In 2007 I collaborated with media artist John Oswald to create Qui, a sound installation for 29 voices singing in 29 languages, for the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. In 2010 I made XXIX, a video counterpart for this sound work, featuring 21 of the original 29 Qui singers, each singing in the language of his or her personal heritage. XXIX premiered as a site-specific video installation, with sound over 21 speakers, at the Royal Ontario Museum in October 2010 as part of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche festival, where it received the People's Choice Award in the Open Call category. Official Selection: Glasgow Short Film Festival 2011 Heart Of Gold International Film Festival, Australia 2011 Chicago International Movies and Music Festival 2011 Sensoria Shorts, Sheffield UK 2011 Columbus International Film + Video Festival November 2011 • Award: Experimental Shorts Category XXIX features Canadian singers Neema Bickersteth (singing in Krio), Aviva Chernick (Spanish), Sung Chung (Korean), Ori Dagan (Hungarian), Narendra Datar (Hindi), Sophia Grigoriadis (Greek), Carla Huhtanen (Finnish), Andrea Koziol (English), Amélie Lefebvre (French), Tom Lillington (Italian), Laurel MacDonald (Latin), Lizzy Mahashe (Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho), Shalva Makharashvili (Georgian), Paul Oros (Russian), Pat Patrick (English - Basso Profundo), Suba Sankaran (Tamil), Charlene Santoni (Coloratura Soprano), Mitch Smolkin (Hebrew), Adam Solomon (Swahili), Aki Takahashi (Japanese), and Maryem Tollar (Arabic). original music and lyrics: Qui habitat in adjutorio altissimi by Josquin des Prez (c. 1440-1521) music arranged and adapted by Laurel MacDonald and John Oswald, with additional lyric settings by the singers direction, videography and video edit Laurel MacDonald sound recording and edit Laurel MacDonald technical supervisor and sound mix Philip Strong For more information, please visit: www.improbablemusic.com
