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Etudes No. 1 and 2 for Balloon and Violin (2004)
Judy Dunaway:
"From my earliest work with balloons as musical instruments in the late 1980's, I instinctively knew that I must approach them without inhibition. I limited my playing techniques to the balloon and my body, as it was essential to be able to physically feel the vibrations, air pressure, and texture of the balloons in order to fully interact with all sonic possibilities. This non-judgmental aural relationship, and its corporeal visual manifestation also served as a rebellion against power structures that have oppressed women, and ultimately all humankind, by severing the connection between the psyche and the body. [...]
"My own work ... does not come out of a void. Creating a large body of work for balloons has allowed me to develop a vocabulary outside the realm of oppressive classical heritage. It has raised the ordinary and mundane to the status of high art. I have fetishized this simple cheap toy in my music, as the violin has been fetishized for centuries by Western European-influenced composers. In an era where the progress toward a woman's control of her own body is threatened, I have coupled myself to a musical instrument that expresses sensuality, sexuality and humanity without inhibition.
"The violin was created as an interpretation of the voice, and notational systems reflected the tones the composer wanted to hear. But the sounds of balloons are irregular and uncontrollable. The balloon is entirely flexible because the latex molecule can spread out and then spring back to its original shape. The pitches produced are infinitesimally microtonal. The natural harmonic series is distorted due to the flexibility of the substance and the spherical shape. The balloon also functions as its own resonator, amplifying its own strange inherent frequencies. The balloon does not lend itself to tonal music. The balloon, rather than the composer/improviser, sets its own musical boundaries. [...]
"Etudes No. 1 and 2 for Balloon and Violin (with collaborator Tom Chiu) reveal the nature of the earlier improvisational explorations that led to the creation of For Balloon and String Quartet (2001). Etude No. 1 focuses on the balloon as an orb-shaped string, and Etude No. 2 zeroes in on the balloon as a reed instrument."
Since 1990, Judy Dunaway has composed over 40 works for balloons as instruments and made them her principal instruments for improvisation. She has presented her balloon music throughout North America and Europe at venues and festivals including the Bang on a Can Festival, Experimental Intermedia, Guelph Jazz Festival, Knitting Factory, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Los Angeles Music Center, Podewil, and Roulette. Dunaway has performed on balloon in compositions by Roscoe Mitchell and John Zorn, and improvisations or collaborations with DJ Singe, FLUX Quartet, Illuminati big band, percussionists John Hollenbeck and Matt Moran, visual artists Ken Butler and Nancy Davidson, performance artist Annie Sprinkle, and many others. Her balloon music includes electronic and multimedia works, sound installations, and works with traditional ensembles such as string quartet and chorus. Her recording Mother of Balloon Music was released in 2006 on innova Recordings; other releases can be found on the CRI and Outer Realm labels.
Dunaway studied music education at Hunter College in New York City, experimental music at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and composition at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her principal teachers were Christa Erickson, Alvin Lucier, and Daria Semegen. She has held residencies at Harvestworks in New York City and Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie in Karlsruhe, Germany, and published two articles in Musicworks magazine about her work for balloons. Her awards and grants include those from the Aaron Copland Fund, Kalliste Foundation, Meet the Composer, and National Endowment for the Arts. Dunaway is currently a visiting lecturer in the Critical Studies Department at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.
related websites
http://emedia.art.sunysb.edu/judydunaway
Violinist Tom Chiu is a soloist, chamber musician, and experimental improviser particularly known for his work in new music. He has performed over 100 premieres worldwide and worked closely with many composers including Milton Babbitt, Chen Yi, Otto Luening, Roberto Sierra, Sir John Tavener, Charles Wuorinen, Zhou Long, and John Zorn. He has also developed a close working relationship with free jazz musician Ornette Coleman, with whom he appeared at the 2000 Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival in New York City. Chiu seeks out collaborations with artists in different media, including work with ambient-drone guitarist David First, puppeteer Basil Twist, and the avant garde theater troupe Mabou Mines. He has worked extensively in the dance world, collaborating with well-known choreographers such as Eun-Me Ahn, Desmond Richardson, Rebecca Stenn, and Christopher Wheeldon. In 2002 he composed the soundtrack for the short film Boris (directed by Francesca Galesi), which won the top prize at the New York EXPOsition of Short Film and Video. Chiu is founder and first violinist of the FLUX Quartet, with which he has appeared at festivals and music centers worldwide. His discography includes recordings for the Cambria, Chesky, Cold Blue, innova, Koch International Classics, mode, Sombient, and Tzadik labels. He holds degrees in music and chemistry from the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
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