Automata is thrilled to be a site of DOG STAR 21, Los Angeles' long-running experimental music/sound festival. Automata will welcome 28 performers in 8 distinct programs over 4 days.
DOG STAR 21 is a project of The Dog Star Orchestra, an ensemble and a once-a-year festival of experimental music, started in 2005 by Michael Pisaro as a way of playing recent experimental music by young composers and classic pieces from the experimental tradition. Described as “messily exceptional” by the Los Angeles Times, Dog Star events happen throughout the Los Angeles area and often feature offbeat performances in out-of-the-way places, alongside more traditional concert settings. It is one of the main presenters fostering and documenting the strong local experimental music scene, as well as presenting work that would otherwise not be heard in the US.
All DOG STAR 21 events are free. No tickets or rsvp, unless listed for a specific event.
The Dog Star Festival has grown from six concerts in 2005 to fifteen concerts in 2025. Initially curated by Pisaro alone, the festival began, starting in 2011, to collaborate with multiple curators drawn from artists who had participated in previous years’ concerts. This year’s curatorial team consists of Cassia Streb, Carolyn Chen, Kevin Good, and Sivan Silver-Swartz.
In most years upwards of 60 musicians participate as composers and performers. The local following for the series has grown substantially over the years of the festival's existence.
The Dog Star Festival has featured the US premieres of many works by the Wandelweiser Group, an international collective of composers and performers of contemporary music. The festival has presented seminal pieces from the American origins of the experimental school, including works by Cage, Wolff, Feldman, Lucier, Oliveros, Tenney and many others.
Thursday, June 26, 2025
7PM: Near-Field #1 Sound artist Brandon Auger performs a proximity-based listening event. (Basement) "Please note that the event takes place in a basement accessible only by a flight of stairs. Unfortunately, the basement is not accessible to individuals with limited mobility."
8PM: Holophony A concert of spatial music for Eric Heep’s 64 Channel Wave Field Synthesis array, with compositions by Faith Rawson, Eric Lennartson, Stephanie Cheng Smith, Liam Mooney, Cassia Streb, and Tim Feeney. (Main Gallery)
Friday, June 27, 2025
7PM: Near-Field #2 Sound artist Brandon Auger performs a proximity-based listening event. (Basement) "Please note that the event takes place in a basement accessible only by a flight of stairs. Unfortunately, the basement is not accessible to individuals with limited mobility."
8PM: Terrains Composer and percussionist Bonnie Whiting presents Stages, a performance art piece, developeed collaboratively with Wang Lu. (Main Gallery)
Saturday, June 28, 2025
4PM: In Real Time Three unique sets exploring presnce, listening, and transformation through improvisation, with Nev Wendell, Ethan Marks, and āññā (Anqi Liu and Han Zhang). (Main Gallery)
7PM: In the Courtyard The Los Angeles Woodwind Skill Share presents a new site-responsive work by composer Carolyn Goodwin. (Courtyard)
8PM: Again and Again The Dog Star Community Choir performs rounds from Larry Polansky’s Rounds Unbound. The evening opens with Jules Evans’ Romeos and Juliets, a reimagining of the balcony scene from Shakespeare’s play, featuring multiple performers simultaneously taking on each character. (Main Gallery)
Sunday, June 29, 2025
4PM: L-Collective The L-Collective returns to the Dog Star Festival with new works recently composed for the ensemble. (Main Gallery)
7PM: Untangling Composer John Eagle has devised a composition/situation for an 8-wall modular system for Eric Heep to escape. The cables between the walls are intentionally tangled, creating confusing signal chains for Eric to navigate in order to solve his way out. (Courtyard)
8PM: These Are My Friends The final show features a sound installation with weather balloons by Nat Evans, piece inspired by a power station by Jen Boyd, a min-opera by Anna Heflin, a percussion trio by Ben Rempel, and a piece for friends by TJ Sclafani. (Main Gallery)