Rain Score (2021)

Yoshi Nakamura’s experimental theater and concert was modeled on Noh theatre, and is influenced by a deep cultural connection to sound and space. Traditional Japanese music is less theoretical - lacking written, concrete scores - than classic western music, and is ideal for the improvisations I intend to orchestrate.

Nakamura’s plan was to invite 12 performers, both hearing and deaf, to play music representing the 12 sounds his speech therapist identified with his cochlear implant. There would be no rehearsal. As John Cage once said, “improvised musicians, even audience members can perform without preparation.”.

The participants’ instructions: Express the water cycle, the rain, the river, and the ocean. This video was the score and inspiration for the proposed performance.