2nd Ward – a bicycle opera | 2° Barrio – una ópera en bicicleta (2014)

OPEN September 28th to November 22nd 2014, Free. DETAILS.

2nd Ward | 2° Barrio tells tales of daily lives from sonic bikes that audience can cycle to hear compositions unfold depending on where they go. Constructed from a score woven from local journeys, it’s a new work commissioned and produced by Nameless Sound for the Houston Alliance Transported and Renewed Festival 2014, whose music was made in collaboration with the Bicrophonic Research Institute(BRI), Vampire Squid Labs, 9 girls, 2 seniors, writers, musicians, programmers and engineers directed by Kaffe Matthews.

Sonic bikes have speakers that play so that cyclist and passers by can enjoy sonic experiences as they go. Hidden sounds might entice you to ride faster, slower, stop, turn in circles, cruise paths or pause in shadows for listening.

2nd Ward | 2° Barrio is the first BRI opera that not only sees the sonic bikes made locally, but that enables them to remain and be developed through an ongoing collaboration Vampire Squid Labs .

Workshops for 2nd Ward | 2° Barrio ran at Ripley House with those for seniors conducted by writer and artist Stalina Villarreal and additional musical input from Abel and Denis Cisneros.