Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly

He's looking for a few good guitarists

If you're an electric guitarist or bassist in the Los Angeles area, Glenn Branca is looking for performers for his Symphony no. 13 (Hallucination City) to be performed on March 29 as part of the Minimalism Jukebox.

It's great that Branca is coming to L.A., but what sucks about this is that there's no pay. Now I suppose that's nothing new for rock musicians, but geez Louise, the L.A. Philharmonic is behind this festival--you'd think there would be money for the performers. I wonder what AFM Local 47 will have to say about this?

Here's the pitch:

�Legendary maximum minimalist� composer / guitarist Glenn Branca still needs guitar players for his show at the Disney concert hall downtown. Interested parties should contact him at glenn [at] glennbranca [dot] com

This would be for the upcoming performance of �Symphony No.13 (Hallucination City)� for 80 guitars, 20 basses and drums. The original version premiered at the former WTC on June 13, 2001. The revised version, in four movements, premiered at the Kasser Theater at Montclair
State University, NJ on February 4, 2006.

The venue will be Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles. The show is part of Minimalist Jukebox, a series being programed by John Adams and sponsored by the LA Philharmonic. For more info go to: http://wdch.laphil.com/minimalism/

The dates are March 27th and 28th, with the performance on the 29th. The rehearsals will be the 27th and 28th, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on both days. They are tentatively scheduled at Center Staging in Burbank, 3407 Winona Avenue. Musicians will be reimbursed for parking. On the day of the concert at Disney Hall the rehearsal/sound check will be 3-6:30 p.m. with the performance at 8 p.m.. Food and drink will be provided on all days. Each musician will need to know his / her part (but you don�t need to memorize it). You�ll need to bring a guitar and amp (a medium sized amp would be best). It will also be necessary to restring your guitar for the tuning. Basses will not need to be restrung OR retuned. I will have a serious quantity of replacement strings on hand.

�The parts are in staff notation and the ability to follow a part measure by measure is essential. The playing technique includes plenty of double-strumming and downstroke chording. Complete detailed instructions will come with the parts which will be sent before the end of February. I will answer any questions you have about the parts when you get them. The show will be conducted by John Myers. If you want to do the gig you must e-mail your postal mailing address and telephone number (please note whether you play BASS or GUITAR).

It is not possible to pay this number of people. So, you�ll have to do the gig for free.
Thank You, Glenn Branca�

posted by Christian Hertzog 2/21/2006