Photo by Heroku Ikeda
In this deep dream exploration of colonial mind and Nubian soul, Lord Herbert Horatio Kitchener, Britain’s Secretary of State for War, is transported from a sinking WWI warship to a surreal Nubian island of flowers that he himself once cultivated under Queen Victoria. Here he must face an enigmatic Nubian Boatman and phantoms of a displaced people, as well as figures from his own life.
With a story and libretto by IONE, score by Pauline Oliveros, performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), The Nubian Word for Flowers lays bare Kitchener’s relationship to beauty and violence along with our own.
“Oliveros’ musical language, formed over a long lifetime of deep listening, is not the same as anyone else’s. Here it is distilled in the vastness and fearless intensity of tone.” —The Los Angeles Times on The Nubian Word for Flowers
About the Artists
Composer, performer, and humanitarian Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016) profoundly influenced American music through her work with improvisation, meditation, electronic music, myth, and ritual.
IONE is a writer/director and an improvising text/sound artist. A specialist in dreams and the creative process, she has taught and performed throughout the world.
With 35 leading instrumentalists performing in forces ranging from solos to large ensembles, the acclaimed International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is dedicated to reshaping the way music is created and experienced.
Performance Program