Matthew Ritchie with collaborators on The Long Count / The Long Game (clockwise from top left: Evan Ziporyn, Aaron Desner, Shara Worden, Bryce Dessner, Kelley Deal, Matthew Ritchie), ICA, Boston, 2015. Photo: Courtesy of the ICA.

Creation myths and the creative process: Matthew Ritchie at MIT

“The project started with a general interest in creation myths”; that is how artist Matthew Ritchie describes the genesis of his multimedia performance piece, The Long Count/ The Long Game. He further explains his approach to such grand narratives began … Continued

An ensemble of singers on stage.
Elena Ruehr, Gretchen Henderson and Roomful of Teeth at Kresge Auditorium, 2014. Photo: L. Barry Hetherington.

Cassandra in the Temples: Ignored prophetess commands attention in Elena Ruehr & Gretchen Henderson’s new opera for Roomful of Teeth

When the gods hand you a gift, they also hand you a whip for self-flagellation, to paraphrase Truman Capote. The Cassandra story typifies the blessing-and-coeval-curse topos. Apollo gives Cassandra the gift of prophecy to seduce her. When she refuses, he … Continued

A man holds percussion mallets in front of his face.

MIT Sounding: New Annual Music Series

MIT Presents New Music Series: MIT Sounding Featuring World Premieres, Reconstructed Classics, and Grammy Award winning musicians in new concert series For the 2014-15 season, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) inaugurates the innovative annual performance series MIT Sounding, curated by … Continued

Hand-written text and a diagram of a human head from a historic document.

Seeing/ Sounding/ Sensing: CAST Symposium in Context

On September 26-27, CAST is convening artists, neuroscientists and scholars in the visual arts, music, physics, mathematics, history, anthropology and philosophy to participate in the symposium “Seeing / Sounding / Sensing.” Organized by MIT Professors Caroline A. Jones (Chair) and … Continued