Voice: Sculpting Sound with Maja S. K. Ratkje at The Cube
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A event held at The Cube on Sunday 15th October. The event starts at 13:30.


Sunday 15th October
1:30pm - 4:00pm @ The Cube

With an online Q&A with the director Ingo J. Biermann and Maja S. K. Ratkje

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A cinematic feature documentary by director Ingo J. Biermann about Norwegian composer and performer Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje.. It is not only the portrait of a singular musician and singer, but the film will explore the sound and the nature of the human voice in all its facets. Performances, sound recordings and intimate personal scenes are composed into a complex portrait of an uncompromising artist challenged between conflicting poles of family and vocation. A film about an individual’s voice whose vigor and enthusiasm are increasingly passed on to the viewer.

Maja S. K. Ratkje.
Norwegian composer and performer Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje operates in a wide range of the avant-garde field. At its heart lies Ratkje’s own voice. Ratkje’s exploration of her own voice’s timbral properties led to its involvement in the compositional process. In 2002, she released the album Voice, a catalogue of previously unexplored vocal production techniques fused with electronics that was awarded the Prix Ars Electronica. Ratkje’s exploration of the voice as an instrument came to maturity in Concerto for Voice (2004), commissioned by Radio France.

Her music is performed by Ensemble Intercontemporain, Klangforum Wien, Oslo Sinfonietta, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Red Note Ensemble, POING and many more. She has received the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris for composers below 30 years, Scottish Award for New Music for »Aeolian«, second prize at the Russolo Foundation, and in 2001 she was the first composer to receive the Norwegian Arne Nordheim prize.

Ingo J. Beirmann

Ingo J.Biermann studied directing at the German Film & Television Academy in Berlin with Claire Denis, Béla Tarr, Andres Veiel and Christian Petzold. His first feature film was Faust. A Tragedy: Part One (2008), based on Goethe’s classic play, followed by Nordland (2013), a roadmovie across Northern Norway. He has finished five feature-length documentaries about music and art as well as a five-hour series on German actors. He has been working in Berlin and Norway in recent years.

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BACKGROUND
Calling Calling is an expanded vocal project taking place throughout 2023.

A programme of public workshops and performances, and an artist development project explores collaborative vocal ecologies through non-traditional voice and expanded vocal techniques.

This project developed out of, and is led by, a group of Brunswick artists and the wider extended Brunswick community, who have come together through their shared interests in working experimentally with the voice.

An extended group of vocal explorers came together to learn new approaches and skills from each other, and from invited artists, to explore a diverse range of vocal techniques, to work towards creating a new collaborative performance. The group have taken part in workshops with Alwynne Pritchard, and Hannah Silva, followed by a weekend residency led by Yas Clarke, Shirley Pegna, and Jo Hellier at Arnolfini in early September to devise, and develop a group performance for the event.

Public workshops led by members of the group as part of St Georges Voice Festival in June 2023, offered opportunities for audiences to try out different vocal processes, allowing all voices to be heard, without needing to be a ‘singer’.

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There are a number of free tickets for those who would otherwise find it difficult to attend. Please email: [email protected]

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This programme is made possible with funding from West of England Visual Arts Alliance (WEVAA) and Arts Council England, with support from Arnolfini.

The Brunswick Club is an expanded collective of Bristol artist-led collectives working across experimental practices.
Instagram @thebrunswickclub
Facebook @thebrunswickclub

Entry requirements: