Conjuring the future

An oboist wanders barefoot in near-darkness. He plays a string of searching notes, trails off, and begins again, elaborating the melody. He stops, peers. Ahead, curled up on the ground, lies a body. The oboist removes the mouthpiece from his instrument and blows into the barrel. A light flickers, and there is movement. The figure of a cyborg staggers to its feet, vertebral loops pulsing a deep blue. Who are these two strangers? Creator and creation? Master and servant? Adversaries? 

So begins Synapses, a new multimedia collaboration spearheaded by Professor of Composition Dr. Bob Pritchard and oboist David Owen of Vancouver’s Turning Point Ensemble. The project, which premiered in January as part of the Chan Centre’s winter programming, takes up one of the challenges musicians face right now: How do you bridge the gap between performer and audience that has opened up during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Read more