Sounding Grounds is a gathering of new music, experimental sound and interdisciplinary art. Running Jan 30-Feb 1 at UVic’s School of Music, this multi-day festival is a meeting place for UVic’s most adventurous creators. Featuring student and faculty composers, improvisers, builders, thinkers, and listeners, Sounding Grounds invites you to explore the curious and ever-evolving terrain of contemporary sound.
Schedule of events:
Fridaymusic: New works by student composers
A concert of bold new works by UVic student composers that spans acoustic, electronic and hybrid forms. Expect unexpected sounds!
12:30 – 1:20pm Friday, Jan. 30 • Phillip T. Young Recital Hall • Admission by donation • More info
UVic Orchestra: Nobles, Smetana, Schumann
Conductor Yariv Aloni leads the UVic Symphony Orchestra in a dynamic program that journeys through vivid musical landscapes, from operatic drama to symphonic grandeur. Featuring Jordan Nobles’ Apollo—an evocative, contemporary work exploring light and motion.
8pm Friday, Jan. 30 • Farquhar Auditorium, Jamie Cassels Centre • Tickets $15-$28, free for UVic students • More info
Sonic Improvisation Workshop
Bring your instrument, voice, or just your curiosity. A low-pressure, high-reward space for spontaneous sonic exploration. No experience necessary.
1:30-3pm Sat, Jan. 31 • room B037, MacLaurin Building • Free • More info
Faculty Concert Series: Local Currents
UVic faculty and staff share original works that highlight the depth, range, and individuality of our community’s artistic voices. The program features Anthony Tan’s bound/woven for electronics; a collaborative laptop and video performance by Megan Harton & Isaiah Doyle; Taylor Brook’s Hypha for electric guitar with electronics and video projections; Sarah Belle Reid’s Brittle Stars for voice and electronics; Lauren McCall’s work for flute and electronics; Ajtony Csaba’s Wind Drumming for piano and live electronics; and Kristy Farkas’s In this light for piano.
7:30pm Sat, Jan. 31 • Phillip T. Young Recital Hall • By donation • More info
VR Experience: The Witness Blanket
Explore Carey Newman’s powerful national monument through virtual reality. Inspired by a woven blanket, the Witness Blanket is a large-scale work of art. It contains hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and traditional and cultural structures from across Canada. This is a space for listening, remembering, and honouring truth and reconciliation.
2-5pm Sunday, Feb. 1 • CReaTeLab, room B004, MacLaurin Building • More info • Free, but reservations recommended: book a time here
Shapes for Sounds Vol. 04 Oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Part gallery, part playground, this annual variety throwdown transforms space through sculpture, sound art, noise, and performance. A tribute to the Merz art movement, the evening brings together action painting, voice, video, power electronics, and embodied performance—exploring the relationships between sound, the body, materials, and architecture. Featuring the Puppets Forsaken troupe: Hermit, Agnes, Alex Taylor-McCallum, Edith Skeard, Kegan McFadden, Ciel Boehme, John Boehme, Paul Walde, Grace Salez, Evan Locke, Mitch Renaud, Derk Wolmuth, and Lesley Marshall.
2-5pm Sunday, Feb. 1 • Phillip T. Young Recital Hall • By donation • More info