Special guest this year on the festival is Ingrid Laubrock, the renowned German jazz saxophonist who lives and works in New York and is also gaining acclaim as a composer.
SPECTRA performs her Unveiled (2002), a fascinating work about which she writes: ?While composing, I often notice that I draw on the irregular patterns of nature: the beauty of imperfect repetition; the same, yet not the same. The blueprint for Unveiled emerged during early morning walks through San Antonio Canyon Park in Santa Barbara, CA.?
When the contours of Unveiled began to crystallize, I also started taking photos of my surroundings, which later helped me return to this mindset. The photo that seemed to represent the layers of the piece the most was an image of funnel spider webs covered in dewdrops, which highlighted the webs that are usually not so easily seen. Unveiled plays with groups of instruments that gradually emerge from denser, fuller sound textures, much like the funnel webs, typically hidden in the fabric of a forest floor, were brought into focus by the dew.