Hi everyone,
I hope the title drew you in! A lot has happened for me this year in my exploration as a composer and artist, from being a CULTIVATE fellow at Copland House to experimenting with self-drawn animation to former compositions. I have so much to share but promise to keep it brief. Please read on if you’d like a chronological summary about what I’ve been doing in 2024 – or, you can skip to the end where I talk about my upcoming LA Phil commission for a chamber concert happening in November!
March 2024: “Twang, Tootle, Thump” – an open-score reading event
Pictured: The first episode of "Twang, Tootle, Thump" at rasp.la, March 23rd, 2024
Inspired by a conversation with my friend CL, I put together an experimental event in which participants read mostly open-score rep provided by colleagues and friends. I’m still humbled by all the people who came out to participate! I hope to put together another event like this in the future (with some added help from those who offered.)
And yes, for this event I contributed a ridiculous score of my own called “Godzilla Goes to the Grocery Store” which featured musicians reacting to visual cues from an animation I made. It’s…a work in progress. (See the last slide in this IG post.)
May 2024: The 2024 Black House Collective Workshop
Pictured: Black House Collective's 2024 concert at Oracle Egg. Photo by Christopher Wormald. May 26th, 2024
It’s always a joy to play in Black House! This year was especially exciting – we had 28 musicians from near and far, including an 8-person soprano/alto chorus and friends from last year’s Bang on a Can festival. I wrote “You, I” – a piece based on conflict resolution statements. (Recording coming soon!)
I also led a few Black House buddies on an unexpectedly wet hike through Eaton Canyon. I still feel like I owe everyone a new pair of socks.
Pictured: (Left to Right) Black House participants Yifeng Yvonne Yuan, Elecia Neo, Sam Zagnit, me, Mason Moy, and Kimmie Sabio at the waterfall in Eaton Canyon. Thanks for coming along!
June 2024: Copland House’s CULTIVATE Emerging Composer’s Institute
Pictured: A five-minute sketch of the fabulous musicians of Music from Copland House while they recorded our pieces. June 8th, 2024
In June, I had the opportunity to visit Aaron Copland’s house in Peekskill, NY and work with Copland House’s resident ensemble. (They were incredible!) I really enjoyed getting to know the Copland House team and other emerging composers at CULTIVATE. A fantastic recording of my piece, “Toons,” inspired by the opening glissando of the Looney Tunes theme, is on its way.
At the end of the workshop, I got to hold Aaron Copland’s dentures!
Pictured: Me with Aaron Copland's dentures. (Date unknown.)
August 2024: I-Park Composers + Musicians Collaborative Residency with Hub New Music
Pictured: Another five-minute sketch, this time of Hub New Music while they rehearsed at Roulette Intermedium. August 25, 2024
I met Hub New Music back in 2023 when they were workshopping student pieces at Occidental College (I was supervising), and I knew from that experience that it would be a treat to work with them. Well, I finally had the chance during my residency at I-Park. I spent a week interacting with Hub inside and outside rehearsals, dining rooms, and saunas, while taking daily walks in the fresh Connecticut air. Hub did great work with every resident composer’s pieces. You can watch their full performance at Roulette below – my piece “The Noises” (very, very loosely related to East Haddam’s “Moodus Noises”) starts at about 35 minutes in.
September 2024: Music for Your Inbox - self-drawn animations to “Birdcage”/”All creatures small and LOUD!”
I was more of a visual artist in my childhood and really wanted to experiment with making visual art to my music. MFYI gave me the impetus to explore this idea, and I’m very happy with the result. Please consider watching this (fully self-animated) video by making a small donation to an incredible art-forward nonprofit, OR come out to MFYI’s upcoming movie night (November 2nd, 2024 in Los Angeles) to watch my video along with the work of other stellar artists and musicians. Both options are linked below:
This project is particularly close to me (the second part features an artistic rendering of Lulu, my late pet parrot and muse) and I would love for as many people to see it as possible; please email me if you have any questions about how to watch it!
November 2024: Martin Chalifour’s 30th Anniversary Celebration – an LA Phil Commission
My good friend Martin Chalifour is celebrating his 30th anniversary with the LA Phil on November 19th, and I’m delighted to say that I’ve written a violin-viola duet that will be opening the program! A link to the program (and tickets) is below:
Celebrating 30 Years with Martin Chalifour | November 19th, 2024 | Walt Disney Concert Hall
Other interesting projects: Celka’s closet
Last year, I started an Instagram account as an experiment with art and fashion purely for fun. I have plenty of loud, interesting clothes gifted to me from family members and friends (including a few vintage Finnish outfits from my grandmother) and I wanted to use them in creative ways. I make a lot of the backgrounds myself, but some pictures are taken in front of art or in art spaces, including Sol Lewitt’s studio. (There’s a fun story to read on Instagram if you have the time!) If you haven’t checked it out yet, I’m inviting you to see it now.
And that ends my journey so far in 2024! If you’re ever curious about a project I’m working on or want an update, you’re always welcome to reach out to me individually. Take care for now.
-Celka