BRATTLEBORO — On Friday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m., organist Alexander Meszler will use the historic Estey organ at Epsilon Spires, 190 Main St., to present Walls of Sound: The Ecology of the Borderlands, an original composition exploring the natural environment of the Sonoran Desert at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Walls of Sound brings together collaborators from across disciplines including music, science, activism, and theater, and was funded in part by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts in New York.
Through Walls of Sound, Meszler invites viewers to consider the human impact of the militarization of borders and the impact on the natural environment.
Composed in 2018, the work is a collaborative creation involving many, including musician Glenn Weyant, whose work has addressed the militarization of the southern Arizona borderlands since 2006; the video works of artist Erik Miller and videographer Samantha Lloyd; and musical works composed specifically for this program by Garth Paine and Huw Morgan.
The program is narrated with the poetry of Alberto Rios, poet laureate of Arizona, and scientific research by Michael Schoon, associate professor in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University.
“My performance projects aim to inspire new perspectives on the organ,” Meszler says.
Meszler is a doctor of musical arts candidate in organ at Arizona State University under Kimberly Marshall, who is known worldwide for her compelling programs and presentations of organ music.
He recently returned from Versailles, France, on a Fulbright award, where he investigated secularism and the organ while studying with Jean-Baptiste Robin.