When one thinks of the traditional piano performance, a bench, a grand piano and a single musician might come to mind.
On Jan. 17, the Bowed Piano Ensemble will defy the limits of traditional piano music at UNM's Keller Hall by throwing all of these conceptions out the door.
The student ensemble, which has been performing since the 1970s under the direction of Stephen Scott, a professor of music at Colorado College, has literally stripped the piano of all its conventions. Taking the top off the instrument, the 10-member ensemble gathers around the piano in a circle and, using homemade bows, strikes the strings to create sound.
"Really, it is kind of like an orchestra, only with one instrument," Scott said. "Each person has their own music that they can play, creating a layered sound."
To keep the music from sounding stale, Scott and his group are constantly figuring out innovative ways to play the strings.
"Through experimentation we have come up with guitar picks and piano hammers that have been taken out of older pianos," he said. "We also use a nylon fish line, which creates a soft bow. Also a piece of wood with horse hair is rubbed up and down against the string of the piano."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Scott said that 10 people is the largest number of musicians he can get around the piano and still have space to move.
"Even 10 gets complicated, so we have to choreograph our movements so that we don't cause an injury or ruin the piece," he said. "We end up spending a lot of time in rehearsal."
Their fourth CD, Paisajes Audibles, which will be released soon on Albany Records, includes vocals for the first time. Soprano soloist, Victoria Hansen will be singing, as well as a chorus of the ensemble members themselves. The CD is a recording of the performance they will be touring with.
Scott, who is the composer, also plays in the ensemble.
"I like playing it too much to not play myself," he said.
This also gives Scott a chance to conduct from inside the piano.
"You can't really conduct this group since everyone is facing each other in a circle. In this way, we are sort of like a string quartet or chamber music. We all watch each other and respond."
Scott said it is very difficult to describe the music of his ensemble, and it is a completely different experience to see a performance in that it is almost like a choreographed dance around a piano.
"I will tell you one thing it doesn't sound like," he said. "It doesn't sound like a piano."
