Award-winning UK collective NYX to close Lights On Stratford

UK collective NYX: electronic drone choir will be helping close the final weekend of Lights On Stratford, which runs from Dec. 13, 2024 to Jan. 19, 2025, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday to Sunday.

In partnership with Stratford Summer Music, the final weekend of Lights On Stratford will bring the award-winning NYX: electronic drone choir with their unique music and lights to Tom Patterson Theatre on Jan. 18, 2025.

As described in a press release, NYX embodies live electronics, drone and ecstatic choral sound, testing the limits of organic and synthetic modulation to explore the entire spectrum of collective voice as an instrument. NYX are a self-managed collective that has performed at London Design Festival, London Fashion Week, Hyde Park, Pompidou Centre, Roundhouse, Rewire Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Kings Place, EARTH, Barbican and Dark Mofo Festival among other festivals and venues.

With visceral compositions by Sian O’Gorman, NYX’s music responds to the human body, architecture and nature, enhanced by spatial sound design.

“It is from 7:30-8:30 (p.m.) and I think it will be really, really beautiful,” said Kaileigh Krystofiak, general manager of Lights On Stratford. “They are incredible artists that are a little bit different than what the norm would be for a Tom Patterson Theatre musical event. It is choral meets alternative meets electronic music.”

The synergy lies within Emergence, the light-art installation planned for Market Square. On Jan. 19, 2025, for the first time ever, there will be a union between NYX and the UK’s award-winning Emergence. This will be a new experience for the electronic drone choir and This Is Loop, the collaborative artistic partnership of artists Harriet Lumby and Alan Hayes based in the UK.

“When we programmed Emergence, in their pitch deck at the very end of it they talk about the soundtrack for Emergence and their collaboration with NYX and they say something like a collaborative concert performance with NYX and Emergence was available should presenters be interested. I saw that initially and thought, ‘How cool was that?’ ” said Krystofiak.

So, she reached out to This Is Loop and they were ecstatic with the possibility of the live collaboration with NYX because, as it turned out, they had never done it before. Stratford is no stranger to world premieres and this is one not to be missed.

“The team at This Is Loop has great admiration for the work of NYX: electronic drone choir. Being able to exhibit in Stratford alongside them is the ultimate realization of our collaboration on the original score for our artwork, Emergence,” a spokesperson from This is Loop said.

Additionally, on Friday, Jan. 17 at 1:30 p.m., there will be two workshops with NYX in which participants can explore hands-on voice as an instrument. NYX is a group of eight, so between them, they will run the two concurrent workshops with the hopes of one group dedicated for youth and the other group for adults. The two-hour workshops are open to all ages and are $25 for students and $50 for adults.

“They will be exploring the type of music, electronics, vocal modulation and breath work. They are a group that is very about their physicality and voice and how our bodies contribute to our voice and sound. It will be very interesting for team building and also the solo-individual aspect of your body as an instrument,” said Krystofiak. “Through the work of this incredible partnership of Stratford arts organizations, the closing weekend of our fifth season of Lights On Stratford will be a truly immersive exploration of creative collaboration.”

For tickets to the workshops on Jan. 17, 2025, visit stratfordfestival.ca/NYX-Workshop. For tickets to the concert on the 18th, visit stratfordfestival.ca/NYX-Live. The closing performance on the 19th with NYX at Emergence in Market Square is free and begins at 6:30 p.m.