SEABORNE with Orchestra | GARTH NEUSTADTER & KJELL VAN SICE

This thirty minute concerto for six percussionists, video projection, and string orchestra is at the nexus of the percussive art soundscape and the visual celebration of our endangered oceans. Just as rhythm and the percussive voice are the heartbeat of music, our precious oceans are the lifeblood of the planet and thus our very existence. Seaborne awakens sensibilities in the listener / viewer to both the importance and beauty that our oceans possess. For this project, the Collective’s Artistic Director Robert van Sice brought together two extraordinary young talents: Emmy Award-Winning composer Garth Neustadter and water lensman Kjell van Sice. Neustadter’s mastery of cinematic composition and orchestration and Kjell van Sice’s poetic aquatic images produce a powerful collaboration. 

“This work explores our perception and perspectives of water from aerial, surface, and underwater vantage points. Water possesses an inherent motion and rhythm, and I am interested in reflecting the tension between the potential and kinetic energies we observe, as well as our perception of time. Musically, my language attempts to find a balance between gestures that feel almost primal or ancient juxtaposed against more modern and familiar textures. Often, motifs are introduced in simple ensemble unisons, gradually developing and evolving in ways that might emulate a communal improvisatory experience. Overall, I attempt to create a strong synergy and synesthesia with the photography, in that our perception of color and light is strongly reflected in the music throughout.”

— GARTH NEUSTADTER, COMPOSER

“The conceptual core for the visual element of this piece is to give the audience, in thirty minutes, a redefining experience of a subject normally typified by the uni-dimensional horizon as an environment that cohabits the spaces of three distinct perspectives: aerial, surface and underwater. It is an invitation not only to see the ocean’s incredible beauty and raw potency, but also an opportunity to consider how the place from which we look determines what it is we see. Although the surface layer of water is thinner than a hair, the way in which it interacts with light and the forces of wind and currents make it the most dynamic and ever-changing natural phenomenon. I have always been fascinated with this singular simplicity of substance acting under constant redefinition. Sound, like a wave through water, is a burst of energy traveling in a medium. The only difference is that one is in the ocean and the other a concert hall, destined for our interpretation. This piece draws parallels between what the audience hears and sees, combining to become an emotional experience that goes far beyond the music or visuals on their own.”

— KJELL VAN SICE, FILMMAKER

Orchestration

- Full string complement