Music as Utopian Manifestation

Composer Daniel Corral talks about his recent work trying to instill his music with utopian relationships and values. In one piece, musicians play on the beach and take cues from ocean waves. In another, performers play a dismantled pipe organ in response to the rhythm of their own individual breath. In particular, Corral will talk about his upcoming performance of 4 for 20 at First Congregational Church, in which harmonies become rhythms in response to the physicality of sound. It is a slow motion alarm bell to re-embody presence in the world.

The evening will open with Daniel's sound installation "Sextet #7," with warm ambient washes emerging from 6 small boxes around the room. It will end with participants being invited to play in Trossingen Snorkel, a fun meditative piece for up to 12 identical C harmonicas.

Suggested donation $15 (in-person only)

This event is being held in the upstairs LECTURE ROOM which is accessible by an outside staircase. If you need any assistance please email or phone 323-663-2167.

This talk is co-presented with in support of the upcoming performance of 4 for 20 on Saturday, April 13th at 7pm at the First Congregational Church LA.

ABOUT THE 4 for 20 PERFORMANCE:

4 for 20 is a contemplative study of the physicality of sound, written for four musicians playing a 20-note set of just intonation chimes. The harmonic relations of a series of gradually changing chords are reflected in shifting polyrhythms connected to the frequency of each chime. 4 for 20 was originally inspired by hearing the bells of a midnight mass in a hamlet in Tuscany, which seemed to ring on forever. In 4 for 20, the slow-motion invocation of the physicality of sound became an invitation to re-inhabit presence in time.

Daniel Corral is a mixed heritage Filipino-American composer/performer born and raised in Eagle River, Alaska. Based in Los Angeles since 2005, his creative practice draws inspiration from Marshall McLuhan’s definition of art as “exact information of how to rearrange one’s psyche in order to anticipate the next blow from our own extended faculties.” This manifests via combinations of pop culture and experimental music conceptual rigor; unique instrumentation; performances in outdoor and/or public spaces; microtonality; consideration of the relational values of performances; and pieces that address current issues.
Corral’s music has been commissioned and presented by venues such as the BAM’s Next Wave Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Banff Centre, Joe’s Pub, REDCAT, Iceland University of the Arts, Mengi, Harpa, MATA, HERE Arts Center, Miami Light Project, Operadagen Rotterdam, Wayward Music, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hammer Museum, MoCA LA, Göteborg Art Sound Festival, USC, Center for New Music, CSUN, Pianospheres, Automata, Machine Project, SASSAS, the wulf., Pasadena All Saints Choir, Santa Monica GLOW Festival, CalArts, UCSD, Carlsbad Music Festival, and the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts.
Corral taught at CalArts 2016-2020. In 2022, the city of Los Angeles awarded him an “Individual Master Artist” grant, after having declared him a Cultural Trailblazer in 2019. Past residencies include APPEX, Marin Headlands Center for the Arts, I-Park, the Banff Centre, Djerassi, and Loghaven. His music has been released by Populist Records, Orenda Records, Innova Recordings, the wulf. records, MicroFest Records, and independently. His MFA is from CalArts, where his teachers included James Tenney and Anne LeBaron. Corral is also Operations Director of the Grammy-winning PARTCH Ensemble, on the board of MicroFest LA, and Co-Artistic Director of the Now Hear Ensemble. // danielcorral.com

Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

ACCESSIBILITY

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In the event that PRS is forced to cancel an event entirely, tickets will be refunded or vouchers offered for a rescheduled event.

PARKING

Parking is available in both front lot (entry from Los Feliz Blvd. when heading east) and back lot (entry from first alley way, off Griffith Park Blvd. from intersection with Los Feliz Blvd.), as well as ample street parking on Griffith Park Blvd.

PRS EVENT POLICIES

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, United States