soft time

General admission

Soft time is a Victoria-based ensemble of musicians and composers — Kristy Farkas, Anna Höstman, Cathy Fern Lewis and Mitch Renaud — who enjoy making things together. In their first program entitled Companions, they explore an ecology of composed works in the midst of improvisation, forming relationships between sounds and friendship.Works will include "Paraphrase" for voice and electronics by Mitch Renaud, a new solo piano piece by Kristy Farkas entitled "A constellation of companions", selections from "Le Poème Invisible" for voice and piano by Anna Höstman, as well as improvisations. Admission: Pay what you can (Suggested contribution: $10-$20) ABOUT THE PROGRAM:Improvisations – performed by Kristy Farkas, Anna Höstman, Cathy Fern Lewis and Mitch Renaud"Paraphrase" by Mitch Renaud is performed by Cathy Fern Lewis (voice) and Mitch Renaud (electronics). It seeks to exist within the small space of acoustic beating. The text was found from: Méret Oppenheim, Charles Baudelaire, Monica Vitti (via Anne Carson), and Anaïs Nin."A constellation of companions" by Kristy Farkas is a piece for solo piano performed by Anna Höstman. A compilation of gestures and phrases, the piece explores the infinite possibilities for connection, particularly when approached from a place of harmony.Selections from "Le Poème Invisible" by Anna Höstman are performed by Cathy Fern Lewis (voice) and Anna Höstman (piano, voice). They are a slight scatter of quiet miniatures on texts by E.D. Blodgett. ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Kristy Farkas is a sound and visual artist living in Victoria, Canada, on lək̓wəŋən territory. As a musician, collaboration and improvisation often play a role in her creative process, with scores entrusting the performers as collective, creative, decision-makers. Her work frequently considers the nuances of silence, vulnerability, and our relationship with place, finding inspiration in textures, forms and sounds found in nature. Her works have been performed in concert halls, galleries, atriums, tunnels, cafes, gardens, and forests. Anna Höstman’s compositions seek out tactile encounters with nature while extending into history, memory, and landscape. Her works have been performed throughout Canada and internationally by performers such as Keiko Shichijo, Cheryl Duvall, Mira Benjamin, Quatuor Bozzini, Continuum Ensemble, Heather Roche, Wesley Shen and Thin Edge New Music Collective. Anna has held artist residencies at the Matralab (Concordia University, Montréal), Artspring (Saltspring Island) and Outvert Artspace (Ísafjörður, Iceland). Her series of interviews with Canadian composers are published in Tempo, a Quarterly Review of New Music. Recent compositions include Pebbles for solo snare drum and voice (Ryan Scott), Cells of Wind, a graphically scored opera based on an original libretto by Montreal poet and translator, Oana Avasilichioaei, and the installation piece, For Elza (Mayhew), for the Art Gallery of Victoria’s 2022 Reverberations exhibit. Catherine Fern Lewis is renowned as a highly versatile performer, sound and voice artist and collaborator. An ambassador and active exponent of Canada’s new music and art scene since the 80’s, Lewis is a leading interpreter of contemporary performance. Lewis has premiered over one hundred and fifty pieces by prominent composers, such as Murray Adaskin, Rudolf Komorous, Linda Catlin Smith, Rodney Sharman and Anna Hostman, and most being created specifically for her. Lewis’ personal creative explorations are uniquely interdisciplinary, combining movement, sound, film and installation and pushing the boundaries of performance. Her site-specific work has been presented by art galleries and festivals in Canada and Europe. Her improvisations have shaped the work of collaborators from other disciplines. Mitch Renaud is a sound artist, composer, and curator whose practice moves between performing live with electronics and discrete composition. His work explores the materiality of relation through (co-)composition, field recording, studio processing, and feedback systems. Mitch performs solo performance and has ongoing collaborations with artists Dave Riedstra, Emilie LeBel, and Katelyn Clark. This concert is generously supported by the Canadian Music Centre BC.

Soft time is a Victoria-based ensemble of musicians and composers — Kristy Farkas, Anna Höstman, Cathy Fern Lewis and Mitch Renaud — who enjoy making things together. In their first program entitled Companions, they explore an ecology of composed works in the midst of improvisation, forming relationships between sounds and friendship.Works will include "Paraphrase" for voice and electronics by Mitch Renaud, a new solo piano piece by Kristy Farkas entitled "A constellation of companions", selections from "Le Poème Invisible" for voice and piano by Anna Höstman, as well as improvisations. Admission: Pay what you can (Suggested contribution: $10-$20) ABOUT THE PROGRAM:Improvisations – performed by Kristy Farkas, Anna Höstman, Cathy Fern Lewis and Mitch Renaud"Paraphrase" by Mitch Renaud is performed by Cathy Fern Lewis (voice) and Mitch Renaud (electronics). It seeks to exist within the small space of acoustic beating. The text was found from: Méret Oppenheim, Charles Baudelaire, Monica Vitti (via Anne Carson), and Anaïs Nin."A constellation of companions" by Kristy Farkas is a piece for solo piano performed by Anna Höstman. A compilation of gestures and phrases, the piece explores the infinite possibilities for connection, particularly when approached from a place of harmony.Selections from "Le Poème Invisible" by Anna Höstman are performed by Cathy Fern Lewis (voice) and Anna Höstman (piano, voice). They are a slight scatter of quiet miniatures on texts by E.D. Blodgett. ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Kristy Farkas is a sound and visual artist living in Victoria, Canada, on lək̓wəŋən territory. As a musician, collaboration and improvisation often play a role in her creative process, with scores entrusting the performers as collective, creative, decision-makers. Her work frequently considers the nuances of silence, vulnerability, and our relationship with place, finding inspiration in textures, forms and sounds found in nature. Her works have been performed in concert halls, galleries, atriums, tunnels, cafes, gardens, and forests. Anna Höstman’s compositions seek out tactile encounters with nature while extending into history, memory, and landscape. Her works have been performed throughout Canada and internationally by performers such as Keiko Shichijo, Cheryl Duvall, Mira Benjamin, Quatuor Bozzini, Continuum Ensemble, Heather Roche, Wesley Shen and Thin Edge New Music Collective. Anna has held artist residencies at the Matralab (Concordia University, Montréal), Artspring (Saltspring Island) and Outvert Artspace (Ísafjörður, Iceland). Her series of interviews with Canadian composers are published in Tempo, a Quarterly Review of New Music. Recent compositions include Pebbles for solo snare drum and voice (Ryan Scott), Cells of Wind, a graphically scored opera based on an original libretto by Montreal poet and translator, Oana Avasilichioaei, and the installation piece, For Elza (Mayhew), for the Art Gallery of Victoria’s 2022 Reverberations exhibit. Catherine Fern Lewis is renowned as a highly versatile performer, sound and voice artist and collaborator. An ambassador and active exponent of Canada’s new music and art scene since the 80’s, Lewis is a leading interpreter of contemporary performance. Lewis has premiered over one hundred and fifty pieces by prominent composers, such as Murray Adaskin, Rudolf Komorous, Linda Catlin Smith, Rodney Sharman and Anna Hostman, and most being created specifically for her. Lewis’ personal creative explorations are uniquely interdisciplinary, combining movement, sound, film and installation and pushing the boundaries of performance. Her site-specific work has been presented by art galleries and festivals in Canada and Europe. Her improvisations have shaped the work of collaborators from other disciplines. Mitch Renaud is a sound artist, composer, and curator whose practice moves between performing live with electronics and discrete composition. His work explores the materiality of relation through (co-)composition, field recording, studio processing, and feedback systems. Mitch performs solo performance and has ongoing collaborations with artists Dave Riedstra, Emilie LeBel, and Katelyn Clark. This concert is generously supported by the Canadian Music Centre BC.

soft time

Soft Time presents: companions

Church of Truth - 111 Superior St. Victoria BC

General admission

$20

General admission

$15

General admission

$10