OPTION presents: claire rousay
This week Option Archive Interviews features improviser and percussionist claire rousay. As an extension of the regular Monday night concert series, Option curators select artists from the past five years of programming for live interviews on the Quarantine Concerts stage. Watch the full concert video from claire rousay's Option premiere below.
Option: claire rousay with Emily Beisel
Originally performed May 6, 2019
Set 1 - claire rousay solo percussion
Set 2 - claire rousay & Emily Beisel (clarinet) duo
Full concert video: https://youtu.be/gpK9J4u-MAY
"Claire Rousay's improvised solo percussion set at Experimental Sound Studio for Option on May 6th last year was stunning. I was unaware of Claire's work until I that evening, but I have tried my best to follow it since. Later in 2019 I heard Claire perform in a duo context with Kim Alpert's video vortex on November 15th at the Elastro A/V Night Three held at Elastic Arts in Chicago. It was a rare experience, something that I thoroughly didn't understand but which completely mesmerized and captivated with its assurance and content. While Kim's fantastic images moved alongside, Claire used a smart phone, laptop, electronics, pickups, and table top percussion to create such a vivid and haunting performance it's been permanently etched in my memory." - Ken Vandermark, Option curator
Tune in to the conversation at: ess.org/the-quarantine-concerts
claire rousay is a person who performs and records. She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas. Her performances and recordings explore queerness, human relationships, and self perception through the use of physical objects and their potential sounds. rousay performs with Brandon Lopez, Carol Genetti, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, Jacob Wick, Ken Vandermark, Lori Goldston, Michael Foster, Tom Carter, and others. rousay’s work has been performed at locations such as Casa del Popolo, Constellation Chicago, Experimental Sound Studio’s Option Series, Iklectik Art Lab (London), Issue Project Room, and the Tobin Center for Performing Arts (San Antonio).