Pauline Oliveros + IONE
The Nubian Word for Flowers
Workshop in partnership with Experiments in Opera
In this deep dream exploration of colonial mind and Nubian soul, Lord Herbert Horatio Kitchener, Britain’s Secretary of State for War, is transported from a sinking WWI warship to a surreal Nubian island of flowers that he himself once cultivated under Queen Victoria. Here he must face an enigmatic Nubian Boatman and phantoms of a displaced people, as well as figures from his own life.
With story and libretto by Ione, score by Pauline Oliveros, performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and Experiments in Opera, The Nubian Word for Flowers lays bare Kitchener’s relationship to beauty and violence along with our own.
Composer, performer, and humanitarian Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016) profoundly influenced American music through her work with improvisation, meditation, electronic music, myth, and ritual. IONE is a writer/director and an improvising text/sound artist. A specialist in dreams and the creative process, she has taught and performed throughout the world. With 35 leading instrumentalists performing in forces ranging from solos to large ensembles, the acclaimed International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is dedicated to reshaping the way music is created and experienced.
FUNDING CREDITS
ICE’s 2017-18 performances and commissioning activities are made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Amphion Foundation, MAP Fund, Pew Charitable Trusts, Pacific Harmony Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Casement Fund, BMI Foundation, as well as public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for ICE.