At Pine Meadow Ranch - PC: Loma Smith Photography
Strikes and Residencies
In the period of a year (~Aug 2022-Aug 2023), I went through a significant stabilization of my values and goals. What started as a year of getting ENAensemble back on track and continuing to negotiate a fair TUGSA contract ended with 3 newly commissioned ENA operas, a successful 42-day long TUGSA strike, and a transformational cross-country road trip and residency.
This project is - to me - an important step in finding ways to make “high art music” into something that can matter to people. It’s an invitation to try something weird, thoughtful, and delicious - at your speed, at your capability, and at your leisure.
What it is
This will be a living document of food and music recipes. In some instances, it will be highly detailed, ingredient-rich recipes with a sophisticated musical score, and in other cases it will be - like the first entry - a “recipe” for deliberate ceremony on your individual terms.
How it works
You will find a google form below to add recipes and musical scores. You can submit something, part of something, a lot of something, etc. it doesn’t really matter as long as the intent is genuienly there. The goal is to instigate, invite, or suggest ways that others can create a meaningful experience intertwining food and music (of course) but also culture, community, friendship, and/or family. We are evermore siloed, exploited, and detached. This is an overture to come together over food and music to build new traditions of community and ceremonies of life.
For the food
It can be something as simple as “make a soup” or as complex as a multi-day culinary adventure. Importantly, some recipes will be deliberately flexible (e.g. “use your favorite protein” or “make a sandwich”), and this is to facilitate the usage of this collection in a more open-ended, accessible way.
For the music
You can submit a score, a recording, a set of instructions, a playlist, an album, an kind of album (e.g. jazz), etc. Not everyone using this will play an instrument, be able to read music, etc. so it’s more about curating a musical experience that is purposefully connected to the provided recipe.
Are both required?
Yes, that’s the point! Think hard about the ways people will use what you submit, why they ought to do it, and how you want it to be experienced. It is ok to experiment, it is ok for your submission to suck, but it shouldn’t be impossible (improbable is ok). This is a game, make sure people can play!
Submission interest form
Recipes
-
For the Music:
Ingredients: What are your three favorite sad songs (any length, genre, etc.)? Make a playlist of them that shuffles and loops them.
Method: In your most comfortable position, hit play on the play list and listen for at least an hour. It is ok to cry, to fall asleep, to sit quietly, to pace around, to hold someone you love - it is ok. After an hour, get up and start cooking.For the Food:
Ingredients: Whatever your favorite soup takes (from canned tomato soup to a complicated gazpacho).
Method: After an hour of the sad song playlist, start cooking it. Once it is ready to eat, turn off the sad music. -
Description:
This is an “event” recipe, meaning it is specifically designed as a community event - among family, friends, neighbors, etc.
Structure:
Pick a day each month (e.g. last Sunday of the month) that your group can all commit to. Each month, one member of the group prepares a large soup of their choosing and everyone else in the group attends the Soup-Maker’s home (or a shared common space). If you are not the soup-maker, you bring your own bowl and utensils, diminishing the amount of work the Soup-Maker takes on. The soup-making responsibilities rotate each month.
For the Music:
Ingredients: Whoever is the Next-in-line Soup-Maker can choose the music. It must be participatory (karaoke, sing-along, string quartet, drum circle, whatever) and it must be developed in conjunction with the current Soup-Maker. The structure of the collaboration should be one of mutual interest in the recipe, its ingredients, and any significance they hold for the Soup-Maker (e.g. if it’s grandma’s recipe and she loved Sacred Harp music, then something honoring that should be considered when making the musical choices).
Method: Make whatever necessary arrangements (speakers, music stands, etc.) to ensure the music making can get started right away! Play and eat at the same time!For the Food:
Ingredients: Whatever your favorite soup takes (from canned tomato soup to a complicated gazpacho).
Method: Make the soup ahead of time with enough for everyone to leave happy and full! Non-Soup-Makers can provide side dishes, like bread, salad, dessert, etc. Find what makes your community satisfied and full, and make them that!