Cauces Sónicas to Perform at UC Irvine

The concert will feature music from artists in Southern and Baja California that explores life on the borderlands

By Ayiana Grana

Cauces Sónicas (Sonic Channels), a collaborative music project co-led by UC Irvine Department of Music chair Michael Dessen and UC San Diego professor Wilfrido Terraza, will be presented in a concert taking place on Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. in Winifred Smith Hall at UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Tickets are free and available here. The concert will explore the concept of borders through the combined creativity and experiences of generations of artists, students and faculty from different parts of California.

Cauces Sónicas will feature performances from members of the project’s core ensemble — a diverse group including faculty and students from UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and professional artists working in Ensenada, Mexico. Their collective experiences work together to tell a story about the way art crosses borders, through musical migration, interactions between generations and the bond between teachers and students.

The project's two-year-long journey has been supported by a grant from the University of California Alianza MX Institute. Cauces Sónicas has connected art with change through workshops and an undergraduate course. Co-director Michael Dessen has been constantly inspired by how the project has expanded over the past two years. 

“It's multilayered: A core group of professional musicians has created and performed new pieces together, while in parallel we ran various teaching and community engagement activities,” said Dessen. “Last fall we ran a collaborative class connecting undergraduate students from UABC in Ensenada, MX, with students at UCI and UCSD, both remotely and in person, and they came up with some wonderfully imaginative projects that we performed last year in Ensenada and will showcase again next month at UCSD. We've also supported grad students from UCI and UCSD to travel to Ensenada to give workshops and performances at two different new music festivals this fall, and another part of the project is carrying out several creative workshops in collaboration with community members at two of UCSD's innovative "community stations" along the border.” 

This initiative builds on Dessen’s other work. He has previously co-led a series of workshops with collaborators in Colombia called Telematic Bridges that worked with students from Santa Ana High School and Manizales, Colombia. Dessen values fostering connections between a wide range of people and uplifting their various talents. This is reflected in the upcoming concert. 

“All this work has helped us deepen our collaborative, intergenerational and intercultural networks across the region,” said Dessen. “The pieces don't fit any single 'style' as they range across different traditions and soundworlds, but each one responds in its own way to the vibrancy of life in the borderlands, and we invite you to join us with curious and open ears!"

For more information about Cauces Sónicas, visit here. To learn more about UC Irvine’s Department of Music, visit arts.uci.edu/music. For information about Michael Dessen, visit his Department of Music bio page here. For information about Wilfrido Terrazas, visit his UC San Diego bio page here.