The Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound (SASSAS)

Fund: $33,000

The Society for the Activation of Social Space Through Art and Sound (SASSAS) will present the world premiere of James Tenney’s masterpiece, Changes: 64 Studies for 6 Harps. Tenney (1934–2006) was an American composer, pianist, influential music theorist, and pioneer in electronic and computer music. Written in 1985, Changes: 64 Studies for 6 Harps uses a FORTRAN IV computer programming language to poetically render the 64 chance procedures of the I-Ching, the ancient Chinese divination text, into a microtonal harmonic field performed on six specially tuned harps. While Tenney completed all 64 studies during his lifetime, only 16 were transcribed for performance. Since 2006, dedicated former students have worked to transcribe the remaining studies. With the task recently completed, the Tenney Estate has honored SASSAS with the opportunity to present this ambitious work, which will be mounted at 356 Mission Rd. and will be free to the public. Video, audio, and photographic documentation of the performance will be accessible to the public through SASSAS’s online archive, bringing Changes and the understanding of Tenney's work to a wider audience.