This Friday, Grand Traverse Deep Listening is meeting for the first time.
Participants will listen outdoors on the Northwestern Michigan College campus quad, hearing the music through a high-end sound system provided by NMC’s audio technology program.
They'll spend about 70 minutes listening to “in vain,” a massive microtonal piece composed in the year 2000 by Georg Friedrich Haas.
Grand Traverse Deep Listening founder Michael Kudirka says he picked this particular piece for the first meeting because of its size and intensity and because it’s one you’re not likely to encounter in a live performance.
"Each part uses a whole raft of very specialized microtonal playing techniques that even the very best orchestral players around the world [lack]," he said. "Unless they've devoted years and years to this type of playing, it's just not part of the standard orchestral playing techniques."
During this first meeting of Grand Traverse Deep Listening, attendees will be asked to put away their phones and just listen for the next 70 minutes.
Kudirka says removing distractions is crucial for getting the most out of this type of deep listening experience.
"When you listen with your whole heart, mind and body, you find that the music gives you so much back," he said.
But this deep listening event isn’t just for specialists or for modern music aficionados. Kudirka thinks that anyone who attends is likely to have a profound listening experience.
"The piece ["in vain"] has such a raw and immediate emotional connection to the listener that it really is for everyone," he said. "I really just want to share it with everyone."
Kudirka hopes this meeting is the first of many to come.
Grand Traverse Deep Listening gathers Friday at 7:30 p.m. on the main quad on the campus of Northwestern Michigan College, between Founders Hall and the Innovation Center.
The outdoor event is free, and attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
