ANNOUNCING CLOUD CHAMBER LIVE - NOVEMBER 29TH AT ARRAYSPACE

STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS AND TICKETS

Sparse in construction, timeless in imagery, arcane in meaning, mythological in characters and narrative, The Sign of Jonas is an apocalypse folk tale — a story of personal and cultural collapse, and regeneration. It is a song cycle lost and found: a musical manuscript orphaned by the cataclysms of the 21st century, and re-wakened to ritual life far in the future. The fragments of text by poet Luke Hathaway speak of journeys, of death and rebirth, of decay and regrowth; the music by Benton Roark is a ceremonialized cycle of partsongs, responsorials, folk rounds, and incantations. Together, they are a folk-music-pageant-mystery-play performed by Arkora, a collective of traveling musicians and their instruments: fiddle, dulcimer, banjo, guitar, percussion, contrabass, piano … voices singing in solo, unison, and polyphony.

TWO EVENINGS ONLY

AUGUST 1: ENGLISH HARBOUR ARTS CENTRE, ENGLISH HARBOUR

AUGUST 2: ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, CORNER BROOK | CAMBER ARTS

”amazing”…”magical”…”a FESTIVAL highlight”

Some testimonials garnered from our adventures this past July during a much-anticipated tour across Canada. 11 days, 3 festivals, 3 standing ovations (!), 7 tracks recorded, 2 microtonal glass marimbas, 17 kick ass musicians, 17 amazing humans and friends. Countless good times. Thanks to Sound Symposium, Ottawa Chamberfest, and Early Music Vancouver Bach Festival for the warm hospitality and incredible opportunities. Thanks to all of our enthusiastic audiences for helping make our work so fulfilling.

photos by Greg Locke

photos by Curtis Perry

We gratefully and enthusiastically acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts in making this dream a reality.

LUMIPHONE 2.0 LAUNCHES AS WE BREAK GROUND ON TRACKING TRANSFIGURED LIGHT

Projects projects projects! As restrictions loosened, so many initiatives that had been on back burners due to COVID started to heat up once again. In addition to our tour, we began recording Transfigured Light commissions by Fay Wang, Noah Meites, Benton Roark, Dorothy Chang, Jonathan Wild, and Tova Kardonne. Sessions took place at Revolution in Toronto with some incredible guest artists, including Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble, Wesley Shen, Bijan Sepanji, and Emma Schmiedecke, and at First Light Cochrane Street in St. John’s with our touring ensemble. Many of these, microtonal in nature, required the support of a microtonal marimba, which lo’ and behold was finished (literally) on the eve of our St. John’s sessions. We are full steam ahead on Transfigured Light and can’t be more stoked to share this long overdue and amazing project with the world.

SUMMER TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED

JULY 20: SOUND SYMPOSIUM

JULY 26: OTTAWA CHAMBERFEST

JULY 28: VANCOUVER BACH FESTIVAL | EARLY MUSIC VANCOUVER

“stay close” - cloud chamber single

CLOUD CHAMBER EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE

SUNDAY JUNE 6 AT OPEN EARS FESTIVAL

After years growing from chamber group to full fledged electric vocal consort, Arkora brings it full circle with Cloud Chamber, a compact collaboration among five composer/performers who are central to the group’s unique sound: Tova Kardonne (viola/voice/piano), Dan Morphy (percussion), Brendon Randall-Myers (electric guitar), Sharon Lee (electric violin), and Benton Roark (microtonal keyboards/fretless bass). Designed to roll with the challenges of our times, Cloud Chamber is an EP’s worth of new work written and recorded completely via remote collaboration using layering, cellular development, improvisation, and telephone-chain methods, as works go round the circle with each creator making their mark and passing it along. Among many goals of the project is to deepen the artistic connection among the group and to nurture a trust when handing off an idea to another creator, an action which Kardonne calls “an exciting risk” and Randall-Myers describes as “liberating” (Musicworks, Fall 2020). Cloud Chamber will be released via Redshift Records in summer 2021. As a visual element, Toronto filmmakers Karly and Justine McCloskey offer experimental films using analogue techniques inspired by the creative process to accompany the album’s release.

ANNOUNCING

MYSTICS, PROPHETS, POETS

NEW COMMISSIONS | MEDIEVAL MOTETS REIMAGINED | COLLABORATIONS WITH JAZZ, FUSION, & WORLD MUSIC LUMINARIES

Continuing our exploration of connections between past and present, Arkora announces Mystics, Prophets, Poets, a project of new commissions and ancient masterworks highlighting the oeuvre of twelfth-century abbess Hildegard von Bingen. At the heart of the program are world premieres by Alicia Hansen, Curtis Andrews, and Benton Roark, composer-performers that have each forged distinct voices in the world of contemporary music through the fusion of different styles. Alongside Hildegard and other medieval luminaries, these artists find a meeting place in a concert of voices and instruments from different centuries and traditions, including mridangam, electric and steel guitar, strings, microtonal keyboards, and percussion, as well as erhu, featuring special guest and master improviser Lan Tung. Mystics, Prophets, Poets launches in the 2020 season.

transfigured light

A “SEASONAL BENCHMARK”

“jaggedly, defiantly microtonal”

-The Vancouver Observer

TWO YEARS, SEVEN COMMISSIONS, 31 TONES PER OCTAVE