"Closing the program with an invigorating coda, Ainger's Spoonbenders was at once a compelling curiosity and a medium-oriented send-up (it's helpful to note that Ainger is, amongst other things, an audio engineer). Flutist Stimson once again provided the live sound source. Sultry, smart-alecky flute and voice parts were refried by Ainger's machinery - but with a refreshingly rough-hewn quality. Disjointed shifts in the sound spectrum were reminiscent of Godard's jerky jump-cut approach to film editing - viewing events from different angles and different temporal attitudes. Pregnant pauses spilled into sudden densities, and the jumbled whole was graced with a sort of ironic suspense factor..."
Josef Woodward (Los Angeles Times)
The Sonic Arts Ensemble was founded By Ann Stimson and Marc Ainger with a core set of collaborators. Over the years, these collaborators have included Se-Lien Chuang, Andreas Weixler, Patti Cudd, Scott Deal, Berenice Llorens, Federico Camara Halac, James Croson, Caitlyn Trevor, and Joseph Sferra; and a myriad of guests such as The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker, the Stanford CORE Ensemble, and Madeleine Shapiro.
Marc Ainger (composer, laptop, guitar, and various interfaces) and Ann Stimson (flutes and various interfaces) explore the extension of instruments and modes of performance into new, imaginative realms of action and interaction. Their performances include purely acousmatic music; interactive music for instruments and electronics; and music with video, dance, VR, and AR. Their repertoire includes works by Ainger, Jodlowski, Chuang, Soh, Saariaho, Croft, Stroppa, Katherine Norman, and many other contemporary composers. They have an interest in the relationships among improvised and variously scored works (from rigourously scored to graphic and text scores).
Over the last few years, they have been exploring the emerging art of networked and hybrid/networked performance with collaborating artists worldwide.
WEXNER CENTER for THE ARTS
…”While I have loved the remote performances I have viewed, all have struggled with technical issues ranging from the minor to the extreme. However, on the evening of November 10th, I was surely discounting the preparation of the Sonic Arts Ensemble. With the countdown of “3..2..1…," I was taken into a flawlessly delivered, otherworldly experience. Strange images, vibrant colors, eerie instrumentals and voices combined in real time left me feeling both haunted and in disbelief that it could all be happening live. In particular, the final piece with Elizabeth left me so wonderfully uncomfortable that the images of the hand accompanied with the sound of the supernatural human voice speaking words such as “pale,” “under,” and “algorithm” are now burned into my mind. The quality of the production exceeded even prerecorded performances, and surely did not leave me missing the concert hall venue. From Into the Multiverse, I am eagerly anticipating where the Sonic Arts Ensemble will take the audience next.”