A free Apprehension Engine Workshop with Mark Korven and Tony Duggan-Smith, co-creators of musical instrument will take place on Sept. 16 from 2 to 3:30pm.
The workshop will take place at Silence at 46 Essex Street in Guelph.
When Korven, a Canadian movie composer, wanted to craft dark sounds for horror movie film scores, he realized the acoustic instrument he needed didn’t exist.
Consequently, to conjure up breathtaking moments of suspension, Korven teamed up with Duggan-Smith, a renowned guitar designer and builder. Through their conversations and collaborations, Tony Duggan-Smith fashioned a one-of-a-kind instrument dubbed the Apprehension Engine. As a sonic palate, this original instrument incorporates bowed, plucked, and struck devices to generate ambient interludes and effects.
As Korven says, “With an instrument like this, the goal is to produce sounds that are disturbing.”
The focus of this afternoon workshop is to showcase The Apprehension Engine live with Korven as composer and Duggan-Smith as builder.
Participants will get to hear, first hand, an unprecedented instrument that expresses evocative sounds that stir up the emotions. Korven will share the application of intense sonic textures in film composition. The session will be interactive with ample opportunity to ask questions.
This workshop is free of charge and accessible to the public. Seating is limited and registration is suggested.
A Canadian Premiere: The Apprehension Engine in Performance will take place on Sept. 16 from 7 to 8:30pm or 9:30 to 11pm at Silence, 46 Essex Street, Guelph. Tickets are $100.
The Apprehension Engine in Performance will include Korven, Matt Brubeck, Gary Diggins, Daniel Fischlin, Lewis Melville, and Joe Sobara.
What happens when you combine a Canadian composer (who specializes in horror film soundtracks) with a guitar maker who is respected around the world for his innovative approach to acoustic instruments? The end result of this collaboration is an unprecedented, fear-inducing instrument called “The Apprehension Engine.”
“The mission was to make something that causes people to feel strange and uncomfortable,” Tony said. “With a guitar, I’m trying to make a beautiful instrument with the sweetest, most pleasing sound possible. With the Apprehension Engine, we’re trying to annoy people.”
“It’s a matter of personal perspective,” Korven said. “Some people tell us the Apprehension Engine freaks them out, while others tell us the sounds are beautiful and relaxing.”
Korven , who would normally use digital samples for eerie effects, is best known for his unsettling score to Robert Eggers’s 2015 horror film The Witch. Tony is a well established Canadian luthier and one of seven artisans commissioned by the McMichael Gallery for its current Group of Seven Guitar Project.
Originally envisioned as a one-off commission, plans now call for the building of 10 new devices that will be based on the prototype, with refinements. Millions of individuals have tuned into a short film on the Apprehension Engine and now a growing number of musicians, mixed-media artists, and major composers are wanting to own the device.
The two performances will showcase the sonic possibilities of The Apprehension Engine within an ensemble of musicians adept at generating cinematic textures and timbres.
The workshop is free of charge. Tickets for the evening performance fundraiser are $100. Visit Eventbrite for tickets as seating is limited. Silence is located at 46 Essex Street in Guelph and is accessible.
For more information, visit www.silencesounds.ca or email info@silencesounds.ca.
