Too cool for school

Brian Sacawa (left) and Erik Spangler of The Hybrid Groove Project (Credit: Handout)

At first, the concept seems about as awkward as boozing with your grandmother at Power Plant Live! Is it really a good idea to combine the sounds of classical music with the modern influences of hip-hop, pop and rock? Too Cool for School does just that, though, and encourages listeners to play hookie from traditional classical music. The concert, the first of the season in Contemporary Museum's Mobtown Modern series, takes place Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 8 p.m.

"We are presenting the music in a way that no one else has," says Dr. Erik Spangler, composer, turntablist and Mobtown Modern co-curator. "[We are] bringing together the intricacies of modern chamber music with the physicality and sonic flexibility of current electronic, rock and hip-hop music."

The show consists of five performances: "The Anvil Chorus," by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, "Lick" by Julia Wolfe, "paint box" by Anna Clyne, "Grab It!" by Jacob ter Veldhuis and Spangler's own composition, "pastlife laptops and attic instruments."

Spangler wrote "pastlife laptops and attic instruments" in 2004. "Since it was the first piece that I wrote since finishing my doctoral dissertation, I felt free to experiment with some new musical influences such as hip-hop turntablism. My inspirations were underground hip-hop and electronica producers such as Blockhead, DJ Krush and Amon Tobin, and also melodic influences of Middle Eastern music," he said.

Spangler needs the help of Brian Sacawa, saxophonist and the other co-curator, to perform his piece. Together, the two make up The Hybrid Groove Project, an unusual saxophone-and-turntable ensemble. The duo also performs "Grab it!," and Sacawa plays soprano saxophone in Julia Wolfe's "Lick." Said Sacawa: "One of the fringe benefits to curating your own music series is that you get to perform on the shows."

All five pieces, according to Spangler, are "anti-academic…rejecting the stylistic norms that are promoted within most university composition programs."

For instance, Anna Clyne's "paint box" features taped music played over speakers while a cellist sings and plays a music box placed on the bridge of an amplified cello.

"Her piece," Sacawa said, "is more of a 'performance art' piece, not something that has a traditional live cello part."

Spangler chose "Grab It!" as his favorite of the five. Of course, this version of "Grab It!" is a brand new remix performed by The Hybrid Groove Project. "A new drum track influenced by Baltimore club, a bass line and new samples in the electronic part, live improvisation on turntables and the addition of some new elements in the saxophone part are features that make this piece a perfect example of how Mobtown Modern is doing things differently," he said.

Each of the performances is enhanced by Guy Werner's video installations. Werner's videos, tailored to fit the style and sound of each piece, are mixed and created live, then projected on to two screens.