University Settlement Choir Workshop
This five month workshop, commencing November 2006 - February 2007, integrated sound, found objects & movement with music composed by Amanta Scott. This workshop was in preparation for Amanta's project Shellshock — dedicated to the victims of the Madrid train bombing and the victims of the Rwandan Massacre and to the many other souls loved and lost through untimely death.
This project evolved through weekly workshops with the University Settlement Choir. Amanta composed a score and script with lyrics sung in Spanish; with sound effects and choreography conveyed through graphic scoring. Singers learned to integrate sound and movement with performance and song.
The workshop culminated in the presentation of Shellshock — featuring the 35-voice choir,conducted by Teodora Georgieva; with 3 professional performers: Anne-Marie Hood, dancer-choreographer Allison Cummings and Amanta Scott; and 8 volunteers (including 4 professional artists): Gary Carper, Tania Carter, Lynn Himmelmann, Ed Oikawa, Ellen Skura, John Watkis, Phyllis Whyte and Jim Montgomery; and a sound sculpture installation of 120-dozen eggshells with which performers interacted.
The performance also utilized an enormous and resonant iron bowl in which Amanta placed the names of the 190 victims of the Madrid train bombing. Written on vellum — creating an audible crinkling sound as performers unfolded the paper — each of the names were read aloud and placed amongst the eggshells during the performance.
Audience members were invited to write the names of any loved ones they had lost and add these names to the sea of eggshells on the floor. During the performance the shells were swept into a path of hope.