KONTROL
Clarice Assad’s KONTROL is a theatrical orchestral work exploring the intersection of technology, autonomy, and performance. The piece imagines a near future in which a neural interface chip — implanted in every musician of a live symphony orchestra — grants a single presenter remote command over how and what they play.
Premiering at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music with violinist Philippe Quint and conductor Cristian Măcelaru, KONTROL unfolds as part product launch, part slow unravelling. Drawing on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as source material, the work moves through humor, menace, and genuine unease as the technology begins to operate beyond anyone’s control.
The piece engages directly with themes of techno-feudalism, invisible infrastructure, and the body as a vulnerable interface — questions Assad considers among the most urgent of our time.
— The interface is open. Try it.
INSTRUMENTATION:
For Orchestra, Solo Violin and Presenter
Music, libretto and Concept by Clarice Assad
Woodwinds
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
English Horn
2 Clarinets in B♭
Bass Clarinet in B♭
2 Bassoons
Brass
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in C
2 Trombones
Bass Trombone
Tuba
Percussion (2 players)*
Timpani
Harp
Piano
Solo Violin
Strings
Percusion 1: Snare drum, triangle,shaker, wWhip, vibraphone, glockenspiel, suspended cymbal,tam tam, tambourine
Percussion 2: Bass drum, woodblocks, vibraphone, sleigh bells, tam tam
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Audio
— 1 wireless lavalier microphone (presenter)
— 1 wireless microphone system (solo violin)
— Stereo PA system, full range
— 1 stereo line input for presenter laptop (audio playback, no screen output required)
Video
— 1 large-format projection screen, upstage centre, visible to audience and conductor
— 1 projector, minimum 16:9, minimum 2 HDMI inputs with seamless source switching
— Source 1: presenter iPad (KONTROL interface)
— Source 2: playback device for pre-show and closing videos
Presenter
— 1 iPad running the KONTROL application
SOLO VIOLIN
Philippe Quint
Philippe Quint is one of today's most celebrated violinists, acclaimed for his passionate artistry, rare tonal beauty, and interpretive depth. A recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, he has performed with the world's leading orchestras and conductors, and is equally celebrated as a champion of new music. KONTROL marks his first collaboration with Clarice Assad.
CONDUCTOR
Cristian Măcelaru
Cristian Măcelaru is Music Director of the Orchestre National de France and Artistic Director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Widely regarded as one of the most gifted conductors of his generation, he is celebrated for his commitment to new music and his ability to bring composers' visions to life with clarity and conviction.
KONTROL was commissioned with the generous support of Henry and Carole Klyce
for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
WORLD PREMIERE
August 8, 2026
Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music · Santa Cruz, CA
GET TICKETS →“With prompts, you can create websites and you can create music, and the things they’re trying to sell us — the tech bros — is that we aren’t of need anymore,” she said. “I wanted to reverse engineer that idea of ‘Can we use the technology of what’s happening and make art with it?'”
Clarice Assad
Composer
