ANTI-BORDERLAND, by Jon Forshee

This 25-minute collaborative work, conceived specifically for the geography surrounding Heller House, involves an ensemble of 15-20 student musicians strategically dispersed over a 30-acre2 area of the open space between the UCCS Field House and the Heller buildings. Seeking to re-appropriate, re-think, and interrogate the traditional concert space setting, the usual roles of an ensemble performance are here re-imagined in line with the land and the place: for instance, the conductor is stationed at the crest of a hill, maintaining sight-lines with each musician of the field at incredible distances, and audience listeners are invited to follow the trails and pause between musicians stationed along the way. Through these ways and more, ANTI-BORDERLAND is a work which invites speculation by engaging the listener through an immersive interaction with the land, the sound of the land, and the sounds produced within the land.

This will be a world premiere, with UCCS faculty, students, and special guests the Bottesini Ensemble and Ormao Dance.