurality - Performance

Listening originates in utero, where the sensing self (the fetus) in its own body listens to the sounds of another body like its own: the self hearing itself from within. Even as we exit the womb of the mother we continue listening through the internal cavity of the skull. We hear our own breathing. We hear the rhythms of the organs inside our bodies. We hear ourselves speak. This work engages the listener inwardly, before turning outwardly to engage entire bodies of listeners. How does listening help to transform oneself and to forge meaningful connections with others?

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William Kuo is a Canadian composer currently living in Vancouver. His music has been presented at Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Netherlands), Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik (Austria), Cluster New Music Festival (Canada), Festival Voix Nouvelles (France), and ManiFeste Festival (France). Notable collaborators in recent years include TAK Ensemble, Ensemble Nikel, Quasar Quatuor de Saxophones, Ensemble Klang, Asko|Schönberg, Ensemble Multilatérale, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Ensemble InterContemporain, Ensemble Paramirabo, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Heather Roche, Eva Zöllner, Juliet Fraser, and Juliette Adam. He received his Bachelor’s in Composition from McGill University in 2013, under the guidance of Brian Cherney, Chris Paul Harman, and John Rea. In 2015, he earned his Master’s in Composition from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, where he received valuable insight from Michel Gonneville, Serge Provost, and Louis Dufort. In 2018-19, he participated in the Cursus computer music program at IRCAM in Paris, France. He was a finalist for the Gaudeamus Award in 2018.