Graduate Contextual Concert by Negar Soleymanifar: Numerous Voices

Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 8:00pm
World Music Hall

Free and open to the public

Graduate music student Negar Soleymanifar presents a collage and shorter version of Morton Feldman’s Three Voices. A 1982 composition, it was originally written by Feldman in homage to his friends Philip Guston and Frank O’Hara and draws its textual materials from O’Hara’s 1957 poem “Wind.” In her adaptation, Soleymanifar incorporates field recordings from Tehran, captured during the summer of 2024, adding depth to her connection with Feldman’s original work. This version will also feature two cello players, Noa Koffman-Adsit ’27 and graduate music student Calla Paleczny, who will perform alongside pre-recorded samples, enhancing the overall texture of the performance.

Feldman describes Three Voices as an “exchange of the live voice with the dead ones.” The piece features a live singer interacting with two pre-recorded vocal tracks, creating a dialogue between the present and the seemingly “dead” voices of the past. This interaction evokes a meditative quality, as the live voice weaves through layers of time and memory.

For Soleymanifar, this performance represents a personal exploration of her relationship with the sounds of Tehran. The field recordings and samples are designed based on the structure of Three Voices, serving as a connection to her past and capturing elements of the city that she has experienced throughout her life but can no longer hear in the same way engaging with the idea of loss and memory and change through sounds.

For information about other concerts by graduate music students, visit the Graduate Contextual Concerts series page.