WE DID IT!
On Saturday, May 18, 2024, twenty-nine pianists from across Kansas successfully performed all 840 repetitions of Erik Satie’s “Vexations” simultaneously across the city of Wichita!
View photos from this amazing day of piano performances below:
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On what Friends University Fine Arts have dubbed “Satieday”, Saturday May 18, 2024 will be a day of eccentric performances celebrating the life and work of the composer Erik Satie! Including a city-wide performance of the enigmatic piece “Vexations“, and a theatrical finale concert celebrating the composer and his contemporaries.
“Vexations”
In a Kansas premiere, Friends University Fine Arts will host a performance of the enigmatic avant-garde composition “Vexations” by Erik Satie. Written in 1893 but not published until 1949, Satie’s “Vexations” consists of four presentations of a theme which must be repeated 840 times in a single performance, ranging from 18 to 35 hours.
Various sites in Wichita will host the marathon performance between 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. The spaces provided by our creative partners will ensure that each portion of “Vexations” is unique to the venue.
Here’s the “Vexations” schedule;
CityArts | 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. – The Boardroom, 1st floor (free)
Exploration Place | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Waterway Hall (free)
Wichita Art Museum | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – River Lobby, playing the Painted Piano (free)
Sedgwick County Zoo | 11 a.m – 3 p.m. – Stingray Cantina (included with the price of zoo admission)
Mark Arts | 12 – 4 p.m. – Main Gallery (free)
Earn a “Satieday” ribbon by collecting a stamp from each venue! Collect 3+ stamps on your “Satieday” postcard (available at each venue during “Vexations”) and show to a Satieday/Friends University staff member at the location, or the Satieday Finale Concert, to claim your prize!
Read our press release here.
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“Satieday” Finale Concert
In celebration of Satie’s 158th birthday, members of the piano faculty at Friends University will conclude the day-long performance of “Vexations” with a recital of well-known music by the composer and his contemporaries in Alumni Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., with a themed reception to follow.
View the program for the Satieday Finale Program here.
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“Satieday” In the News
The Shout interviewed Dr. James Knight and Leigh Barton-Green (fine arts events coordinator) about the development of “Satieday”, Vexations and all the upcoming festivities. Read all about it here.
…what’s that sound?
Starting Saturday, April 13 at 1 p.m., you will be able to hear Erik Satie’s “Vexations” from the bell tower at Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum!
Friends University Fine Arts has been granted exclusive access to the carillon, the keyboard instrument that operates the bells, in order to celebrate the countdown to “Satieday“, May 18 2024.
If you see this sign outside the museum, be sure to listen between 1-1:15 p.m. every Saturday for Dr. James Knight and the intriguing sounds of this unique piece of music.
Thank you to Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, Lynn Davis and all of our partner venues.
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Who was Erik Satie?
Erik Satie (1866-1925) was a French composer and pianist, known for his unconventional and unique lifestyle and approach to music. Satie studied music at the Paris Conservatoire, but subsequently dropped out, having been labeled as a lazy student. From 1888 he played piano at the café Le Chat Noir and became a popular figure within the Dada and Surrealist movements.
Satie’s short piano works, such as “Vexations“, are unconventional and they characteristically take the form of parody, with flippant titles such as Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear (1903) or with poetic notations such as ‘In order to play the motif 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobility’, as written for “Vexations“.
Erik Satie was known to only eat white colored foods, wear identical grey velvet suits, had a vast collection of umbrellas, avoided sunlight and was the sole member of a cult he founded!
Help us celebrate the man and the music on “Satieday”, Saturday May 18, 2024!