Community & Alumni Blog
Alumnus debuts new oratorio with experimental ensemble, Geräuschbiest
Trees, antlers, piano tuning pins, and bicycle parts – these are just a few of the found objects Canadian Mennonite University alumnus Jesse Krause has used to build his own instruments.
Krause uses these homemade instruments to perform in Geräuschbiest, an experimental ensemble that also includes his brother, Thomas (CMU ‘13).
The Krause brothers with some of Jesse's
homemade instruments.
Geräuschbiest will perform David and Jonathan, a brand new oratorio Krause wrote, at St. Margaret’s Anglican Church in Winnipeg this weekend. Inspired by the biblical book of Samuel, the oratorio explores the relationship between the titular characters.
It’s a story Krause has always felt a connection to.
“It’s an examination of friendship in difficult times,” says the 29-year-old, who was born and raised in British Columbia before moving to Winnipeg in 2003 to begin his studies at CMU.
Krause graduated with his Bachelor of Music in 2009 and formed Geräuschbiest three years later, marrying the German words for noise and beast to create the ensemble’s name.
For Krause, a classically trained musician who previously fronted the acclaimed indie rock band Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers, Geräuschbiest is an opportunity to explore the intersection of experimental instruments and avant-garde sacred choral music.
The group premiered its first oratorio, Beltheshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar, three years ago. The performance was a collaboration with the Riel Gentlemen’s Choir, a men’s choir Krause co-founded and directs.
The performance earned Geräuschbiest a spot opening for acclaimed violinist Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire) at the West End Cultural Centre as part of the 2013 WSO New Music Festival.
When it comes to finding inspiration for Geräuschbiest’s material, Krause enjoys mining lesser-known parts of the Bible.
“There are all these fascinating stories, a lot of which don’t get a lot of airtime but nonetheless add a lot of nuance to how we view God, and our relationship with God and the world,” Krause says. “Exploring that has been really meaningful for me.”
CMU President Cheryl Pauls, who taught in the university’s School of Music when Krause was a student, has something to do with the beginnings of his homemade instruments.
“I’d started [building them] a little bit while I was at CMU, writing papers for Cheryl Pauls – or maybe instead of writing papers for Cheryl Pauls,” Krause says.
He got to explore his instrument-building interests academically during an independent study course he took under Pauls’ supervision.
The Riel Gentlemen's Choir.
“If you make new instruments, then new music just comes out of that because of the way instruments sort of force our bodies into particular gestures, and interact with our ears and our hands in ways that we don’t necessarily expect,” Krause says. “There’s an unpredictable quality to instruments.”
Krause’s musical experience is diverse, ranging from extensive choral singing at CMU, writing, directing, producing, and starring in an original rock opera based on the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, playing the title role in several productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as extensive touring and recording with Flying Fox.
Krause, who lives in Winnipeg’s River Heights neighbourhood with his wife, Megan (Driedger, CMU ‘06), is a guitar teacher at CMU’s Community School of Music & the Arts as well as Quest Musique.
He is also involved at St. Margaret’s, where he occasionally writes music for worship.
The experience has taught him to write beautiful music that is accessible enough for the musicians to perform in a relatively short amount of time.
Writing music that is more widely accessible has reminded Krause of the value in making music for people, rather than for impersonal, professional achievement.
Krause began working on David and Jonathan last year.
Krause sees music as a vocation rather than an occupation, an idea he first picked up on during his studies at CMU.
There is also an element of service to Krause’s musical endeavours.
“I find myself being more and more open to a life of music within this city and working on a local scale, and making music to improve my life and the lives of the people around me rather than seeing music as a path to success or fame or whatever drives people,” he says.
Krause is looking forward to the two performances of David and Jonathan, which include collaborations with the Riel Gentlemen’s Choir and Antiphony, a seven-member a cappella ensemble.
“The goal with [the oratorio] is for the whole experience to feel very immersive,” Krause says.
“The music and sort of the way that it’s put together will hopefully draw people into the narrative and just allow them to experience the story.”
See Geräuschbiest perform David and Jonathan at St. Margaret's Anglican Church (160 Ethelbert St.) on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6. Tickets are $15 at the door. Doors open at 8 PM and the music starts at 8:30 PM. Visit www.jessekrausemusic.com.
Print This Blog Post