Niemandslandhymnen by Sandeep Bhagwati

The title "Niemandslandhymnen" is German for "Anthems for No-Man's-Lands".
The piece is my visceral reaction to the immense closing of borders and minds that we have seen over the last few years in so many societies. Without being optimistic, I want to draw attention to those factors in our lives that know no borders and affect all of us, whether positively or not.

This show was commissioned by the Sociéte de Musique Contemporaine de Quebec as part of their 50th anniversary season. The research leading up to it was financed by a 4 year SSHRC Insight Grant. The SMCQ will have its own social media campaign for this show.

It is accompanied by the bi-lingual (English/French) publication
of a book of poems of mine that form the text of the show (poems attached).
I also attach a few score pages that have some visual appeal, in case you need something right away. We will not have any production photos before May 8.

While it assembles a roster of nationally and internationally known stars of contemporary music, Niemandslandhymnen would not be possible without the intense artistic research collaboration of several members of the Concordia University community:

Angelique Willkie (Dance) is dramaturge and lead actress/dancer
Patrick Leroux (English) translated the poems into French
Nathalie Dumont (Design) designs the poetry book as a work of typographical art.
Nancy Bussières, INDI MA student, co-supervised by me, creates the lighting.
Gabriel Dharmoo, INDI PhD student, supervised by me, is a lead singer and performer.
Joseph Browne, research associate @ matralab and music dept. graduate, is the lead artist for live electroacoustic performance and sound.
Alex Bachmayer, an undergrad student in Design and Computation Arts, and research assistant in XS Labs and matralab, creates the costumes and intelligent wearables that serve as body scores.
Travis West, an undergrad student in music, creates the hardware and control software for these wearables.