ECHOES
a new amplification system @ The Crossing
designed for socially-distant singing
Echoes Amplification Kits
This is The Crossing’s response to the time in which we live – a time when singing together in conventional formats (inside, gathered closely, depending on our ears to commune, audiences within a few feet) has been proven unsafe. So, we have rethought how we do what we do: sing, listen, and connect. One product of this reimagining is Echoes*, a conduit for intimate, expressive vocal art.
Developed by The Crossing’s sound designer, Paul Vazquez, each Echoes amplification kit features an individual six-foot pillar speaker and headset microphone that allow singers to sing together, outside, and safely socially distant. In-ear headphones allow for listening, and a loop pedal lets one voice transform to many; the 24 voices of The Crossing can, through looping, become a choir of over a hundred voices.
Each member of the The Crossing has new roles and responsibilities; transporting their own Echoes is not unlike a turtle carries its house along with them. Singers assemble and disassemble the kit, with all equipment fitting into a backpack and carrying case, and singers expanding their roles from vocal artist to sound technician and crew. At the core of what we do is the safety of our artists; Echoes offers a level of independence that allows us to better maintain distancing during productions, while achieving the goal: singing together.
Yet, Echoes is not meant to replace what we normally do; it is an extension of our collective singing, rooted in the need to adapt to new ways of gathering. The isolation of singing during the pandemic is ever-present, while the joy of finding this way to do so is equally clear.
Continuing our mission to report and respond, we are commissioning works for The Crossing w/ Echoes, leading with works from Ayanna Woods and Robert Maggio for our Pre-election project, The Crossing Votes: 2020. And continuing with a work for The Crossing @ Christmas by Matana Roberts. We will be remembering this time annually through new works composed specifically for Echoes and the extensions to our art that this system, born of challenge and determination, invites.
* Ex-Covid Haptotropic Optimistic Electrophonic Sound
The Forest
The Forest focuses on the symbiotic relationship between individual trees and the forest – a metaphor for the relationship between each singer and our ensemble. The libretto is formed of our singers’ reflection on their isolation during COVID-Time, overlaid with texts from Scott Russell Sanders’ essay "Mind in the Forest." The music is composed (maybe it’s more accurate to say, "found" within the words of the singers), by Kevin and Donald.
Listeners ‘walk through’ the performance, as speakers positioned close to their designated path create an intimate experience, reestablishing those currently-broken relationships between singers and audience members, and telling our story – the story of a planet in crisis, its people and its forests in peril, and yet, in that curiously human way, a story of hope and a way forward.
The Crossing Votes: 2020
A series of pre-election films featuring world premieres from Ayanna Woods and Robert Maggio written for Echoes. In Woods’ "Shift," singers stand 30 feet apart in a circle with a circumference of 720 feet and diameter of 230 feet, the speakers gathered as a separate group in the center. In Maggio’s "Democracy," singers again stand 30 feet apart, now placed as a giant starburst behind the speakers, to mirror the blueprint of the The Crossing’s lay-out in conventional, non-COVID Times.
photo from The Forest premiere, 2021.
John C. Hawthorne
"The melding of voice, words and technology was seamless … [a] clear-cut success on every level, a piece that’s not a make-do for lack of traditional concerts, but something that couldn’t have been imagined in other time and is fully realized on a high level."
"Along the trail, singers will be shrouded 30-feet into the thicket, nearly blending in with the trees and wildlife. Stationed on the walkway are several six-foot tall speakers shaped like wood-burning stoves … as guests stroll by, they will feel more intimate with each voice than ever before."
"… you can be sure The Crossing won’t just use its wonderful new sound system for that one piece [The Forest]. It’s going to be with them in a succession of future works that director Donald Nally says will aid them in creating musical events that respond to current circumstances, rather than looking back on them two years hence. Now is happening now — not commemorated later."
