HEAPS
A 40-minute sound collage of Imogen Heap’s iconic track Hide and Seek
melding choir, chamber orchestra, electronics, and live processed solo vocals.
SUMMARY
Composer, Collaborator, Vocalist, Laptop Player, and dear friend to both organizations Zachary Ritter’s work, HEAPS is a 40-minute sound collage of Imogen Heap’s iconic track Hide and Seek melds choir, chamber orchestra, electronics, and live processed solo vocals. This work was originally performed with vocalist Amber Evans and contemporary choral ensemble, Choral Chameleon.
MORE ABOUT THE PIECE
"I started this project in 2020 as a way to explore both new methods of collaboration and a shift in artistic direction toward gentle, soothing music," says Ritter. "At the core of this kind of art is a profound desire to connect, for my music to be useful...”
Ritter’s ambient work aims to put more significance in calm, rest and mindfulness, with “spectral stretching” being a large throughline in his practice – expanding a musical moment temporally to make an idea so huge and all-consuming that it resembles “houses that you can walk through, or sit down in for a while.”
The choice of orchestrating for both Contemporaneous and Choral Chameleon honors Ritter’s time with both organizations and their impact on his artistic experiences in NYC. “I started singing with Chameleon six years ago, and started working for Contemporaneous just a few months later… When I began to imagine what expanding this project beyond fixed media would look like, it immediately crystallized that this would be the perfect opportunity to bring these incredible forces together.”
“I also felt the need for some sort of mediator between the electronics and acoustic instruments, especially given the nature of the original, a cappella/vocoder track. Amber Evans is one of the strongest, most expressive, and versatile musicians I know, and my collaborations with her in the past have been so rich and rewarding… she would be the right person to tie all of these pieces together. She also produced one of the first concerts I saw in the city… so the combined forces represent a real cross-section of my musical world here.”
In Short
Created by Zachary James Ritter
Text from Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”
Duration: 45 min
Instrumentation: Chamber Ensemble, Choir, and live-processed vocalist
The full piece was performed by Contemporaneous, Choral Chameleon, and vocalist Amber Evans on December 7, 2024 in The Space at Irondale (Brooklyn, NY).
Booking: For booking inquiries or more information on the project, please contact us below:
Artists
Zachary James Ritter, Composer/Performer
Choral Chameleon, Choral Ensemble
