Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the BAR Project 09 Blog.

We are graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA and are working on an independent study this semester, inspired by a seminar in Postmodernism we both took in the fall. Coming from different musical backgrounds (Joelle is a Clarinet player, I am a composer), we thought it would be interesting to work on a collaborative performance that tested our musical, artistic, and academic boundaries.

I have included our abstract so you can get a better idea of what we're getting at with this project. Joelle and I will also be posting here to describe the process of the project, including pictures, videos, sketches, etc. And of course, we will be publicizing our performances which will most likely run in the last couple of weeks of April through the beginning of May, both on the Carnegie Mellon Campus and in the greater community.

Goal: To create a collaborative performance using the media of music, visual art, and theatre in order to explore potential interpretation and challenge the performance tradition.

Abstract: This independent study seeks to find a better understanding of the interpretation and performance of a score in multiple forms of media. Through a series of meetings, research, and rehearsal, up to four artists will work with a composer in order to create a collaborative performance inspired by interpretations of a single score. Our society’s view of performance is confined to a small space of accessibility and exposure, and the participants will seek new venues and methods of performance in order to reach communities and expose audiences to experiences outside their preconceived realms of performance. The process will take place in three parts; first, the artists will meet with one another to share their own processes of creation as well as their interpretive procedure. Through research of existing performance art as well as common practice performance, the group will develop a series of criteria required for a successful performance and score. The second part is done independently by the composer, creating a score to be interpreted by performers. Upon completion of the score, all participants will meet to discuss, interpret and rehearse, also allowing for significant time to explore the score individually. Performances of this piece will take place both in standard venues such as concert halls as well as atypical spaces like bus stops and hallways of academic buildings, hoping to reach an audience that extends well beyond the confines of the “art culture” and reach as many people as possible, regardless of their age, education, or personal taste in art.


Right now, our timeline is being thrown to me; as the composer, I need to make sure the performers have a score to read! The ("first") final draft of the score will be completed 16 March and the performers and I will then get together for meetings and rehearsals. Before that, Joelle and I will be brainstorming performance issues and ideas, as well as looking for venues and outlining parameters of the project.

If you have any questions please email us at: theBARProject09@gmail.com

-Kate