Film/Public Viewing, Literatur/Performance, Musik/Music

AWAKENINGS

Ivan Cruz Contreras

Ivan Cruz Contreras. Born in Mexico City in the year 1989. Double bass player specialized in free improvisation whose labor in the field of arts has developed by spreading the culture related to new/classical-contemporary music, giving exposure to works written in the last three decades, with an emphasis in those composed for his instrument.

Throughout his career he has participated in numerous projects ranging from classical/contemporary to
pop/rock music, performing in front of large audiences in festivals like the Bayreuther Festspiele (DE), Festival Internacional Cervantino (MX), Festival Bestia (MX) and Vrienden Van Amstel Live, one of the largest music festivals of pop music in the Netherlands; taking part in international orchestras, ensembles and academies from around the world, such as Nationaal Jeugdorkest (NL), Orquesta Juvenil Carlos Chávez (MX), Academia Cervantina (MX) and Internationale Junge Orchesterakademie (DE) and Codarts Poporkest. The Gewandhaus in Lepizig (DE), De Doelen (Rotterdam, NL), Zeneakadémia (Budapest, HU) the Great Hall of People (Beijing, CN) and Shanghai Grand Theater (CN) are some of the halls where he has had the opportunity to perform together with other tallented musicians.

In the field of contemporary music, he has collaborated with world renowned composers such as Christian Wolf and Helmut Lachenmann, premiering some of their works in Mexico, as well as performed in front of members of the Ensemble Modern and Arditti Quartet and soloists/improvisers like Robyn Schulkowsky, Chris Coghburn, Steph Richards, Ute Wassermann, Jaap de Blonk, Wilfrido Terrazas and Alexander Bruck.

¨”In recent years I decided to focus on my studies and refine my skills in other fields of the art in order to be able to present my latest work, Awakenings, a series of videos where I explore audiovisual media combined
with free improvisation.”

Ivan Cruz Contreras
Double bass player/Improviser

awakening
noun [ S ]
/əˈweɪ.kən.ɪŋ
the act of starting to understand something or feel something
a cycle stops: the brain switches between two phases and reconnects with the limbs enabling the body to move. An awakening is a moment of realisation, a moment where a person shakes off the blurriness of sleep and reaches a clear mind while shifting to a pragmatical reality. It is a moment of truth.
awakenings is the introspective journey through the life of an artist who shows his discomfort dealing with loss, lack of control and
emotions like anger, frustration, sadness and loneliness once he has reached another, deeper level of self-consciousness.
The series is the product of a life-long process and it represents the inflection point between the previous self of a person and a new-to- be one, which will hopefully, but not surely, be better. awakenings reflects the challenges that every person has to face at some point in their lives.
Ivan Cruz Contreras Sound Artist/Improviser (bass)

INFORMATION

  • Please make reservations not later than 2 hours before the programme begins: kunstGarten@mur.at or +43 316 262787. 3 G!