The Seltzer Salon #11: Christopher Willes

On this episode of The Seltzer Salon I'm joined by Canadian composer, musician, and dramaturge, Christopher Willes. He recently spearheaded the Resonance Gathering project which has evolved over its lifespan, but began as a large-scale ensemble performance of Pauline Oliveros's To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation (1970). It grew to become more than that, culminating in a double LP and book release that includes the performance (which happened in the Council Chambers at Toronto City Hall), a sound poetry piece from Oliveros's partner, IONE, and a book documenting the work. It's a stunning document of an incredible piece of work. Willes goes into detail about the origins of the idea, how it came to be, and all the various setbacks they had to overcome to make it a reality. A fascinating conversation about one of 2023's most memorable releases. Resonance Gathering https://christopherwilles.bandcamp.com/album/resonance-gathering The Seltzer Salon is a concise, conversational podcast hosted by Brad Rose and produced by Foxy Digitalis. Each episode features a musician, artist, writer, or anyone, really, focusing on a single project or idea. I know we all have limited time each day, so I wanted to do something a little smaller scale with just as much impact, so episodes will be 25-45 minutes in length. Brad Rose is the the principal writer and editor-in-chief of Foxy Digitalis, an online music magazine and has run various DIY record labels for the last 30 years. Support Foxy Digitalis on Patreon patreon.com/foxydigitalis Subscribe to our in-house label, The Jewel Garden https://thejewelgarden.bandcamp.com/subscribe foxydigitalis.zone Twitter: @foxydigitalis Instagram: @foxy.digitalis Bluesky: @foxydigitalis.bsky.social Mastodon: [email protected]