An “event horizon” is a boundary in spacetime beyond which events cannot affect an outside observer…a “point of no return”… the point at which the gravitational pull becomes so great as to make escape impossible…a phenomenon usually associated with black holes. The concept of energy at the horizon or the edge of our immediate grasp of time has been a motivating interest in a number of my compositional projects in recent years. It continues to provide impetus to explore movement, speed, transformation and process in many aspects of my music. In Event Horizon, various components of the phenomenon provide conceptual points of departure for each of the sections of the piece. The audio signal processing of the violin, violoncello and piano extends the exploration of both sound and time to the spatial and spectral attributes of the listening experience.
Event Horizon was written for the Land’s End Ensemble of Calgary.
Laurie Radford creates music for diverse combinations of instruments and voices, electroacoustic media, and performers in interaction with computer-controlled signal processing of sound and image. He has received commissions and performances from ensembles and soloists including the Aventa Ensemble, code d’accès, GroundSwell, Earplay, Ensemble Résonance, Ensemble Transmission, Esprit Orchestra, Land’s End Ensemble, New Music Concerts, Le Nouvel Ensemble Modern, L’Ensemble contemporain de Montréal, Trio Fibonacci, Trio Phoenix, the Penderecki, Bozzini and Molinari String Quartets, and the Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Montréal Symphony Orchestras. Radford has taught at McGill University, Concordia University, Bishop’s University, University of Alberta, City University (London, UK), and is presently an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary.
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