INTERsection 2012 – FREE All-Day Music Marathon

We had the chance to interview Jerry Pergolesi the artistic director and founder of INTERsection.

Pergolesi: The marathon starts at 2pm and runs to 11pm, so it’s actually nine hours of music. We tackle the issue of non-stop music several ways: this year, we have TorQ percussion quartet on a second stage in the square, and we have a Musicircus in the square proper so when the performances on the main stage are changing over, either or both the second stage and/or the Musicircus take over until the next main stage performance is ready to go. In the past we have also dealt with the changeovers by setting up a similar second performance area in the square featuring New Adventures in Sound Art creating real-time soundscapes between performances. Basically, if there’s a will, there’s a way.

Pergolesi: There is no hard set rule about which comes first; the music or the video. In the case of Sunday’s concert, in particular, the music came first and the film and video that accompany the music came after, inspired by the music. The music was composed by Brian Eno mainly on synthesizers and tape loops. These pieces, Music For Airports and Discreet Music, were transcribed and arranged for the ensembles exclusively. In the case of Music For Airports, each of the resident composers for Bang On a Can transcribed and arranged one movement for the band; Discreet Music was transcribed and arranged for Contact by myself. So, in fact, this isn’t a case of musicians playing long to film or video, it is more of a case of the film and video complementing the music, and enhancing the audience’s experience.

Pergolesi: The critical reception has always been one of curiosity, which is great. The best we can hope for is for people to be curious about the music. You can often hear someone who creates this kind of music talk about a sense of wonder, so curious ears are our best audience. Now that we’ve been around for a short while, some people in the media have heard about the event. One recurring question or comment seems to be about the venue vs the kind of music we present. Anyone who isn’t familiar with Intersection (o.k.a. Toronto New Music Marathon) often asks how we can present music usually reserved for quiet concert halls or churches in the middle of one of Toronto’s busiest intersections. The answer to this is that we do what we have to in order to make it work. The venue is unusual for sure, so performers have to choose carefully what they present. It truly is an effort on everyone’s part, and makes for some interesting opportunities. The format remains somewhat unchanged but what we present can change dramatically from one year to the next, so the story is really about the artists.

Pergolesi: Toronto is home to more “new/experimental/creative” music makers than anywhere else in Canada yet hardly anyone in Toronto is aware of their existence. Intersection is a way for these artists to come out to the community and a way for the community to experience this music without having to invest in something they may be unsure about. One thing is for sure, if anyone doesn’t like what they hear one minute, they can come back in a short while and hear something very different. That is the nature of “new/experimental/creative” music… it comes from every direction, so you’re bound to hear something that resonates with you. We don’t expect everyone to all of the sudden become a new music fan, but you can’t be everything to everyone. Just as rock music has countless sub-genres (and ardent fans of those sub-genres) so does (for lack of a better word) classical… or new classical… or “new/experimental/creative”… in fact, a new term is slowly catching on: “indie-classical”

Toronto is the right venue for many reasons: It’s an eclectic, multi-cultural city that celebrates its diversity in every way. Events like this should happen all over the country and everywhere else.

Pergolesi: Our relationship with Yonge-Dundas Square started a few tears back when we answered a call for proposals. My guess is that they had never received a proposal for this kind of music event previously, and a wonderful Program Manager recognized that this would be a stand-out event. I had wanted to do a festival of this kind for years but never had the right incentive. Getting a day at YDS turned out to be that incentive, so we just booked it and did it.

We get support from various sources. Contact Contemporary Music receives funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council for our annual activity, which Intersection is part of. Yonge-Dundas Square helps tremendously. This year, and in years past we received specific funding for this project from the SOCAN Foundation, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, The Musicians’ Performance Trust Fund and various partners including Wholenote Magazine, Sunrise Records, Naxos an all the participating organizations and artists. It’s very much a “for the community, by the community” event.

T-Mak World: Toronto’s site for music, movie and culture