Leilehua Lanzilotti

On Stochastic Wave Behavior — eight voices (2021)

Commissioned by Rónadh Cox with the generous support of the National Science Foundation, duration 12’

Program Notes

Wayfinding, observing nature, and respecting the ocean have been present since my childhood growing up in Hawaiʻi. So when Rónadh and Brad asked me to be part of the National Science Foundation-funded “A few waves do most of the work” project, I felt very connected to their ideas of integrating knowledge and research about the ocean into classrooms.

Reclaiming language and supporting indigenous language revitalization have been essential to my artistic work in the past year. Connecting to language, meeting with my family every weekend to support safe learning environments, all of these actions were content-based towards a new way of approaching my compositional practice. A language that is changing, that is evolving, that is new, is alive. Similarly, compositional practices that engage new sounds through an indigenous lens embrace native language and ways of knowing as an active part of the creative process.

Indigenous communities often struggle to remain “authentic,” pushing up against archaic stereotypes and a genuine desire to preserve culture. In Paradoxes of Hawaiian Sovereignty, J. Kehaulani Kauanui writes:

In the U.S. context, as Kevin Bruyneel argues, one of the defining elements of American colonial rule is the fastening of Indigenous Peoples to the concept of “colonial time” by locating them “out of time,” where they are not allowed modernity. This “shackling indigenous identity to an archaic form” upholds the concept of authentic Indigenous Peoples always being already primitive/static (positioned to continuously struggle for recognition of their humanity), while the colonizer is always characterized as civilized/advanced, thereby rationalizing domination of Indigenous Peoples as a form of “progress.” It is this enduring notion of the “savage” that continues to be used by states in their attempt to justify political subordination, such as the “domestic dependent nation” status subject to U.S. plenary power in the case of federally recognized tribal nations.

— Kauanui, J. Kehaulani. “Chapter One: Contested Indigeneity.” In Paradoxes of Hawaiian Sovereignty, 53–54. Durham: Duke University Press, 2018.

There is much more to be done in support of indigenous language revitalization, but I believe Prof. Cox’s research extends to include metaphors for that movement: a few waves can make a difference—have made our work as Kanaka Maoli artists relevant to today’s dynamic landscape where science and indigenous knowledge celebrate the power of nature. Through radical indigenous contemporaneity, this work hopes to make those connections both in the classroom and in the community.

*Mahalo nui loa to Kumu Patrick Makuakane for his expertise on the game nāʻū (which I have taken great liberty with in this work).

— Leilehua Lanzilotti, October 28, 2021

Excerpts from Rónadh Cox’s original proposal to bring coastal geoscience to the public:

Music can convey stochastic wave behavior, revealing the unpredictability of large waves in the coastal zone. [This new work] will use Roomful of Teeth's extraordinary vocal talents (Shin, 2019) to investigate the behavior of waves approaching the coast, focusing on the unpredictability of very large wave events, and including choral components representing boulder movement in response to different wave types. . . . Using music to convey the science of wave interactions and wave amplification opens new doors and prospects for engaging the public via performance. The collaborators have international reputations, providing not only an opportunity for top-notch musical interpretations of data, but also extensive exposure in concert halls and via [other music sharing platforms].

Geoscience will be explicitly linked and bundled with the music, for wide distribution. The PI will build educational content around the pieces, to contextualize and explain them, and also to draw people's attention specifically to boulder beaches and the science of high-energy coasts. . . . Roomful of Teeth regularly do campus residencies in which they seek ways to interact with students and professors, finding bridges between performative music and pedagogy. Until now, it has been difficult for them to find crossovers into the physical sciences. Collaborator Wells is particularly excited about this project, because it broadens the range of disciplines with which the music overlaps, The PI will provide the group with scientific background, accompanying images, plug-and-play PowerPoint presentations, and links to project-generated open-access articles. In both cases, the accompanying visuals and text will explicitly link the structure of the music to waves and storm seas; and will link storm seas to the work done on beaches and at the coast. They will include societally important information about coastal erosion and sea-level change, as well as the hazards of rogue and sneaker waves. Such initiatives are needed, as coastal science is not making its way effectively into the public sphere (Neal et al., 2018). . . . This different and unusual framework may help the data and the awareness to jump the divide and make their way into a more public consciousness. We hope.

Past Performances

Saturday, January 27, 2024 — Roomful of Teeth, The 222, Healdsburg, CA

Saturday, November 18, 2023 — Roomful of Teeth, The Icehouse Presents, Minneapolis, MN

Saturday, November 16, 2023 — Roomful of Teeth, Hancher Auditorium, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Wednesday, November 15, 2023 — Roomful of Teeth, Des Moines Civic Music Association, Sheslow Auditorium, Des Moines, IA

Tuesday, November 12, 2023 — Roomful of Teeth, Doris Grau Performing Arts Series, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, IA

Thursday, November 2, 2023 — Roomful of Teeth, West Coast premiere, Meany Center for the Performing Arts, Seattle, WA

Saturday, October 7, 2023 — Roomful of Teeth, European premiere, Barbican Centre, London, UK

Saturday, May 6, 2023 — Roomful of Teeth, WoCo Fest 2023: Awaken, North Bethesda, MD

Saturday, April 22, 2023 — Roomful of Teeth, Private Event, New York, NY

Friday, February 24, 2023 — Roomful of Teeth, Morrison Theater, Brockman Hall, Rice University, Houston, TX

Thursday, November 10, 2022 — Roomful of Teeth, Evolution Contemporary Music Series, Baltimore, MD

Thursday, October 20, 2022 — Roomful of Teeth, Kravis Nightcap Series, New York, NY

Thursday, October 13, 2022 — Roomful of Teeth, Whitney Center for the Arts at Sheridan College, Sheridan, WY

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 — Roomful of Teeth, world premiere, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA