2016 Avant Music Festival: John King

Three 20-minute "micro-operas" by John King, sung by his longtime collaborators Joan La Barbara and Gelsey Bell, with the King on viola and electronics. The program features the world premiere of What Is The Word, based on Beckett's last work and commissioned by Avant Media with a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. It also includes Ping (2014), and A-R-S (2015), setting a Latin quote frequently cited by John Cage: "ars imitatur naturam in sua operatione."

Says King, "These small chamber operas employ chance, improvisation, live electronics and randomly controlled lighting in an intimate setting, and mark a new direction in my work, combining of many different theatrical musical elements within one span of time." The performance is preceded by a sound and light installation (noon - 6 pm), based on A-R-S; Lighting for the installation and the performance will be controlled by a chance-determined program devised by King and Kryssy Wright.