HPSCHD@50: Every Neighborhood Is a Universe
HPSCHD Performances 1 & 2
February 29 & March 1, 1-4pm
Preston Bradley Hall @ The Chicago Cultural Center
78 E Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602

FREE! Registration recommended:  Saturday  Sunday

Immerse yourself in a universe of sound and light, and celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Cage and Lejaren Hiller’s HPSCHD with NON:op Open Opera Works. Reimagined for 21st century Chicago, the two afternoon performances feature a diverse group of local artists, 7 harpsichords, 52 channels of computer-generated sound, and hundreds and hundreds of still and moving images.

Building on the abundance embodied by its predecessor, MUSICIRCUS, Cage drew on the cultural currency and imagery of the NASA space program’s promise to discover new worlds in the vastness of the universe. Now, after 50 years, we turn our attention to the vastness of ourselves in our own worlds in the possibilities, abundance, and complexities. HPSCHD@50 combines Cage’s original images with historical and current imagery from Chicago neighborhoods to create a transformative environment where audiences and artists co-create an experience that brings us all together.

Performers: Billie Howard, Alvin Waddles, Svetlana Belsky, Shi-An Costello, Francis Yun, Martha Stiehl, Amy Wurtz

Crew: Stephan Moore, sound; Theo Economides & Ilse Miller, video; Christophe Preissing, direction