Ekmeles Sings Music by Brown University Composers

Name: Ekmeles Sings Music by Brown University Composers
Start: 2026-02-12T19:30:00-05:00
Location: Grant Recital Hall at Brown University

Schedule

Thu, 12 Feb, 2026 at 07:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Grant Recital Hall at Brown University | Providence, RI

The Brown University Department of Music presents the vocal ensemble Ekmeles in an evening of contemporary vocal music featuring world premieres by six Brown University composers.
WARNING: This concert features intense strobe lighting effects and loud, disorienting audio. Not suitable for individuals with photosensitive epilepsy or sensory sensitivities.
Admission is free with a required RSVP.
The Ekmeles residency at Brown is made possible in part through the Visiting Artist Fund.
The program or this concert explores experimental vocal techniques, electronics, and multimedia elements. Jessica Shand’s “Flicker” offers meditative vocals floating over audio feedback with six flickering lightbulbs responding to sound. James May’s ” whereupon ” builds on a recitation of Marianne Moore’s “The Fish” exploring coastal erosion and the slippages between water and land. Inga Chinilina’s “Drift Away Lullaby” draws on Slavic tradition, where lullabies serve as a protective ritual. Han geul Lee’s “ABEYANCE” presents a physiological protocol, designed to induce Hypofrontality—the temporary suspension of the brain’s executive functions. Isaac Barzso’s “The skin of dreams” elides acoustic and digital sounds into constantly-shifting additive textures, confronting the binary between the real and the synthetic. Finally, Adeliia Faizullina’s “Lilac’s Vocalise,” provides a musical space to take a moment for self-care, meditation, and slow breathing. Ekmeles is a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of new and rarely-heard works, and gems of the historical avant garde. They have a special focus on microtonal works, and have been praised for their “extraordinary sense of pitch” by the New York Times. They are the recipients of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation’s 2023 Ensemble Prize, the first American group to receive the honor.