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Roxanne Nesbitt (installation, voice, piano)
Ben Brown (ceramics, percussion)
Parmela Attariwala (viola)
Moon Bells / Symbiotic extends Roxanne Nesbitt’s ongoing explorations of sonic timbre and texture through handmade ceramic percussion and altered instruments. Part installation, part performance, audience members will enter into a space that is shaped by the suspended ceramic sculptural pieces. The visual suggestion of weightlessness and levity blends with sound layers coaxed from the sculptural instruments creating a subtly shifting sonic and material translucency.
The performance installation features two new distinct bodies of ceramic instruments made by Nesbitt. The moon bells are hanging spinning translucent resonant panels designed using ratios from just intonation and warped through the ceramic process in the kiln. Symbiotic Instruments is an on-going project exploring interactions between traditional and experimental instruments.
The performance features Roxanne Nesbitt performing ceramics and piano, Ben Brown on ceramics and Parmela Attariwala on viola. There will be an in-theatre artist chat at 7:15pm, before the performance.
The performance will take place in approximately 15 min increments. The audience is invited to change locations between performances to experience the work from different perspectives.
Hanging ceramic bells were made by Roxanne Nesbitt at the European Keramic Work Centre in Oisterwijk, Netherlands. Bells used as piano preparations were made at the same facility and at Vancouver Ceramics Studio.
Trained as an architect and orchestral bassist, Roxanne Nesbitt is an interdisciplinary artist, exploring the space between sound and design. Her research includes experimental instrument design, composition, improvisation, sound installation, and performance.
Roxanne collaborates with musicians, dancers and choreographers as a performer and composer. She has premiered new compositions at the Western Front and PuSh festival in Vancouver, Array Space in Toronto, and Bauchhund in Berlin. Roxanne fronts her own band, Graftician and is a member of the improvised duo, Why Choir alongside award winning drummer Ben Brown.
I am a mover and shaker. I am the founder of Music And Movement Mondays (MAMM). As a drummer, I have received a Juno Award with my group, Pugs and Crows.
Currently, I’m exploring principles of sound felt in the body and researching a series of designed percussion instruments crafted by Roxanne Nesbitt. With these, I am trying to push the boundaries of drumming by using movement to communicate the energy of sound—helping an audience hear differently by creating and breaking expectations for a sound through gesture.
Calgary-born violinist Parmela Attariwala has been mesmerized by sound for as long as she can remember; most especially by how un-worded sounds and music carry meaning. She pursued this passion through an undergraduate degree in performance, and postgraduate degrees in ethnomusicology (specializing in Sikh devotional music and Canadian cultural policy, respectively). Over a twenty-five year sojourn in Toronto meant to last only one year, Parmela cultivated an eclectic and interdisciplinary practice alongside the performance of traditional Western classical music and a teaching practice devoted to vulnerable youth.
Parmela moved to Vancouver in 2019. Since then, she has continued to engage music-making that pushes the boundaries of tradition and to advocate for equity in Canadian musicking. In 2021, Parmela co-founded Understory, a network and creation platform for Canadian improvising artists.
