More about "A Line that Terminates at the Present"
While I released this album over a year ago, it is resurfacing for me as I try to refocus and look toward the future in the times of physical distancing due to COVID19. These days at home are spent taking care of Lillian (she’s now 15 months old!) and dreaming about future collaborations. They are also spent in reflection - looking back on past projects and uncovering which elements of the work have had the most impact on my creative process, as well as presented compelling narrative to hopefully “make a difference” in some way. The reflection and dreaming is an ongoing rollercoaster, but I am finding a new pride in this album - it was a major endeavor to get it recorded and released - and represents the span of projects I was working on at the time.
Some former students at NEU are helping me promote the album, and it is now available on Spotify! Check out their work: https://www.popoffagency.com.
A LINE THAT TERMINATES AT THE PRESENT
is Maria Finkelmeier’s debut album as a composer. With years of experience as a performing percussionist - behind a marimba, ensemble, or orchestra - she now explores her voice up front as a creator through her work with MASARY Studios and Kadence Arts. Stemming from a background in improvisation, her work grows organically from a single theme, melodic idea, or physical setting. This album represents the variety of percussion-based music she’s created, from marimba and vibraphone quartets, to improvisations featuring electronics, and high energy, pop-inspired duos.
The first two pieces, Without Voices and To Know No, are percussion quartets based on her large scale work with MASARY Studios commissioned by The Boston Center for the Arts entitled “Know No.” premiered in March 2017. The works dissect the emotion one feels when hearing or stating “no,” as an individual, minority, or society at large. The works are inspired by the resonance and gravity of the BCA’s historic Cyclorama. To Know No features the voices of 10 collaborating poets: Jourdan Christopher, Danielle Legros Georges, Tim Hall, Krysten Hill, Fred Marchant, Lauren Miller, “Mistah" Matt Parker, and Lily Rush and was recorded by Kadence Ensemble (Maria Finkelmeier, Greg Jukes, Matt Sharrock, and Drew Worden).
Insomnia Suite was created during the many sleepless nights of Finkelmeier’s first pregnancy. With the anxiety and excitement of starting a family, an unrecognizable body, and many aches and new sensations, she often went to her keyboard during the middle of the night to pass the time and calm her mind and body. This suite is a result of these improvisations with new synthesizer sounds and effects. The marimba layers were created in the studio in response to these recordings.
Claiming the title of the album, A Line that Terminates at the Present blends Finkelmeier’s interest in song-like form, beats, and off-kilter marimba grooves. Tim Hall (saxophone) and Finkelmeier began collaborating in 2017 as they began to observe similarities in their histories: raised in the midwest with strong connections to music education and band, followed by sometimes aimless travel and experimentation, before landing in Boston and calling it home.
The conclusion of the album shares two duo percussion pieces featuring MASARY Studios co-founder Ryan Edwards: Come with Me and The Solution. Created in collaboration with the studios’ projection artist, Sam Okerstrom-Lang, the pieces are a multi-media exploration of sound, timbre, groove, and melody. The trio presents the pieces in their touring show “peripherique,” transforming unorthodox venues and outdoor spaces into visceral multi-media spectacles. Videos of the pieces, shot in an abandoned power plant in South Boston, were released and featured by Boston Magazine in September, 2018.
The title of this album is inspired by Alan Lightman’s book Einstein’s Dreams, in which the reader is pushed to ask oneself, what is time and how do we feel it?
Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by John Escobar at EscobarMusic
Recorded at The Record Co.
Assisted by Jamie Rowe, Nick Stevens, Kaitlyn Burke, Jonathan Padilla, Dan Shinde
Album Art by Elisa Hamilton
Album Design by Laura Grey
The album release show occurred at the Museum of Fine Arts in November 2018. I was honored to be on David Weininger’s list of “Great Boston-area classical albums” list in the Boston Globe, and Steve Smith’s Monthly playlist. Click below to purchase a physical album, or download on band camp. It is also available on Spotify!
