March 14, 2025
Doors : 7:00 / Concert : 7:30
Second Fridays @ CMC: Gayle Young and James Harley’s “Lithophonica”,
Michael Palumbo, and Raphaëlle Fougères with Jonathan Huard
Join us for an exciting evening of music at the Second Fridays @ CMC concert on March 14, 2025!
Gayle Young and James Harley’s “Lithophonica”
Stones, the instruments featured on this album, are joined by sounds of bells, sticks and Young’s stringed instruments as Harley expands their resonance, shaping sounds through granulation, layering, trans-position, delays, and spatialisation. Bells resonate with stones, stones rock on strings, and resonant sticks bounce on strings.
Young’s collection of resonant stones from the shores of Newfoundland, resonant sticks from abandoned beaver lodges in Ontario, played with bells and assorted hardware, are combined with stringed instruments she designed and built.
As hex-bolts are rolled over stones resting on strings, their vibrations cause the strings to sound. Signal processing simultaneously expands the depth and frequency range, adding complexity through layering and subtle shifts over time.
When Young walks along a beach she watches for flat stones, usually rounded by waves.
She tests each stone for tone, tapping it with another stone while holding it at its nodes to let it vibrate. Stones can play each other and can be set on strings so that both the strings and the stones are heard.
Gayle Young – lithophones, invented instruments
James Harley – electronics
Michael Palumbo (he/they; MA, BFA) is a musician, presenter, community organizer, and teacher exploring the intersection of live performance, improvisation, and digital tools for collaboration. As a musician, Michael regularly performs as an improviser on a modular synthesizer, both solo and in ensembles. He is the founder of Exit Points, a concert series and record label that has featured over 500 performers across disciplines, and released 15 albums to date. Alongside his work in concert presentation, he is completing a PhD in Digital Media at York University, focusing on creative applications of software version control. This research led to the development of Forking Paths, a software modular synthesizer that enables musicians to interact with past states of the instrument in real time. Michael’s interdisciplinary practice spans instrument design, speculative archives, and open-source methodologies. With a background in arts administration, live album production, and digital tool-making for artists, he is committed to fostering new forms of collaboration through experimental media arts and community-driven initiatives.
Fougères/Huard Duo
Jonathan Huard began percussion lessons at the Bas-Saint-Laurent music school at the age of 6. Since then, he has completed a college diploma at the Conservatoire de musique de Rimouski and this year will complete his Bachelor’s degree in performance with his teacher Gabriel Dionne. In 2013 and 2018, he won first place in percussion at the Canadian Music Competitions. In summer 2017, he was selected to tour Canada with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. The following year, he perfected his skills at the So percussion summer institute with members of the quartet and guest composers Steve Reich, David Lang and Caroline Shaw. Outside of his school activities, he is timpanist for the North Shore Symphony Orchestra, plays with the Rythmus percussion ensemble and is an additional member of the Orchestre symphonique de l’estuaire. He shares his love of classical music with a growing desire for experimentation, which he develops with the Grand groupe régional d’improvisation libérée (GRILL) and the group Jazz mess. He is also the recipient of the Lieutenant-Governor of Québec’s Medal for Youth in 2017 and the Governor General of Canada’s Medal in 2018, and a master’s degree from the Conservatoire de musique de Québec in 2021.
Raphaëlle graduated from L’École de danse de Québec’s professional training program in May 2017. She was seen in 2016 in creative residency at the Musée de la civilisation with Lucie Grégoire (cie Lucie Grégoire Danse) and in performance at SPOT, alongside members of the Ramen poetry collective, under the artistic direction of the multidisciplinary Dans ta face/In Your Face collective.
Tickets: $15, $10 for students
Canadian Music Centre
20 St. Joseph St.
Toronto, ON M4Y 1J9
Sponsor: getgruvi.com / @getgruvi
