atè a tè

“These rivers flowed beneath the feet of my grandfather’s grandfather and if we leave behind the world I hope we leave behind, they’ll flow beneath the feet of my great-grandchildren. I’m just the next pair of boots walking through. How beautiful is that?”

About the Project

atè a tè (Haitian creole: “grounded; down to earth) is a 20-25 minute work for string quartet and multimedia that explores what it means to ground oneself to the present and the community around you, how our grounding to one another shifts as we age, and how the mundane, like a pair of shoes by the door, can keep us present, remind us of what's important, and represent the connections we’ve made and lost. atè a tè grapples with these ideas in four movements representing four stages of life — adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, and the end of life — through the use of recorded, found, and archival audio of proverbs, modern day advice, and cultural colloquialisms that address these centuries old musings. Throughout the piece the string quartet mimics, responds to, and distorts the rhythmic cadences and timbre palette of the human voice. atè a tè makes use of found and archival video and TikTok footage and personal recordings displayed on a custom structure of 10 analog televisions, creating a raw and visceral conversation between quartet, audio, and video. atè a tè invites audiences to find the beauty and freedom in the duality of our own significance and irrelevance; to see the world around us as both vast and insular — we are all just the next pair of boots passing through this land, this time, this space. atè a tè is a collaboration between myself, Jasper Quartet, and the Nova Chamber Series and will premiere in 2027.

Availability

We are currently accepting co-presenters for this project for the 27-28 season and beyond. To inquire about details, reach out to Dan Visconti at dan@viscontiarts.com.