Sound Atlas Festival 2024: Day 1

SOUND ATLAS FESTIVAL 2024: June 27-29

Day 1 - Thursday, June 27, 2024 - 7PM

Contemporary Calgary

Featured Festival Artists: Latitude 49, harpist Parker Ramsay (solo set) and Land’s End Ensemble

The annual Sound Atlas Festival brings the best of contemporary music to Calgary for its second iteration in June 2024, celebrating works by living composers and extraordinary performances by local and international sound artists. Co-presented by the powerhouse mixed chamber ensemble Latitude 49, and the JUNO-nominated Land’s End Ensemble, Sound Atlas Festival takes place at Contemporary Calgary, Calgary’s world class centre for the artwork of our time.

Day 1 kicks off the Sound Atlas Festival with three distinct and remarkable acts. New music powerhouse band Latitude 49 kicks it off with Marc Mellits’ funky “Blackitude'' arranged specifically for Latitude 49 and heard for the first time in Canada, a feature performance by the Contemporary Performance Lab fellows of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “You Are Free” and the world premiere of Canadian composer Evan Ware’s “Checking Out”. Paris-based harpist Parker Ramsay will defy expectations in his solo set for harp and electronics featuring music by composer Tom Morrison. Finally, Calgary’s own JUNO-nominated Land’s End Ensemble will present an infectious trio by Mason Bates and a special performance of featured composer Jared Miller’s “Leviathan”. Prepare to be astonished, and we are just getting started!  

Spread out over three days, Sound Atlas Festival takes listeners on a powerful journey of expression, moving freely to challenge, delight, and engage. This year, Sound Atlas Festival will highlight the Canadian-American composer Jared Miller as featured composer, whose music has been described as “playful” (New York Times), “hypnotic” (Sequenza 21), and “highly personal” (CBC Radio). He will be joined by a host of composers and internationally acclaimed artists from across Calgary, Canada, and the United States. 

Festival goers can anticipate an eclectic and diverse range of musical styles, with something for everyone. Each day will feature multiple concert events and pop-up style performances with our Contemporary Performance Lab fellows, in a sonic feast for the culturally curious. Audiences will enjoy plenty of time to mingle, reflect and explore, moving through a variety of gallery spaces at Contemporary Calgary, hopefully with a beer in hand from The Establishment Brewing Company, named 2021 Canadian Brewery of the Year and our festival sponsor.

Sound Atlas Festival is an experience unlike any other and an intersectional space dedicated to championing what's new and what’s now - come be part of the magic!