A Garden of Forking Paths – Finale: Ever Present Orchestra

The Ever Present Orchestra is dedicated to the performance of Alvin Lucier’s music.

With the instrumentation of electric guitars, strings, saxophones, piano and percussion, the Ever Present Orchestra celebrates the physicality of sound in space with a focus on Lucier’s compositions exploring the audible beating of closely-tuned pitches. Built around its founding members Bernhard Rietbrock, Jan Thoben and Trevor Saint, the ensemble has a flexible lineup and performs in various sizes ranging from 6-13 musicians. Among the international instrumentalists who have joined the Ever Present Orchestra are Oren Ambarchi, Stephen O’Malley and Lucy Railton, with notable guest appearances by John Tilbury, Jennifer Walshe, Thurston Moore and Judith Hamann.

At MaerzMusik, The Ever Present Orchestra presented a realisation of (Berlin) Memory Space by Alvin Lucier, performed by Oren Ambarchi (acoustic noise makers), Judith Hamann (Cello), Michiko Ogawa (clarinett), Jan Thoben (percussion).

The central concept behind Alvin Lucier’s Memory Space is the representation of another time and place through the use of a new set of sounds. In his instructions, Lucier asks the performer/s to go to an environment and record by any means (notes on paper, graphics, audio recording or by memory) the sound situations that are present, then, at any later time, in a different space, attempt to recreate that situation.