Zanana (za-NAH-nah)
is an electro-acoustic chamber music duo featuring Kristin
Norderval, (voice) and Monique Buzzarté (trombone) collaboratively
composing and performing improvised music blending acoustic sounds, electronics
and live processing. Zanana's inception dates from an all-night peace vigil
concert in the fall of 2002 when Kristin invited Monique and poet Barbara
Barg to join her for an evening of improvised music and spoken word. Since
then Monique and Kristin have continued developing repertoire as a live processing
duo, recording and performing in venues ranging from concert halls to clubs
to abandoned buildings. Zanana uses improvisation as the foundation of their
compositional process. While some works are free improvisations, some are structured
improvisations and some are composed works with aleatoric elements, all are
rooted in the expansive practices of Deep Listening. Zanana takes its name from
a variant spelling of "zenana," the portion of a house in southwestern
Asian countries exclusively dedicated to women.
Holding Patterns is a compilation of live recordings selected from Zanana's
first season of performances. Gasholder Duet is an improvised duo of unprocessed
acoustic sounds recorded live inside the historic Gasholder Building in Troy,
NY. Doorjam and Ghost Dog combine live processing of both the voice and trombone
sampled in real-time with prerecorded soundfiles of ambient recordings made
at the Gasholder Building and prerecorded and electronically processed voice
soundfiles. Flags, Title X, and What a Pretty Dog were recorded live in concert
in New York City. Poet Barbara Barg provides the text for Flags and joins the
duo on spoken word on What a Pretty Dog in honor of Monique's dog Suki, who
was accustomed to hearing this phrase regularly from strangers throughout her
life.
NEW
CIRCLE FIVE - Dreaming Wide Awake
Monique Buzzarté, trombone; Rosi Hertlein, violin/voice; Susie Ibarra, percussion; Kristin Norderval, voice; Pauline Oliveros., accordion. "Spanning three generations, New Circle Five is an acoustic improvising contemporary music ensemble. Diverse musical backgrounds result in unique twists as the five explore the one-time only sonic environment of collective creative improvisations. On this, their debut recording, New Circle Five perform their unique blend of collective creative improvisations from dreams of a non-violent world."
Monique Buzzarté is an avid proponent of contemporary music, commissioning
and premiering many new works for trombone alone, with electronics, and in chamber
ensembles in addition to composing for traditional and electro-acoustic ensembles.
Her recordings include John Cage's Five3 with the Arditti Quartet on John CAGE:
Vol. 19 - The Number Pieces 2 (Mode 25) and Dreaming Wide Awake with the New
Circle Five (Deep Listening 20). An author, activist, and educator as well
as a performer/composer, Ms. Buzzarté has published research on the brass
music of women composers and led efforts that led to the admission of women
into the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Deep Listening® is a registered trademark of The Deep Listening Institute, Ltd