Ensemble Evolution 2023 Opening Night Stiefel Hall at Mannes School of Music New York, NY June 26, 2023 Performed by: Shara Lunon, voice Lesley Mok, drumset Lester St. Louis, cello eddy kwon, violin Follow us on social media for more @intcontemporary !

Rhythm + Improvisation + Community (futures) https://www.instagram.com/DadaStrain We do not make any money from Youtube ads, that revenue goes directly to the artists, copyright holders & YouTube. Livestream exclusively on https://www.thelotradio.com

1beat x Pulp Arts Cleo Reed Shara Lunon Nancy Cano James Parker Mujeeb Ruzik Ayankunle Moses 'Tunde Audio Engineering and Mixing: Danny Clifton (@roomthirteeen) Audio Engineering Assistant: Lily Ruckstuhl (@footsies_with_my_enemies) Mastering: Winston Goertz-Giffen (@winston_goertz_giffen) Videography: Abigail Clark and Macy Lamers (@abigailclark & @macehorse) Video Editing: Macy Lamers

This performance is presented live in Roulette's theater in Downtown Brooklyn. Roulette’s mission is to support artists creating new and adventurous art in all disciplines by providing them with a venue and resources to realize their creative visions and to build an audience interested in the evolution of experimental art. Enjoy what you see? Please 'like' this video and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Every 'like' and subscribe helps us continue to provide high quality, accessible content. Thank you so much for your support. View our full calendar of events: https://roulette.org/calendar/ Support us here: https://roulette.org/support/ __________ https://roulette.org/event/shara-lunon-bitter-fruits/ Audiofemme ++ MATA Presents ++ Roulette presents Shara Lunon: Bitter Fruits. Bitter Fruits is an electronic song cycle exploring survival techniques that have developed in response to oppression and injustice within our government, society, and communities. There are intentional injustices and passive. Both have cultivated methods of coping so that marginalized people can function in their daily lives. Defined by Tina Campt in her Quiet Soundings: The Grammar of Black Futurity, these everyday tools, or the quotidian, are what black and brown people need to survive. Lunon defines “Bitter Fruits” as the gains reaped by marginalized people in the United States. The performance examines ideas of erasure and displacement and engages with tokenism, code-switching, and other forms of quotidian survival techniques. Lunon explores the feelings that emerge when these tools are put into action using a light-reactive custom synthesizer in the form of a 10-foot braided wig. The braided wig represents the generational traditions of Black and Indigenous Americans. Historically, braids have mapped routes to freedom, held food and nourishment, and even defined societal classifications. In today’s culture, the lace front is now a symbol of expression, choice, and experimentation. In Lunon’s piece, the braided wig holds tokens and rice to represent the past and the photocells hard-wired to it serve as a way to give voice to her ancestors. The photocells are connected to an Arduino Uno and have two sides—one of a buzzy oscillator representing the suffocating voice of being unheard or unable to fully express truth and honesty in her Black experience, and the other is a soft-toned mode that represents the strength of resilience, harmony in community, and hope. This piece has been workshopped as a solo piece at the New School with Levy Lorenzo’s Tech Forward series during the pandemic and was only available to be seen by other students and faculty. This is the world premiere as a full ensemble piece and open to the public. Shara Lunon - voice electronics, wig theremin Lesley Mok - percussion, electronics Chris Williams - trumpet, electronics Kalia Vandever - trombone, electronics Lester St. Louis - electronics 13th Law - bass, guitar, electronics

Composed by Shara Lunon Performed by Rebekah Heller and Fay Victor https://roulette.org/event/2022-mata-festival-1/ The Sample Series is a set of text-based scores created by Shara Lunon as a way to stimulate autonomy and introspection in performers through simulating the grid selection process of an MPC. Each piece has set instructions and a soundbank in which to express the given concept. The point is to have an explicit focus on the context from the perspective of the ensemble so that they convey a personal journey through the theme. “I wanted to create pieces for musicians to get closer to their personal truths; to explore feeling through limitations and structure. So often do performers receive music and not place themselves in the context of why and where it is written, who it was written for, and how it should be presented. I wanted to make that impossible to ignore. Music shouldn’t always be a found object for skill demonstration, but for touching parts of ourselves and connecting to the intangible.” In “Why I Believe Womyn” the ensemble is asked to select a text to read and ingest– Simone White’s “Preliminary Notes on Street Attacks” from Of Being Dispersed, an excerpt from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an excerpt from Anita Hill’s response to an interview by Rebecca Traister for Intelligencer, and an excerpt from Christine Blasey Ford’s transcript from her opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee– and then structure their improvisation from their emotional response. This piece creates an environment of empathy, authenticity, and a tribute to the resilience of womyn.

2022 MATA FESTIVAL Curated by Darius Jones Combining word and sound is an ancient practice. The subject matter and sonic environment may vary but it is always compelling. We will ruminate about home, make the mundane more meaningful, witness an imagined dialogue between two Black geniuses, and experience how sound becomes communication. This evening will also feature a World Premiere by one of our esteemed composers. PROGRAM: Michele Cheng: Doyennes Diaries Fernanda Navarro: NEW WORLD PREMIERE Nyokabi Kariũki: The Colour of Home Laura Brackney: Knots Shara Lunon: Why I Believe Womyn Nina Fukuoka: Sugar, Spice, and All Things Nice Chris Ryan Williams: Of Yours Hakan Ulus: Auslöschung II* *This work will be presented as a sound installation in the Roulette lobby, come early to listen! FEATURING: International Contemporary Ensemble & Chris Ryan Williams, trumpet Shara Lunon, voice Lester St. Louis, cello Luke Stewart, bass Supported by The Alice M. Ditson Fund, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trust, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation. The International Contemporary Ensemble’s performances and commissioning activities during the 2021-22 concert season are made possible by the generous support of our board of directors and many individuals as well as The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc., MAP Fund, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Amphion Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, The Casement Fund, BMI Foundation, as well as public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The International Contemporary Ensemble was the Ensemble in Residence of the Nokia Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology from 2018 – 2021. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for the International Contemporary Ensemble.

"Birds of History" Text Score by Julián Muro Video Art, Concept, and Performance by Shara Lunon

'Sumatra' from the "Young Elder's" EP

'Medicine' from "Young Elders" EP Words and Music by SHARA Director/Editor/Producer: Rose Vastola Assistant Producer/ Camera One: Allie Huggins https://sharalunon.bandcamp.com/album/young-elders-ep Vocals and Keys: SHARA Percusion: Masune Engineer and Production: Jhevere Reynolds (Beach House Audio) Mastering: RoadsArt Productions Dancers: Imani Bryant, Joey Lotto Lady Tribe: Mariama Ndure, Nico Mazza, Carissa Lawrence Special thanks to Elestial Sound, Super Fun, and Camila Guillen