Calgary Sound Atlas Musical Festival an immersive experience

A new contemporary music festival is making its debut in Calgary from June 23 to 25 at the University of Calgary Rozsa Centre and Contemporary Calgary. The Sound Atlas New Music Festival is celebrating the creation of new music while taking attendees on a journey through sound. The festival was dreamt up by Latitude 49, a band of classical musicians with members from across Canada and the United States. Each day of the festival presents a new theme, taking the audience on a curated, immersive exploration of music. Tickets are on sale now. We caught up with Jani Parsons, director of the festival and executive director of Latitude 49.

Tell us about Latitude 49.

Latitude 49 is a band of classical musicians that has performed all across North America for just over 10 years now, with a combination of strings, winds, piano and percussion. We have a genre-bending approach that blends the finesse of a classical chamber ensemble with a progressive rock band. We've commissioned, performed, and recorded nearly a hundred new works, and love the diversity of the repertoire and the creative process. This festival represents a musical sandbox where we can play, explore, create, build/break some castles, and invite some of our favorite artists and collaborators to join us in creating something that is really remarkable. As the host ensemble, we've worked together to coordinate every aspect of the festival and it really is our love child. We are thrilled to be sharing the stage with such incredible colleagues and friends, and will be performing a set on each day of the festival.

Where did the idea to create the Sound Atlas Music Festival come from?

The musicians in Latitude 49 have had a long-time dream of building our very own new music festival that started in the visioning stages about seven years ago. When I moved to Calgary in 2022, it became evident to me that Calgary is fertile ground to establish this festival, and the stars seemed to align with our creative planning and the possibilities that exist here with such fantastic partnerships as the ones we have with the University of Calgary and Contemporary Calgary. Last year, we made the focus of our Latitude 49 2022 year-end fundraiser to be the seed money for this festival. We narrowed the list of possible names down to three, and had our donors and friends vote on the name, and the Sound Atlas Festival was born!.

How is Sound Atlas different from other festivals in the city?

Sound Atlas is the only festival that exists in Calgary that focuses on contemporary music and sound art that flows from the Classical music tradition. While there have been festivals come and go in the past, there is a real need and excitement in the community for a festival that celebrates what is happening now along the cutting edge of contemporary music and brings together an incredible variety of dynamic local and international artists. Canada is home to a wealth of incredible composers with distinct and magnetic voices. We are so thrilled that we can champion their music alongside some of our favorite composers and collaborators from the United States. It will be an exciting adventure in sound for a culturally curious audience.

What can Calgarians expect from the festival?

Calgarians can expect to be entertained, surprised, inspired, and intrigued by a wide range of art music situated within immersive spaces like Contemporary Calgary. The event is sure to be an unforgettable, art-forward event. Each day of the festival functions as a traveling museum of sounds, with a wide variety of artists and styles. This inaugural year, we wanted to really showcase the possibilities of music and will be featuring many world premiere and Canadian premiere performances, sound installations, interdisciplinary art like the Villainy project that features live music with film by local filmmaker Emil Agopian, and genre-mashing curiosities like Ginger Beef, a retro-pop collaboration that blends jazz, funk and traditional Chinese music. Various sets will be performed in sequence on each day, with time between to grab a drink, chat, process, and engage with other music lovers. We even have pop-up performances with emerging local student performers, and an album release party with our featured composer and Avant-folk vocalist, Annika Socolofsky. I can't wait for the experience of this weekend, the energy around it is pretty insane.