of stone and spring - for solo viola and electronics (2024)

of stone and spring draws on materials from my collaborations on installations with the architecture students at Les Ecoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau during my time there in Summer 2023. We collaborated on projects inspired by multiple architectural elements of the Fonteainbleau Chateau, including the flows of water from differing roofs, the materiality and process of compression of stone, and the transformation of the use and function of water at the Chateau, beginning with its initial source as a spring. To represent aspects of this musically, I have the violist play only on its lowest string and have them play its entire length to attempt to mimic the extreme process of sand compression. Similarly, the violist uses circular bows (which also has a both a very “sandy” or “water glistening” sonic effect), and a circular nature of form to create parallels between the cyclical nature of erosion and stone formation. All of the electronic sounds also come from naturally occurring sounds—including pre-recorded viola, streams flowing, and saxophone multiphonics—which were granularized and processed in a number of ways to have the natural-to-manmade evolution that is seen in many elements of the Chateau and its own constant evolution. What emerges is an immersive soundscape that exists in a single world and follows a cyclical and round design.

of stone and spring was workshopped by Corley Friesen-Johnson at Les Ecoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau in July 2023 and premiered by Sophie McMillan-Myers in April 2024.

of stone and spring - for solo viola and electronics

Justin Weiss is a composer and conductor whose music explores relationships between the visual arts and music through the intersection of lyricism, liminality, fragility, and textural play. Justin’s music has been recognized with a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Prix Langage Musical from Les Écoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau, the Walter E. Aschaffenburg, and awards and recognitions from institutions such as ASCAP, Society of Composers, Inc., and The American Prize, Tribeca New Music, and YoungArts. 

Justin’s music has been performed internationally by ensembles including Quatuor Diotima, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Grossman Ensemble, TAK Ensemble, Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble, Sandbox Percussion Quartet, and ~Nois Saxophone Quartet. Justin is the conductor of the University of Chicago New Music Ensemble, a co-founder and conductor of the new ensemble, Mycelium New Music, and has premiered dozens of pieces internationally. Justin studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and is a PhD Fellow at the University of Chicago where he studies with Augusta Read Thomas.

of stone and spring - for solo viola and electronics

Justin Weiss - Composer