This concert is the first presentation of Daniil’s research project at LOOS, ‘Making Time Together.  Collective Experiences of Time in Continuous Ensemble Practice’, in which he explores collective experiences of time in music through my continuous collaboration with Kali Ensemble. 

Showcasing the results of the first of the two workshops with Kali, this instalment will focus on different modes of listening and exploring their potential to influence the musicians’ and listeners’ temporal experiences. In preparing this concert, we pay special attention to the dynamic relationship between the space – in this case, Studio LOOS – and our experiences of time. My inquiry into the acoustic properties of the room, as well as the potential of technology to alter how we perceive them, would not be possible without my artistic collaborators: the sound technician Gregor Connelly and the composer and pianist of Kali, Nirantar Yakthumba.

At this point in my compositional practice, I want to approach the political significance of researching collective experiences of time. In this veritably fucked up world of ours, we are desperately looking for any possibility of hope, yet the slightest expressions of hopefulness get suppressed by cynicism. Perhaps, giving our whole idea of time an overhaul might make brighter futures seem a little more attainable?

Is time an emergent property of human consciousness or an objective physical phenomenon? While there isn’t a definitive answer, there are political consequences for various interpretations of this question. The most common understanding of time is founded on the premise of it being entirely external to us, which leads to its commodification and invites the attitude of scarcity – labour, art, and even personal relationships seem like ‘time-consuming’ activities. If, conversely, we approach time as a product of our conscious effort, it becomes possible to affect each other's time experiences through collective listening practices. Then, in playing music together, we are making and giving each other time rather than spending whatever time is already there. That leads to considering time as a gift rather than a commodity. These two approaches to time – as a gift or a commodity – are mutually exclusive, and this has consequences for the way we see time in our everyday life.

This concert and the research project are made possible with a subsidy from Makersregeling Gemeente Den Haag.

Doors open: 7:30PM
Concert starts: 8PM

buy tickets directly

about the artists

Daniil Pilchen

Daniil Pilchen is a composer based in The Hague. He obtained his Master’s degree in composition from the Royal Conservatoire The Hague in 2020. His thesis, Losing Time, was centred around creating musical interactions based on musicians’ communicating their internal feeling of time rather than relying on external time measures. The human experience of time and the ability of music to shed light on it have since become the core concern of his practice.

Daniil’s music is closely intertwined with his research into collective experiences of time in musical practices. Understanding time as an emerging property of consciousness affected by social interactions necessitates increased attention to the relationships between musicians and audiences in his pieces. To facilitate these interactions, he employs various compositional strategies and listening techniques engaging the materiality of sound. This practice revolves around Songs, an ongoing series of chamber pieces on which he has been working since September 2019.

Kali

Kali is an ensemble based in the Hague. Our ensemble consists of Giuseppe Sapienza (clarinet), İdil Yunkuş (violin), Beste Yıldız (cello), and Nirantar Yakthumba (piano/keyboard).

We explore music that challenges us to have a direct encounter with its manifold — i.e., the dynamic spatiotemporal structures that generate sonic, and hence, musical forms — through different modes of listening. Thus, over the past years, we have developed close and ongoing

relations with composers who share our aesthetic vision. Their collaboration with our ensemble continues to be crucial to the formation and development of our sound.

Gregor Connelly

Gregor Connelly (1999) is an aspiring sound artist and composer, currently enrolled as a Bachelor's student in the Art of Sound program at Royal Conservatoire the Hague .

Having spent his early years learning the traditional forms of Western music, he has set his course on the exploration of contemporary and experimental art forms, recognising their imperative role in forming new modes of cultural perception and shaping the way in which we interact with our environment. With this in mind, he aims to uncover the particularities of our time and connect them with more perpetual structures and ideas.