LYNN — Violist Alexander Vavilov of Soundscape Visions invites audience members to join him at the Gallery at LynnArts (GALA) and immerse themselves in the Dark Waters experience.
“This is our fourth program since we started in 2022. We started at Lynn Arts, so this is our cradle, so to speak, which we’re immensely proud of, and we’re thrilled to keep this collaboration ongoing,” Vavilov said.
Vavilov will be joined by pianist Ara Sarkissian as they provide a visual and audio experience with live composition.
“We compose in such a way that we leave plenty of room for the music to adjust in real-time. We make sure that the music has the capacity to be tailored to the visuals in real-time, creating a live connection,” he said.
The performance will occur in darkness, with the musicians performing next to art in hopes of allowing the audience to become fully immersed in what they’re witnessing.
François de Costerd is the groups visual artist. According to Vavilov, he creates video art that will be projected onto the wall, which is a main reason why the lights are turned down during the performance.
One way they are hoping to get the audience more involved is by allowing them to submit their own artwork for the performance.
When asked why they chose to name the performance Dark Waters, Vavilov said, “We were inspired by the life-giving spirit of water. All life emerges from water.” He continued that the other reason is that their performance happens in the dark so that the senses of the audience are sharpened. “This combination was really inspiring for us.”
Vavilov explained that the roots of the group started during the pandemic as an experimental project when musicians were uncertain when they’d be able to perform for people again.
“My mind went towards exploring the untapped possibilities. I had thought for a while about the emotion one experiences while looking at visual art,” he said.
Though the program started as an experiment, it has long since developed past that, becoming a medium for Soundscape Vision.
“This has evolved into a project that involves a really high value of artistic experience that immerses the senses and we’ve created intensively in this medium for three years now,” he said. “We’ll be exploring various themes that you will be hard-pressed to find parallels to elsewhere. We are not aware of any other group that does anything remotely similar.”
Vavilov said that they are excited to present this new show, which will include original visual art and music. He explained that during past performances, they would find themselves doing things that weren’t a part of rehearsals because “the energy in the audience drives us to do that.”
When asked what he feels when creating and composing his music, he shared that the experience is both intimidating and intensely inspiring, saying, “You feel more alive than you ever do.”
Soundscape Visions will be performing on Feb. 22 at GALA. The performance will start at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are available on their website: soundscapevisions.org.
