When Christopher Stark visited Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan, the local composer was struck by the flora around him. His response to all that vibrant plant life is “2nd Nature,” an immersive new piece combining violin, electronic sounds, and video.
The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra will perform the composition’s world premiere on March 8 and 9 in collaboration with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation as part of the Live at the Pulitzer series, which presents contemporary chamber music alongside art at the Pulitzer. The program, titled Second Nature, will also include Yotam Haber’s “break_break_break” and “From the Book,” L.J. White’s “Fly, Into the Light…,” and Carolina Heredia’s “Añoranzas.”
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“People come with more experimental expectations,” Stark says of the series. “I’ve always loved going to concerts in museums. Any time that music is staged outside of the concert hall, I find it really cool.”
This isn’t the first time Stark has drawn inspiration from nature. His compositions often reflect his time growing up in the American West. After witnessing the effects of climate change on his hometown in rural Montana, he released his debut CD, Seasonal Music, in 2019.
While “first nature” refers to the natural world itself, Stark describes “second nature” as the way humans have manipulated the natural world for their benefit. His interest in the natural world made this idea of “second nature” the perfect subject to explore further in a new composition. “I study a lot of stuff related to nature and climate change in my work,” Stark says. “So I chose to use ‘second’ to show that we place nature underneath our desire to control it.”
SLSO creative partner Tim Munro says showcasing composers from Missouri is one of this season’s goals for the Live at the Pulitzer series.
“I’ve been wanting to do a Missouri composers concert for a while,” he says. “It was clear to me that there was an incredible beauty and variety in the music being created in Missouri these days. [Stark] really aligns with a lot of things I’m already thinking about—how to create live experiences that you just have to be there for.”
Now On View
Assembly Required transforms the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.
When the talented musicians of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra arrive at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation on March 8, they will be some of the first to encounter the space’s latest exhibition, Assembly Required.
These featured works by Francis Alÿs, Rasheed Araeen, Siah Armajani, Tania Bruguera and INSTAR, Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, Yoko Ono, Lygia Pape, and Franz Erhard Walther all encourage participation. They are meant to be used, changed, built upon, and experimented with, whether by a group or individuals.
Though they deal with different topics, tackling various social and political subjects from the past 70 years, each communicates to patrons in its own way that public action has the power to create change.
An opening reception for Assembly Required will be held 5–9 p.m. on March 4. The exhibition runs through July 31.
