On Sunday, April 30, 2017, at UC Berkeley’s Hearst Mining Building, 7:30 p.m.. 

Friction Quartet presents Spaced Out, a concert that follows the theoretical evolution of a cyclical universe, taking the listener on an evening-long musical journey inspired by science and our understanding of the cosmos. Spaced Out includes the world premiere of Negative Expanse by Jon Kulpa which explores what it would be like to fall into a black hole. Throughout the piece, the amplified quartet interacts with sampled sounds and other electronics played through speakers positioned around the space. The players begin in the four corners of the room, conveying a scene outside the event horizon where matter becomes redshifted as it falls inward. As the players continue their journey, the music gradually becomes more frenetic and high-pitched, depicting the infinite blueshifting of energy. Ultimately, the quartet reaches the singularity, the very center of the black hole where time is nearly frozen except for quantum particles zipping in and out of existence and tunneling into other universes.

Negative Expanse was commissioned by Friction Quartet with support from Sounds of Science Commissioning Club. This program is made possible by UC Berkeley, Department of Music; CNMAT (Center for New Music and Audio Technologies); Eric Paulos and the UC Berkeley Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; and

Jeremy Wagner, Sound Engineer and Installation.

PROGRAM:

Universe Explosion - Adam Cuthbért

Reflections Nebulae - Gabriella Smith

Satellites - Garth Knox

Negative Expanse - Jon Kulpa (world premiere)