The music department at the University of Chichester is planning a major online performance event inspired by a unique composition for solo piano by the eccentric avant garde French composer Eric Satie, entitled ‘Vexations’.

The piece lasts for approximately 18 hours and over the years has developed something of an international cult following. The music consists of one short passage repeated exactly 840 times.

Originally composed around 1893, the work was not played in public in its entirety until 1963, by a team of pianists in New York. Although the piece is performed nowadays on average two or three times a year around the world, up until now these have always been a straightforward musical performance.

The University of Chichester’s Vexations event has been planned as a creative and visual extravaganza, showcasing the music, fine art and dance departments, and will be broadcast live to an international audience over the internet for the full 18 hours’ performance. www.chi.ac.uk/vexations

The event will take place in the ShowRoom on the University’s Bishop Otter campus in Chichester over the weekend of 29-30 November starting at 3.00pm on the Saturday.

In addition to piano students performing the music, there will be art and dance students, tutors and local artists taking their turn to perform their art in response to each unique repetition of the 840 identical musical phrases.

A giant pixelated image of Eric Satie, broken into 840 separate blocks, will be slowly reassembled during the performance and there will be a live roaming camera operated by media students with video interviews, close-ups and behind-the-scenes footage.

Visitors will be able to drop in at any time to view the performance on the University campus but the event will be geared particularly towards the online audience with four cameras continuously streaming the different elements of the event.

Online viewers will be able to watch all four camera angles at once and zoom in on the stream that is of most interest to them. There will also be access to a public forum, a University blog, pre-recorded footage and other links.

The event is being directed by Jonathan Plowright, international pianist and Head of Piano Studies at the University of Chichester. He said, “The University prides itself in encouraging its students to think outside the box. This is an excellent opportunity for the Arts and IT departments to collaborate in this unique way, and also highlights the diverse mix of talent that we have here.”

For further information please contact Paul Woodward, Vexations Project Manager paul@bluboxstudio.co.uk
07903 546609 or info@jonathanplowright.com.