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Gentle Gazzetta Readers,

A few short (actually extremely long) months ago, I was preparing to send you a much belated Gazzetta issue when, all of a sudden, the world turned upside down. I had a long list of upcoming events – including a Rome installment of the ROOM Series in the Salone at the American Academy, a performance of my string quartet Attention at Parco della Musica in Rome, a solo concert at the Barcelona Poesia Festival in Spain, a premiere of a newly commissioned work for cellist Amanda Gookin at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, and a performance of my Rome Prize fellowship project Simultaneous as part of the Studio Sound Series at New York's MoMA.

Fellows in exile
Before I could even finish writing and formatting the Gazzetta for you, the situation around this insidious novel virus ramped up and brought everything – and I mean everything – to a halt.

L'ultima cena della classe AAR del 2019/2020: Ravioli da Adam Rule!

MAXXI Museum, Rome

PZ with a David Humphrey painting at Postmasters Roma

I nearly had Trevi Fountain all to myself.

AAR Baristi (Alessandro, Tiziana, and Gabri)

AAR Kitchen Staff in the Bass Garden

Fellows gathered on the terrace
(pre-lockdown days) for a toast

Laurie Anderson and PZ at Princeton's Spatial-Sound Studio

The Tempietto in a small cortile at the Spanish Academy in Rome

A Trastevere street bizarrely devoid of people on my last day in Rome

At the beginning of March, I still thought I’d be finishing out the second half of my year in Rome but, by the end of March, the entire cohort of fellows was sent packing, and we were all disheartened to return Stateside straight into two-weeks of self-quarantine followed by the same lockdown that everyone else was sentenced to.

Needless to say, all of my live events were canceled or postponed, and I found myself facing this strange new reality – simultaneously isolated while in the very good company of all of you – making contact with the world via flat displays and headphones.

Fortunata
But, I should really count myself as fortunate. In spite of all those event cancellations, and my having to leave Rome just when I was starting to sink my teeth into the bounty that was my fellowship there, I still have an abundance of work to do and projects to complete. My outstanding commissions are still queued up for me to compose (including a work for soprano Julia Bullock with the San Francisco Symphony, a symphonic work for Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Amanda Gookin's cello piece, and several more), even though the premieres are all being postponed for a season or two. So I have more than enough on my plate to occupy and sustain me through this lockdown period. I was also given two prestigeous awards – the United States Artists Fellowship and a composer award from the Academy of Arts and Letters – during my time away. As such, I’m endeavoring to turn my sympathies toward the many who are much less fortunate in this moment.

I do have some upcoming events – lockdown style – including a live installment of the Room Series – ROOMs plural! (featuring Italian composer Zeno Baldi, my longtime collaborator and partner in crime Donald Swearingen, and yours truly). Also, Claire Chase will be performing works from her Density 2036 project including my Louder Warmer Denser in a live streaming concert in support of the New Music Solidarity Fund, and ODC will be hosting an online dance and drinks event featuring cocktail delivery, a screening of Waving Not Drowning, and a live conversation between Brenda Way (the choreographer), and me (the composer). And I'll be appearing solo in two online festivals: The Bang on a Can Marathon and the Gray Sound Sessions. Scroll down for details on these events.

Buone Esperienze
Even though it was tragically cut short, I must admit that I did have some amazing experiences during the first half of my Rome Prize Fellowship. I bonded with a cohort of 30 extraordinary people – many of whom I feel will be friends for life. (We are all still actively conversing on WhatsApp, Zoom, and Google Hangouts!)

I also created and exhibited (as part of the Cinque Mostre Exhibiton) a 21-channel sound installation that will serve as the foundation for a larger work, using speech fragments taken from interviews I did with all the fellows. I created a solo performance for voice, electronics, and four channels of video for Rome’s Museo Nationale delle Arti dell XXI Secolo (MAXXI) and gave a solo concert at Sala Vanni in Florence. I explored Rome – though not nearly as thoroughly as I had planned – and I visited other locations from Tuscany to Veneto (attending la Biennale di Venezia during an extreme alta acqua period), and also made a few quick trips back to the US for engagements with Eighth Blackbird in Chicago and San Francisco, Steve Schick in San Diego, and a visit with Laurie Anderson's spatial-sound class at Princeton.

For six short months, I enjoyed countless beautiful meals lovingly crafted by the Rome Sustainable Food Project – our kitchen staff at the Academy, and at Roman bars and restaurants on Gianicolo hill, in Trastevere and beyond. I attended contemporary music concerts, operas, museum and gallery openings, and I did some studio visits at ateliers of local artists. And I participated in well-curated walking tours of monuments, churches, ancient landmarks, and archives.

I truly hope, some day after this all blows over, I’ll be able to return and spend more time in Roma, but no one knows, at this point, what the future holds.

Meanwhile, I hope you are all keeping safe and well in your respective lock-down abodes!

Bacioni a tutti,

PZ

The statues lining the Vatican City colonnades

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upcoming event details:

Claire Chase: Live New Music Marathon
featuring works from DENSITY 2036
(including Pamela Z's Louder Warmer Denser)

Claire Chase, flutes

Thursday, May 14, 6-10pm EDT (3-7pm PDT)
Stream it HERE

Thursday, May 14 from 6-10pm ET , join CLAIRE CHASE for a wild four-hour LIVE STREAM Marathon of music from the Density 2036 project, generously hosted by Music on the Rebound in support of the New Music Solidarity Fund. Claire plays selections from Density 2036 (2013-2020) from her living room in Crown Heights, Brooklyn to raise money for the New Music Solidarity Fund. Solo flute works by Steve Reich, Marcos Balter, Mario Diaz de Leon, Felipe Lara, Nathan Davis, Suzanne Farrin, Du Yun, Dai Fujikura, Richard Beaudoin, Pauline Oliveros, Phyllis Chen, Pamela Z, as well as surprise world premieres every hour.
(Pamela Z's work will appear at the top of "Set 5" at approximately 6:30pm PDT/ 9:30pm EDT.)

The New Music Solidarity Fund has a goal of raising $500,000 by May 15 to make possible 1000 $500 grants to struggling artists in the new-music community. All money raised during the concert will go directly to the Fund.

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Schedule:

6:00-6:45 pm (EDT) / 3.00-3:45 pm (PDT)
Set 1: Selections from Density 2036, prelude (2013)
Music by: Steve Reich, Marcos Balter, Mario Diaz de Leon, and a Surprise World Premiere

7:00-7:45 pm (EDT) / 4.00-4:45 pm (PDT)
Set 2: Selections from Density 2036, parts i & ii (2013-14)
Music by: Felipe Lara, Du Yun, and a Surprise World Premiere

8:00-8:30 pm (EDT) / 5.00-5:30 pm (PDT)
Set 3: Selections from Density 2036, parts iii & iv (2015-16)
Music by: Dai Fujikura, Suzanne Farrin, Nathan Davis, Pauline Oliveros, and a Surprise World Premiere

8:45-9:15 pm (EDT) / 5.45-6:15 pm (PDT)
Set 4: Selections from Density 2036, part v (2017-18)
Music by: Marcos Balter and a Surpise World Premiere

9:30-10 pm (EDT) / 6:30-7 pm (PDT)
Set 5: Selections from Density 2036, part vi (2018-19)
Music by: Pamela Z, Phyllis Chen, and a Surpise World Premiere

Claire Chase Live (from her living room)

MUSIC ON THE REBOUND
New Music Solidarity Fund

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