Supported by Avaloch Farm Music Institute
Technical Information
ca. 15’
cello, vibraphone, video
Premiered January 14, 2020
Performance History
March 14, 2020
Blue Sage Center For The Arts, Paonia, Colorado
January 14, 2020
The Loft Cinema, Tucson, AZ
World Premiere Performance
About the Work
November Foxtrot is a large scale multimedia collaboration between New Morse Code and Florent Ghys, developed at Avaloch Farm Music Institute. Its eight movements explore language, alphabet, transmission, Morse Code, and other means of communication. Cello and percussion converse with an interactive video application consisting of digital duplicates of New Morse Code and other historical and found footage.
About the Composer
French double bassist and composer Florent Ghys’ music has been described as “highly contrapuntal, intelligent and inventive...” (WQXR-FM), and a “thrilling breed of post-minimal chamber music” (Time Out NY). His pieces “blend elements of minimalism, pop music, and a dose of extravagant wit” (John Schaefer, WNYC). Ghys has written music for some of today’s most influential ensembles and soloists, including the Bang on a Can All-Stars, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, SO Percussion, Nick Photinos, and Jack Quartet. His music has been performed at the Lincoln Center, BAM, the Barbican Center, MIT, Sydney Opera House, and the Muziekgebouw.
As a film composer, his collaboration with writer/director Isabelle Solas won the Sacem prize for short films. “L'âme de la Forêt” by Julien Paumelle was selected for the Short Film Corner at the Festival de Cannes. As an experienced arranger and producer, Florent has worked with artists from a variety of genres, including broadway singer John Lloyd Young, and composer Steve Reich.
As a double bassist, Florent has performed with the Paris Opera Orchestra, the Wordless Music Orchestra, the ensemble Ear Heart Music, and the band Build, and has released 4 albums on the label Cantaloupe Music. Ghys holds a Maîtrise in ethnomusicology, a Diplôme d'Études Musicales in double bass performance, a M.M. in music theory and composition, and a Masters of Fine Arts. He is currently a PhD candidate in music composition at Princeton University.
- Florent Ghys
Performance History
March 14, 2020
Blue Sage Center For The Arts, Paonia, Colorado
January 14, 2020
The Loft Cinema, Tucson, AZ
World Premiere Performance