Playing the Room

About this event

Free and open to the public! On Sunday, July 26th at 4:30 PM, Studio 9 again opens its doors wide. Join us for “Playing the Room” — a performance-talk by violinist and composer Todd Reynolds, longtime Bang on a Can faculty member and Studio 9’s Artist-in-Residence and Director of Special Projects — presented in celebration of the 2026 Bang on a Can fellows and addressed greatly to them, but for all ears as well. Enjoy learning about the trajectory of a classical violinist gone horribly wrong – ending him up here in North Adams to make his first record, and eventually to call it his forever home. Understand the basics of performing with electronic gizmos and gadgets and creating a unique, hybrid physical instrument, and feel music move through the air of Studio 9’s Meyer spatial audio system. Finally, get a backstage, inside look at the residencies and recording spaces where FreshGrass Institute is broadening its roots-music mission to welcome every genre – and meet the fellows themselves — including composition fellow Gideon Broshy, performing his own music in spatial audio. Free and open to the public; donations gratefully welcomed on site. The Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA (the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) is a 3-week musical utopia for innovative composers and performers in the beautiful Berkshire mountains of western Massachusetts dedicated entirely to adventurous contemporary music. Check out Loud Weekend on July 30-August 1 at MASS MoCA.