July 2018
Sound Seed: Tribute to Pauline Oliveros premiere at the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival
Concert 21, Abrons Art Center, Playhouse Sunday, July 22, 2018, 8-10 PM documentation
Sound Seed: Tribute to Pauline Oliveros premiere as part of the New York City Electroacoustic Festival (NYCEMF)
The performance includes audio and visual samples taken from my time with Pauline and the Deep Listening Band in the Cistern in 2009.
The performance is a structured improvisation, so it is different each time. The visuals are programmed to activate with the musical material when it is triggered.
Sound Seed performed September 17, 2018 in Vancouver, Canada
Sound Seed performed in Vancouver, Canada as part of the Quiet City Series curated by Constantine Katsiris on September 27, 2019. Quiet City is one of my favourite concert series as the music is always unusual and interesting. The posters by JJD Works always include Vancouver content with a local creature and landmark included. I feel lucky to have the eagle and the library.
The Sound Seed DVD launch was held at Array Music
in Toronto on June 10, 2018.
An announcement of the DVD launch and a showing of the work-in-progress of the live visuals was announced in The Whole Note music magazine in the June/July/August Summer edition on pages 22 and 63.
Coman Poon, multimedia artist and writer, attended the DVD launch. He interviewed me about the project while I was in Toronto. The article, Who is Victoria Gibson? can be found by following the link.
DVD Launch June 2018 – Work in Progress showing of Sound Seed
The DVD launch event for the Sound Seed: Tribute to Pauline Oliveros film will be in Toronto at Array Music. Sunday, June 10th, 2018 as part of the Somewhere There Series.
In 2021, I released a documentary video of the concert as part of my Future Music Online Series.
I will be performing a work in progress of the interactive version of Sound Seed live. The evening will include an opening set by a local Toronto performer, and a closing set by Play the Moment Duo.
This incarnation of Play the Moment is Victoria Gibson, playing guitar and singing through computer software with Bob Vespaziani, electronic percussion.
January 2018
In honour of Pauline Oliveros, legendary American composer and educator, the Media Arts Committee (MAC) at CFRO Co-op radio, Vancouver, Canada commissioned several composers to create audio works that were released as part of a Deep Listening Day event. On January 10, 2018, the public was invited to tour the new radio station location and listen to the composers talk about their work. Later, five of the composers were featured on the Soundscape radio show and their works were played on-air. [Click to Listen to Soundscape show archive]
Sound Seed: Tribute to Pauline Oliveros was released to the public along with the works of seven other composers commissioned as part of the Deep Listening Project. The works were played on the CFRO January 10th Soundscape radio show (link to show archive), hosted by Brady Marks.
During her lifetime Pauline Oliveros changed the way we listen. Her innovative work exemplified the difference between the deliberate action of deep listening and the passive state of hearing.
This work is called Sound Seed because Pauline carried her insights and methods around the world to plant seeds of inspiration. Many of these seeds grew in the minds and hearts of deep listeners who carry on her work. Some are musicians or sound artists, and others follow different paths, but all are engaged in the practice of deep listening.
Sound Seed is a reflection upon the time that I spent with Pauline Oliveros. It is based on an exploration of the sounds we generated in the Cistern located in Fort Worden State Park. Pauline was recording there with the members of the Deep Listening Band, Stuart Dempster and the late David Gamper, in May of 2009. The sampled material I use in this work is from a brief session when I was invited to play with the ensemble. The visual material was taken as part of my role documenting the 25th Anniversary of the Deep Listening Band.
About Performer/Composer/Technologist
Victoria Gibson is an early adopter of technology who continues to push the boundaries of the possible. Although her core training is in music, she enjoys integrating visual elements such as video and projections into her performances. Each performance is unique because of the improvisational elements she includes in her compositions.
Victoria enjoys exploring the beauty of non-linear storytelling through digital media that often encourages the participant to interact with the content. She has the ability to create magic using advanced tools to engage and empower audiences to take control of their art experience. Gibson makes complex and experimental works that emerge from the nexus of art and technology, but remain accessible and fun.
Her work explores methods of revealing the past within the present by examining a specific object, person or location using integrated words, sound, music, images and video. Her goal is to offer both insights into societal issues and deeper connections with our histories. Sound + light + motion combine in a holistic multi-sensory experience to create exciting time based art revealed in installation, performance, internet or video publication. She is an early adopter of technology and has participated in international live streaming concerts, festivals and media events. Observing the merging of previously discrete art practices within the digital domain, in 2008 she created the term Integrated Media Arts to describe her art works.
Victoria is very concerned about social issues and the environment, causes that have inspired much of her work. Gibson holds a BA major in music from the University of British Columbia and is a resident of Vancouver, BC.
Technical Requirements
Sound Seed is arranged as an electro-acoustic composition that includes live voice, synthesizer, samples and guitar played through a computer.
A stereo PA system with monitors, a desk and chair and sufficient power are required for performance.
Visuals are optional but a 13 minute video is available that can include interactive elements if the situation is optimal and additional equipment is available. More information available on request.
