New England Synth Fest
Saturday, January 11, 2025
6:00 PM–8:00 PM
Michael Conforti Pavilion
(See the event location map)
Get directions to the Clark
Join us for an evening of captivating audiovisual performances presented in collaboration with the New England Synth Fest. Experience regional synth musicians OrangePeelMystic, Architrave, Hissquiet, NXOR, and Michael William Gilbert as they create electronic soundscapes with striking visuals in the Clark’s Michael Conforti Pavilion.
Interact with these unique instruments at our synthesizer petting zoo. Bring your headphones (1/4″ jacks or 1/8″ adapters) to experiment and create your own sounds!
Free. For accessibility questions, call 413 458 0524. This program is produced in collaboration with Kent Lundberg, director of the New England Synth Fest.
OrangePeelMystic, originally from Western Massachusetts, brings avant-garde psych pop to life through driving electronic anthems and a cosmic flair. Her self-described sounds—“extraterrestrial,” “psyche pop electronica,” and “experimental noise-trance”—offer a fresh and boundary-pushing voice from the region.
Architrave is the Ballston Spa-based synth-pop project of multimedia artist Jennifer Maher Coleman and bassist Paul Coleman. Drawing from darkwave, 1980s new-wave, and sci-fi soundscapes, Architrave’s post-punk basslines and lush synths set the stage for themes of isolation, love, and dystopian unease.
Hissquiet, the moniker of Western Massachusetts-based sound designer and musician Ash Farrand, crafts moments of eerie nostalgia with shimmering tones and dark ambient soundscapes. Rooted in the region’s deep appreciation for introspective and experimental art, Hissquiet’s music explores the balance between comfort and chaos, offering a uniquely local perspective on electronic sound design.
Michael William Gilbert, hailing from Amherst, Massachusetts, is a composer with deep roots in electronic and world music. Having shaped the soundscape of the Pioneer Valley as a technical director and educator at institutions like Amherst College, Smith College, and UMass Amherst, Gilbert blends jazz, ambient, and global musical traditions. His latest album, Voice Ping Strum, showcases his mastery of electronic and acoustic arrangements.
NXOR, a Pittsfield native, brings his distinct voice from the Western Massachusetts community into Boston’s thriving hardware scene. Known for blending raw, moody downtempo soundscapes with percussive elements, NXOR’s music carries the industrial and introspective tones of the Berkshires into the wider electronic music landscape.
The New England Synthesizer Festival, based in Boston, is a welcoming community of synthesizer enthusiasts. Since 2004, they have supported exhibitions, meet-ups, performances, and educational events, embracing all technologies, styles, and levels of expertise related to synthesizers.
Image: OrangePeelMystic by @mtrigphoto
Interact with these unique instruments at our synthesizer petting zoo. Bring your headphones (1/4″ jacks or 1/8″ adapters) to experiment and create your own sounds!
Free. For accessibility questions, call 413 458 0524. This program is produced in collaboration with Kent Lundberg, director of the New England Synth Fest.
OrangePeelMystic, originally from Western Massachusetts, brings avant-garde psych pop to life through driving electronic anthems and a cosmic flair. Her self-described sounds—“extraterrestrial,” “psyche pop electronica,” and “experimental noise-trance”—offer a fresh and boundary-pushing voice from the region.
Architrave is the Ballston Spa-based synth-pop project of multimedia artist Jennifer Maher Coleman and bassist Paul Coleman. Drawing from darkwave, 1980s new-wave, and sci-fi soundscapes, Architrave’s post-punk basslines and lush synths set the stage for themes of isolation, love, and dystopian unease.
Hissquiet, the moniker of Western Massachusetts-based sound designer and musician Ash Farrand, crafts moments of eerie nostalgia with shimmering tones and dark ambient soundscapes. Rooted in the region’s deep appreciation for introspective and experimental art, Hissquiet’s music explores the balance between comfort and chaos, offering a uniquely local perspective on electronic sound design.
Michael William Gilbert, hailing from Amherst, Massachusetts, is a composer with deep roots in electronic and world music. Having shaped the soundscape of the Pioneer Valley as a technical director and educator at institutions like Amherst College, Smith College, and UMass Amherst, Gilbert blends jazz, ambient, and global musical traditions. His latest album, Voice Ping Strum, showcases his mastery of electronic and acoustic arrangements.
NXOR, a Pittsfield native, brings his distinct voice from the Western Massachusetts community into Boston’s thriving hardware scene. Known for blending raw, moody downtempo soundscapes with percussive elements, NXOR’s music carries the industrial and introspective tones of the Berkshires into the wider electronic music landscape.
The New England Synthesizer Festival, based in Boston, is a welcoming community of synthesizer enthusiasts. Since 2004, they have supported exhibitions, meet-ups, performances, and educational events, embracing all technologies, styles, and levels of expertise related to synthesizers.
Image: OrangePeelMystic by @mtrigphoto
