This story was previously posted on StratfordToday.ca
NEWS RELEASE
DESTINATION STRATFORD
************************
Stratford Summer Music, Destination Stratford and Stratford Festival are thrilled to collaborate in showcasing NYX: electronic drone choir during the final weekend of the 5th annual Lights On Stratford, a winter festival of light and public art in Stratford, Ontario, Canada that takes place over the course of six weekends in the darkest and coldest part of the year.
As part of this year’s festival, Lights On Stratford is premiering the award-winning EMERGENCE light art installation by This is Loop, the collaborative artistic partnership of artists Harriet Lumby and Alan Hayes based in the UK. “The team at This Is Loop have great admiration for the work of NYX: electronic drone choir. Being able to exhibit in Stratford alongside them is the ultimate realisation of our collaboration on the original score for our artwork Emergence.”
And NYX also highlights their special and direct connection to EMERGENCE: “NYX are excited to join the final weekend of the Lights On Stratford programme alongside of the EMERGENCE installation. We developed our electronic-choral score for EMERGENCE in response to the provocation of chaos and order and how our many voices find divergent paths to seek harmony. We've since developed this work and a body of other music into our debut album that will be released in Spring 2025. This opportunity will be our first time in Canada and our first project as a collective at the start of 2025. We are looking forward to meeting festival audiences through workshops, our live show and out and about exploring This is Loop's incredible installation.”
NYX embodies live electronics, drone and ecstatic choral sound, testing the limits of organic and synthetic modulation to explore the entire spectrum of collective voice as an instrument.
NYX are a self-managed collective that have performed at London Design Festival, London Fashion Week, Hyde Park, Pompidou Centre, Roundhouse, Rewire Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Kings Place, EARTH, Barbican, Dark Mofo Festival among other festivals and venues.
With visceral compositions by Sian O’Gorman, NYX’s music responds to the human body, architecture and nature, enhanced by spatial sound design with partners Ableton, D&B Audio, MONOM Sound and sound therapy provider, Wavepaths.
NYX works to translate live connection and vocal embodiment in recorded music, demonstrated in Deep England, their collaborative album with Gazelle Twin, recognized in the Guardian’s top ten contemporary albums for 2020, as recipients of Film London’s Breakthrough Talent Award in 2021 and as collaborators on the Diablo IV Official Soundtrack, recorded at Abbey Road Institute Angel Studios.
“Stratford Summer Music is excited to partner with Lights On Stratford and the Stratford Festival to present NYX: electronic drone choir,” says Crystal Spicer, Executive Director of Stratford Summer Music. “Coming together to celebrate winter is a wonderful opportunity to join the incredible Lights On Stratford festival and be part of bringing music and lights to the city of Stratford.”
Kaileigh Krysztofiak, General Manager of Lights On Stratford, is equally excited about the ever-increasing opportunity for community participation and engagement. “Through the work of this incredible partnership of Stratford arts organizations, the closing weekend of our fifth season of Lights On Stratford will be a truly immersive exploration of creative collaboration.”
"We are delighted to see the beautiful new Tom Patterson Theatre be part of this wonderful winter celebration," says Anita Gaffney, Executive Director of the Stratford Festival. "The building comes to life when it is filled with people and performance so to offer such an exciting concert of sound and light in our off season will be a real attractor for visitors."
One of Destination Stratford’s primary goals is to enable and grow the city’s cultural offerings throughout the year. “In bringing international award-winning musicians and artists together this winter to perform in an award-winning theatre venue at an award-winning lights festival, we couldn’t be prouder to work together and make this happen for our community,” says Zac Gribble, Executive Director of Destination Stratford and Festival Director of Lights On Stratford.
The NYX concert performance is at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the Tom Patterson Theatre. Tickets are available at stratfordfestival.ca/NYX-Live
The 2 Stratford Summer Music workshop sessions with NYX are scheduled for Friday, January 17th. Tickets are limited so register early. More information and tickets are available at stratfordfestival.ca/NYX-Workshop
And from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19, NYX will help close out the 5th annual Lights On Stratford by hosting an interactive experience at the EMERGENCE light art installation in Market Square.
The NYX initiative is brought to you by the event partners and with financial support from RTO4. Lights On Stratford is made possible through the support of its partners and the generosity of its sponsors. It is funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), and has been financially assisted by Experience Ontario, a program of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming.
************************
