Nonna
2024
Project Lead / Costumes / Choreographer: Meagan Woodard
Sound Designer / Composer: Oliver Loll
Light Designer: Rowan Grossman
Performer: Bailey Lewis
Nonna was an interactive exhibit displaying the creative work of Meagan Woodard, and the women in her family who enabled and inspired her. Patrons would observe costume work, live dance and performance art, all washed in a dynamic soundscape.
The Poem “Even When He Is Silent” was incredibly inspirational to the exhibit as a whole. This was a written work found on the walls of the concentration camp in Cologne, Germany. Meagan Woodard felt deeply connected to these words, as her great grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and faith has been an important part of their family’s story.
I composed “Women Who Made Me” as an accompaniment to the visual and live art elements, for patrons to listen to as they engaged with the exhibit.
Multiple tenets guided the process of creating this music. Rain was a prominent theme in the exhibit, supporting the unique atmosphere. As the piece was primarily about family history, the musical theme of the Tarentella represents the Morandini’s cultural connection to Italy. The words of “Even When He Is Silent” are heard swirling around the space. The choral arrangement by Kim André Arnesen (Performed by Choralia Woman’s Choir) is used to create multiple drone synths in the music. During the showing, the piano is eventually replaced with the choir, clearly heard over the rain.
This is the flattened version of the track. After this version, edits were made to extend the piece, create a seemless loop and incorporate other songs.
Nonna acted as Meagan Woodard’s Thesis project, and was held at Texas Tech University.
Even When He Is Silent
Written by an unknown Holocaust victim
Concentration prison cell in Cologne, Germany
I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love,
even when there’s no one there.
And I believe in God,
even when he is silent.
I believe through any trial,
there is always a way
But sometimes in this suffering
and hopeless despair
My heart cries for shelter,
to know someone’s there
But a voice rises within me, saying hold on
my child, I’ll give you strength,
I’ll give you hope. Just stay a little while.
I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love
even when there’s no one there
But I believe in God
even when he is silent
I believe through any trial
there is always a way.
May there someday be sunshine
May there someday be happiness
May there someday be love
May there someday be peace
Project Documentation
The music started out in logic, composed with Midi and utilizing multiple effects plugins and automation. Each line was baked seperately so they could be individually balanced.
The individual layers were assembled in Qlab and edited to be a seemless loop. Manual cues were fired to change the balance of the layers (such as fading in the choir) and fade in existing songs for the dance pieces. Everything played through a stereo board.
Multiple MJF208 speakers were added into the space to provide complete coverage of the exhibit. They either stood on or were hung above the tension wire grid.