Midnight Moment: Jherek Bischoff's Silent Orchestra

Host Ethan Primason sits down with Jherek Bischoff, Sherry Dobbin, and Paola Prestini (composer and director of National Sawdust) to discuss Bischoff's Cistern, a music video from his latest album also titled Cistern. The video features Bischoff as a lone tuxedoed figure awakening from the earth to traverse the expanses of the globe, covering the most extreme landscapes of the ocean floor, arid salt flats, glaciers, and mossy rainforest, ultimately retiring under a star-studded sky. The work was inspired by his experience playing in an underground two-million gallon water tank transformed into to a fully orchestrated piece performed in the middle of Times Square. The space boasts a 45-second reverb decay that forced Bischoff to slowdown and accommodate the unique acoustic qualities. The video brings to life the expansiveness of the cistern and its relationship to distance, space and time, in an epic and introspective journey through extraordinary landscapes. Other topics of conversation include the importance of accessible and unique presentations of orchestral music, as well as the impact of physical space in the creation and execution of music. Times Square Arts brings Cistern to Times Square’s electronic billboards from 11:57 p.m. to midnight every night in August 2016. Bischoff's project is a part of Midnight Moment, a monthly presentation by The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts.

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