The Goo 1
Interview CLIODHNA RYAN Ryan McAdams An acclaimed
composer and DJ, This is a huge year 25th birthday year for Crash Ensemble. How are you celebrating it? Well, there are two evenings of super bananas, high octane performances in the studio space at the National Concert Hall. On the first concert programme, we’re doing Donnacha Dennehy’s Grá Agus Bás and on the second, we’re doing Barry O’Halpin’s Wingform. Grá Agus Bás was probably one of the first big masterpieces that Crash premiered and brought into the world and Barry’s Wingform is its most recent major masterpiece. These are pieces that feel like major contributions to the to the to the global new music discourse, and they are pieces that only Crash could have brought forth into the world. Then there are two other pieces. The first is Liza Lim’s Extinction Events and Dawn Chorus, which I am unbelievably excited about. It’s a theatrical, phantasmagorical piece about climate change and the natural world. it’s one of those pieces that just has to be experienced in person, and it advocates for live performance in such a profound way. The other work is a collaboration between our artist-in-residence and violinist Diamanda Dramm, and artist and former CEO of Crash, Neva Elliott. We asked them to write a piece for this anniversary that focuses on the specific personalities and talents of every single member of Crash. A lot of it’s going to be improvised, so we’re going to be making it up as we go along. Beyond that there’s an installation, the release of a new record, and a film? PAGE 28 PIC: ROS KAVANAGH Yeah. Jack Phelan has designed a lightshow and installation around Wingform which will be in the NCH. Then we’ve got the double album release of Reactions on November 25th, which is a project that was initiated around the pandemic. Seventeen composers were invited to write pieces that could be performed or recorded in a socially distanced way, commenting on the experience of isolation, and the role of the arts in a global crisis. Laura Sheeran has made an accompanying film to many of these pieces, which will be shown at the Irish Film Institute on November 30th. The last thing that’s happening is Crash Works. A select group of young composers at a pivotal point in their career will be getting professional and artistic development experience over a two year period. We’re going to be reading their compositions and being in a mentorship and dialogue with them during our rehearsal period. How would you articulate Crash Ensemble’s legacy and it’s vision for the future? To put it simply Principal Conductor of Crash Ensemble for sending new music out into the world, collaborating with international artists, bringing that music to Ireland, recording and archiving it, performing it every chance they get and really advocating for its importance and relevance in the global conversation. Crash is constantly trying to turn itself inside out to serve the next generation of creators. As for the future, there’s a waiting list out the door of commissions by the most important living composers that we’re going to be premiering over the next decade. The conversation about the role of Crash internationally is the big one. Everyone just wants to get back out on the road. whenever crafts finds a vacuum, they fill it with sound. They rush into spaces and they fill them with art. They don’t believe in boundaries, or appropriate spaces for this kind of music. They believe that the act of premiering work and experiencing it happens with the audience. Crash has been the champion For someone that doesn’t that hasn’t been to a Crash gig, what can they expect? Well, you’ll experience an electricity and a ferocity of playing that I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anyplace. You are going to get rock star level levels of energy and commitment. You’re going to get some multimedia sensory experiences. You’re going to get to hear music that the band believes passionately about to their core. This is a space where whatever you take away from it is correct. You’re going to get an experience that feels relevant, that feels alive, and it’s going to be just so much fun. Thanks so much Ryan and see you at the gigs!