Fusions

This concert will take you on a journey exploring the boundaries between avant-garde music, contemporary music traditions and electronic and computer music including a final improvisation with all four musicians. The program includes an audiovisual electroacoustic composition by Agita Reke titled Magnetic Mirror, performed by Renata Kambarova with visuals created by Renata Kambarova. An electroacoustic duo set by Leslee Smucker and Agita Reke, focusing on the fusion and connection of electronic and acoustic sounds.

Agita Reke: composition, electronics
Leslee Smucker: violin
Renata Kambarova: flute, visuals
Anne La Berge: flute, electronics

Leslee Smucker (US/NL) is a violinist and composer. She uses violin, voice, synthesizers, electronics, film, and poetry in her works. Her artistic output spans a variety of forms including electroacoustic and live acoustic composition, compositions for her own performance, and concerts of varied musical, filmic, poetic, and artistic work. Common themes explored in her work include anachronisms, language, as well as theatrical settings in musical performance. As a violinist, she has performed solo projects at Rewire Festival, RewirexKorzo, OT301 in Amsterdam, Association Philomuses in Paris, Studio Loos in The Hague, Auditorium Clarisse in Italy, Center for New Music in San Francisco, Muse Performance Space, and ATLAS black box. Other solo performances include The Scottish Library (presented by University of Edinburgh’s Cantos Project), the Andriessen Festival in Arnhem, NL, Project Audire in Portugal, and Interference Series in Flagstaff, AZ. She was a Barnes Fellow in Philadelphia with artist in residence JACK quartet, a fellow in Ensemble Evolution 2021 with International Contemporary Ensemble, and was the Artistic Director of the chamber ensemble Green Room Artists. She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from University of Colorado Boulder. Her primary teachers include Harumi Rhodes (Takacs Quartet), Lina Bahn, Carolyn Stuart, and Monica Germino. Her academic contributions include publications and presentations at international conferences.

Agita Reke (LV/NL) is an electronic, electroacoustic music composer and performer from Riga, Latvia. Currently focusing on electroacoustic and multimedia projects, working as a composer and performer. Notably worked also in the field of art performances, like poetry event, sound design for an art exhibition and film. As a composer, have been collaborating with acoustic, contemporary music ensembles, like L’Ensemble Multilatérale (Paris), Fractales (Belgium), Names (Salzburg), Ensemble for New Music Tallinn (Tallinn), Latvian Radio choir (Riga), Sinfonietta Riga (Riga). As a performer, have been member of an electroacoustic experimental project/group Systema Solaris (Riga), participant in Venice Biennale Musica College as an experimental performer, and also today a member of electronic duo flowerpower. Currently pursuing master degree at the Institute of Sonology.

Renata Kambarova (BE) trained in classical flute, piccolo, and contemporary music at conservatories in Brussels (BE), Tilburg (NL), and Liège (BE), Renata’s musical prowess extends to sustainable performance practices. Her master’s thesis explored these practices in contemporary repetitive solo flute music, showcasing personal applications of the Alexander technique. Renata’s artistic pursuits encompass membership in diverse classical and contemporary ensembles, alongside her innovative projects embracing improvisation, electronics, and visuals. As the artistic director of Collectif Dódeka, she spearheads contemporary music projects like « Beyond Borders, » funded by Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles. Renata’s international acclaim flourishes through performances at numerous global festivals. Collaborating with the Fractales ensemble, Renata champions both young and established composers, boasting over 50 world premieres. Her studio recordings since 2016 span classical, contemporary, and electronic genres across six albums. Adding to her accomplishments, Renata now embarks on a pre-doc position in a team of artistic research while pursuing a PhD at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz, Austria.