Interweaving sounds and disciplines

As a vocalist, composer and performer Ishtar has worked for and with several dance and music theatre companies, choir projects, film makers,visual artists and musicians besides performing with her own solo music project and quartet. Key in these collaborations and creations for Ishtar is the attempt to connect and interweave with and uplift the other discipline through sound and together share a vision and strong message with the audience.
Ishtar approaches sound in a broad way and depending on the context of the project enjoys to incorporate several sources of sound. Her sound palette includes sampled field recordings, vocals: (live) vocal looping, live singing of scores and vocal improvisation, small percussion and bass.

On this page you find some of these past collaborations and recordings.

Photo: Mark Stokmans

MINAMINOTORI

a Choreography for 8 singers and tape recorders

A musical investigation by singers and taperecorders to explore our desires, ideals and impossible sacrifices.

For NKK NXT, the Nederlands Kamerkoor collaborated with the Utrecht-based Rosa Ensemble in season 22/23. As part of their traineeship, the vocalists of NKK NXT created a special performance as a co-production between the Nederlands Kamerkoor and Rosa Ensemble with mentorship on analog tapeloopsing/no input mixing by Het Concreet. The performance Minaminotori named after the remote Japanese coral island Minami-no-Tori-shima where more than 16 million tonnes of rare metals were recently found, is about modern humans's search for a new holy grail: rare metals needed for phones, computers and any other 'smart' device with computer chips. In Minamitori, NKK NXT and Rosa ensemble pose questions about human avarice, hubris and self-destruction. 2023 at: Gaudeamus, Wonderfeel, Tilburg Schouwburg, ZIHMIC Utrecht

Gallery of Sounds
An empty gallery, just 12 hours to create a vocal and visual performance to be delivered in the evening. What can you create with these restrictions? This was the starting point for the singers of NKK NXT 22/23. In the serene atmosphere the gallery the group researched the relationship between sound, song, movement and space. In the evening they delivered a stunning performance. In addition to being an innovative performance, a fruitful conversation with the audience arose about topics such as being a creator and the future of choral music. (Credits see this link).

Landart - Rustplaats Maurice Meewisse

Rustplaats (Bridges) is a cross-cultural ritualistic passage music composed for ‘Rustplaats’ by Maurice Meewisse. The track was played in a loop on the site of the land-art work and intended to both guide people through the 300+ wooden stools and invite them to stay and listen, reflecting the meaning of a (final) resting place during the Artborne memorial walk 2024.

Rustplaats - Maurice Meewisse (Artborne 2024)

Horizontaal leven (audioplay in Dutch)

Ziekte is een veranderlijk landschap: iona&rineke gidsen je er doorheen als vertegenwoordigers van de horizontaal-levenden. In het hoorspel Horizontaal leven maak je kennis met de zieke Sonne, die op zoek is naar diens diagnose en eventueel herstel. Sonne’s hobbelige weg loopt via ontelbare zijpaden, waar symptomen, behandelopties en doemscenario’s over elkaar buitelen.
iona&rineke