J. PAVONE STRING ENSEMBLE

As an instrumentalist and a composer, Pavone’s creative practice encompasses and moves beyond developing a personalized voice on her instrument. Since 2012, I have established an individual body of material for solo viola, concentrating on the tactile elements of performance. These structured yet indeterminate pieces stem from intensive long tone practice and an interest in repetition, song form, and sympathetic vibration, resulting in four studio albums. Providing the groundwork for my compositional language, in 2017, she created the J. Pavone String Ensemble as an outgrowth. The foundation of her recent ensemble compositions is research on the effects of sonic vibration on human physiology and emotional health. Sustained pitches and clusters of ensemble sounds generate specific physical and cognitive benefits intended to impact the audience physically and mentally, existing within and beyond music’s canonical role. She experiments with improvisatory techniques, alternating between metered and time-based scores and improvised and notated instructions. The ensemble approach focuses on a vision of collective improvisation that prioritizes a collaboratively sewn musical fabric, in contrast to the traditional improvisatory method that prizes the individuality and uniqueness of the soloist. Personnel: Aimée Niemann (violin) Abby Swidler (violin, viola) Jessica Pavone (composer, viola) Photos: Josiah Cuneo