Instructions for playing a single note

The possibilities of a single note – whether sung, strummed, plucked, or played – are endless under the conductorial skills of João Renato Orecchia Zúñiga.

Conceptualised and directed by Orecchia and performed by a well-rounded team of musicians and performers, Instructions for playing a single note is a performance that provides audiences with exactly what its name implies. Orecchia, seated just before the stage, is conducting by way of three sign bearers. Each sign contains an instruction directed at a section of the performers – ‘Mezzo Forte’, ‘Pianissimo’, and ‘Fortissimo’ are some of the more traditional instructions given while ‘First 9 items on shopping list’, ‘arms up’, and a sign showing only the ‘<’ symbol lend a wonderful element of playfulness and experimentation to the performance.

Instructions for playing a single note is a humorous work that still manages to stick to the structures of an epic, but it is also a deeply fascinating performance that allows audiences the chance to look beyond the classical structure of a musical performance and into its individual moving parts. It is both a tribute to the length and the possibility of a single note and a shrewd experiment on the attraction and mystification of symbols and instructions.

Possibly, it is a performance that can shift your ways of viewing, hearing, and engaging with a musical performance from here on out.

CONCEPTUALISED AND DIRECTED BY | João Renato Orecchia Zúñiga
PERFORMED BY | Bongile Lecoge-Zulu (flute) | Ray Mupfumira (voice) | Collen Tom (snare drum) | Princess Tshabangu (voice) | Netsayi (voice) | Waldo Alexander (violin)

WRITER | Dave Mann
VIDEO ENGINEER & EDITOR | Noah Cohen
STILLS PHOTOGRAPHER | Nina Lieska