I CARE IF YOU LISTEN

Lia Kohl is a composer and sound artist based in Chicago. Her wide-ranging practice includes composition and performance, installation, improvisation, and collaboration. Her work centers curiosity and patience, an exploration of the mundane and profound possibilities of sound. Hey, I’m Lia Kohl, I’m a composer and sound artist based in Chicago, but I’m currently in …

When Glenn Branca’s Symphony No. 13 (“Hallucination City”) for 100 Guitars was first performed at the World Trade Center in June 2001, its soaring overtones flew through the doors and out to the city’s streets. For Reg Bloor, it was a dissonant ring that never ceased; it only grew past the limits of sonic resonance. …

“A shifting environment of unstable systems … Signals emerge, overlap, and dissolve, forming a temporary network that resists fixed structure or control.” Planet/Tear: Early Warning Systems curated by Char Jeré more than kept this promise in its May 26 presentation at Roulette Intermedium. The fantastically-considered, stellar showcase of 15 multimedia artists was loosely gro...

I grew up in Bogotá in the late ‘80s. Toothpaste was no longer called “toothpaste” — it was Colgate. Soda was Coca-Cola. Cereal was Cornflakes. Jeans were Levi’s. Leading brands had become so dominant that they essentially replaced the thing itself. And this is exactly what has happened with art music: Western classical music has …

In the landscape of modern opera performance, everyone seems to be fighting an uphill battle. Composers without generational wealth have few opportunities to see their music workshopped and performed. Singers seeking training and performance opportunities often rely on acceptance to Young Artist Programs, which can be both time intensive and prohibitively expensive. These cos...