John McCowen performs solo in Mengi on Friday, June 11th starting at 9PM. Tickets 2.500 kr.
Book your seats at: https://forms.gle/FnHnFUmxrtYTYMjs8

John McCowen will perform an evening of works for solo contrabass clarinet. These works showcase the contrabass clarinet as a polyphonic instrument. By finessing the accidental channels of this instrument, John has developed a language based in the natural harmonics of a cylinder. Put simply, the music features multiple, independent moving lines from one contrabass clarinet. This language is executed through solo performance utilizing circular-breathing and multiphonics.

John McCowen is a composer/performer originally from Southern Illinois. His work focuses on extending the possibilities of the contrabass clarinet. John embraces long-form drones, difference tones, and beating harmonics as a means to extrude the dimensions within. His work has been described by The New Yorker as “the sonic equivalent of microscopic life viewed on a slide”. His music has been released on Edition Wandelweiser, International Anthem, Astral Spirits, Cairn Desk, and others. John was a 2017 & 2019 artist-in-residence at Lijiang Studio in Yunnan, China, and also the 2020 artist-in-residence at ISSUE Project Room in Brooklyn, NY. He received the Elizabeth Mills Crothers Award for excellence in music composition in 2016 from Mills College where he received an MA in Music Composition under Roscoe Mitchell. He has performed and collaborated with Sean Meehan, Leila Bordreuil, Charmaine Lee, Theresa Wong, Bergrun Snaebjornsdottir, Zach Rowden, Weston Olencki, Lao Dan, and others. He currently resides in Reykjavik, Iceland.

John remains stubbornly dedicated to acoustic phenomena. His works do not utilize amplifier feedback or electronically-generated sounds unless specified.

Tickets to the concerts are 2.500 kr. Doors open at 8:30pm.