Inner Time

Concert of the SALT New Music Festival Liam Hockley, clarinet and bass clarinet An intimate program inviting us into the smallest details of sound: breath, resonance, overtones, silence, and the physical presence of a musician in space. Inner Time asks what happens when we listen more closely. Rather than treating sound as a fixed object, the program draws attention to its inner life: shifting harmonics, resonances, textures, breath, and silence.

Performer and audience are brought into unusually close contact through the act of concentrated listening.

At the centre of the program is Horațiu Rădulescu's Inner Time , reflecting the composer's fascination with the acoustic possibilities contained within a single tone. James Tenney's Harmonium #1 continues this close examination of sound, while a world premiere by Alex Matterson expands the sonic space through bass clarinet and electronics.

Ray Evanoff's Overwhelm approaches proximity through a different kind of closeness: a composer–performer partnership that began at SALT in 2013. Developed through years of collaboration, the work blurs the boundaries between composition and performance as materials from Evanoff's score are continually reinterpreted, remixed, and reassembled through Hockley's creative process and live electronics.

This intimate encounter between one musician, his instruments, electronics, and the audience reflects one of the central ideas of SALT 2026: PROXIMITY : proximity begins with close listening.

PROGRAM

Ray Evanoff: Overwhelm

Alex Matterson: New work for bass clarinet and electronics (world premiere)

Horațiu Rădulescu: Inner Time

ABOUT LIAM HOCKLEY

Canadian clarinetist Dr. Liam Hockley is a performer, improviser, and educator whose work moves between classical performance, experimental music, and live electronics. Described by the Georgia Straight as a musician for whom alternative and avant-garde approaches are part of his everyday instrumental vocabulary, his practice combines technical virtuosity with a sustained exploration of new possibilities for the clarinet and bass clarinet.

His debut solo album, Pulse-Tide , was named one of The Wire 's 10 Best Modern Classical Releases of 2024 , with particular praise for the combination of physical intensity and microscopic attention to sonic detail in his performances.

Liam has performed across North America, Europe, and Asia , appearing at festivals including the Stockhausen-Konzert und -Kurse, KLANGRAUM, Tongyeong International Music Festival, Vancouver New Music, and Music on Main's Modulus Festival. An active freelance performer, he regularly works with major ensembles across British Columbia and has been a member of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra since 2020.

He was the 2025 Sound Artist in Residence at the West Vancouver Memorial Library and has held artist residencies with Music on Main, Simon Fraser University's School for Contemporary Arts, and the Banff Centre for Arts and…