Hour of the Star

In Berlin, Wada plans to create a new large-scale compositional work for voice and mixed-ensemble. “Hour of the Star” takes its title from a novel by Brazilian author Clarice Lispector, whose writing has long inspired Wada’s compositions. Lispector’s idiosyncratic writing, which examines the relationship between the perceived experiences of internal and external worlds, provides the basis for the lyrics and guides the overall spirit of the composition. Key to the realization of “Hour of the Star” is Wada’s collaboration with a group of Berlin-based musicians who focus on issues of tuning and temperament in contemporary music. (Musicians include Sam Dunscombe, Judith Hamann, Robin Hayward, Catherine Lamb, Rebecca Lane, Michiko Ogawa, Marc Sabat, and James Rushford.) “In recent years, my compositional work has been almost exclusively realized through close collaborations with specific musicians or groups of musicians, drawing on their unique performance practices,” writes Wada. He will develop the composition through individual and group rehearsals in order to craft integral, expansive relationships among the composition, performers, and ensemble. The work will result in a series of workshops and live performances, as well as a recording of the composition.