SynchroniCity
Instrumentation:
Flute, 2 Bb Clarinets, 4 Soprano Singers, 1 piano (3 players), Acoustic Guitar, 2 Electric Guitars, Bass Guitar, 2 Violins, Cello, Marimba and Glockenspiel (1 player), fixed media video, toy traffic lights.
This work requires conductor
Duration: 18’
Premiere: January 25th 2026 as part of Playtime Festival (Bern, Switzerland)
Second performance: April 8th, Dresden
Known for being loud and sonically bustling, cities also contain hidden visual rhythms that become especially noticeable after dark. Electric scooters waiting patiently in the street create intricate polyrhythms; silhouettes of pedestrians obscure the headlights of waiting cars and create pulsing patterns reminiscent of morse code.
SychroniCity derives its source material from ‘field recording’ videos of city lights, taken by the composer and ensemble in their home towns or on their travels. These videos form a tightly synced backdrop to the ensemble’s sonic translation; the inaudible rhythms of the city transcribed, transfigured, and orchestrated into an audible representation of unheard beats and metres from around the world. From construction-zone warning lights, to car indicators, cities around the world are full of voiceless announcements, instructions, and communication. The way we interact with each other as pedestrians, from vehicles, and as stationary observers is prescriptive to the silent beat of traffic lights, car lights, and even light-up footpaths. SychroniCity encourages us to hear past the bustling noises of the city, and listen to the hidden rhythms of our visual communication.
Program notes:
Commissioned for the cooperation project between Hochschule der Künste Bern, the Mozarteum University Salzburg, and the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden