About Cris Forster

 

2005 Video Performance

   

 

1948: ..... Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1954: ..... Immigrated to Berlin, Germany.
1958: ..... Immigrated to New York, New York.
1961: ..... Moved to California.
1966: ..... Became U.S. citizen.
1970: ..... B.A. in history, cum laude, University of California, Santa Cruz.
1974: ..... B.A. in music, piano performance, Lone Mountain College, San Francisco.
1975: ..... Began building original instruments.
1976: ..... Received a Special Projects Grant from the California Arts Council to compose and perform Song of Myself: Intoned Poems of Walt Whitman for voice, Chrysalis, and Harmonic/Melodic Canon.

1976–1980:

 ..... Curator, archivist, and performer for the Harry Partch Foundation.  Tuned, repaired, and rebuilt virtually all the Partch instruments;  performed as string player and percussionist.  In 1980, coordinated and supervised a tour of the Partch instruments to Berlin and Cologne;  played Marimba Eroica in Partch's The Bewitched in Berlin and Cologne;  performed Song of Myself: Intoned Poems of Walt Whitman in Berlin.
1981–1990: ..... Built and rebuilt original instruments.  Established the Chrysalis Foundation in 1982.  Wrote compositions;  gave public performances throughout California.
1991–2000: ..... Wrote Musical Mathematics: A Practice in the Mathematics of Tuning Instruments and Analyzing Scales.  (See: M.M. Pages and M.M. Advance Orders.)
2001–2007: ..... Edited and indexed Musical Mathematics;  improved the instruments;  wrote new compositions for Ellis Island/Angel Island: A Vision of the American Immigrants;  gave public and private performances.

 

 

 

Writings on Cris Forster

 

Editors.  “Cris Forster.”  In Für Augen und Ohren, Magazine of the Berlin Music Festival.  January–February, 1980, pp. 16–17.  Dr. Ulrich Eckhardt, Publisher.  Berlin, Germany.

 

Sybill Mahlke.  “Barde mit zwei Saitenspielen.”  Der Tagesspiegel.  January 25, 1980.  Berlin, Germany.  (English translation.)

 

Doug Garr.  “The Endless Scale.”  Omni.  March, 1981, p. 48.  New York, New York.

 

Robert McDonald.  “Cris Forster: Making Music.”  San Diego Magazine.  September, 1982, pp. 136–139, 198, 228.  San Diego, California.

 

David Fleischer.  “Sounds of Infinity.”  Connoisseur.  August, 1983, pp. 102, 105.  New York, New York.

 

Joan Levine.  “Expanded Musical Palette is Inventor’s Note-able Goal.”  The Tribune.  September 6, 1983.  San Diego, California.

 

Todd Brewster.  “A Medley of New Instruments: A Wheel Like the Wind.”  Life Magazine.  November, 1983, p. 142.  New York, New York.

 

Editors.  “Klingen wie der Wind.”  Stern.  January, 1984, pp. 146–148.  Hamburg, Germany.

 

Davies, H. (1984).  “Microtonal Instruments,” pp. 656–657.  In The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, Volume 2, S. Sadie, Editor.  Macmillan Press Limited, London, England.

 

Drye, S.L. (1984).  The History and Development of the Musical Glasses, pp. 46–49.  Master’s thesis, North Texas State University.

 

Vas Arnautoff.  “Hill Musician Composes, Builds Own Instruments.”  The Potrero View.  November, 1985, p. 5.  San Francisco, California.

 

Editors.  “This Californian and His Bearings are Making Beautiful Music Together.”  Precisionist: A Publication of the Torrington Company.  Summer, 1987, pp. 14–15.  Torrington, Connecticut.

 

Cathleen Bowen.  “Making Music from Scratch.”  Métier.  Fall, 1987, p. 7.  San Francisco, California.

 

Jerry Snider.  “Chrysalis: A Transformation in Music.”  Magical Blend.  April, 1989, pp. 98–102.  San Francisco, California.

 

Bart Hopkin.  “Review.”  Experimental Musical Instruments V, No. 6.  April, 1990, p. 4.  Nicasio, California.

 

Editors.  “Forster, Cris.”  PITCH for the International Microtonalist I, No. 4, Spring 1990, p. 142.  Johnny Reinhard, Editor.  New York, New York.

 

David Canright.  “Performance: Concert in Celebration of the Chrysalis New Music Studio – Instruments and Music by Cris Forster.”  1/1, the Journal of the Just Intonation Network 11, No. 4.  Spring, 2004, pp. 19–20.  San Francisco, California.  (See: Concert Review 1.)

 

 

Videos on Cris Forster

 

Gaikowski, R., Producer and Director (1988).  Musical Wood, Steel, and Glass: A video featuring Cris Forster, composer, musician, inventor.  One Way Films/Videos, San Francisco, California.

 

Noyes, E., Director and Editor; Forster, H., Producer and Writer (2006).  A Voyage in Music: A retrospective of Cris Forster’s work over the past thirty years.  A Chrysalis Foundation production.  San Francisco, California.

 

 

 

Articles by Cris Forster

 

●  “Chrysalis.”  Interval: A Microtonal Newsletter. Spring 1978, pp. 6–8.  Jonathan Glasier, Editor.  San Diego, California.

 

●  “Harmonic/Melodic Canon.” Interval: A Microtonal Newsletter.  Fall, 1978, pp. 17–19.  Jonathan Glasier, Editor.  San Diego, California.

 

●  “Introduction to Everything; Chrysalis; Harmonic/Melodic Canon; Diamond Marimba; Diamond Marimba Score: Ascent of the Phoenix.”  Xenharmonikon 7+8, Vol. 4, Nos. 1+2, Spring, 1979, pp. 1–20.  Dr. John H. Chalmers, Editor.

 

●  “Song of Myself: Intoned Poems of Walt Whitman.”  Interval: A Microtonal Newsletter.  Spring/Summer 1979, p. 44.  Jonathan Glasier, Editor.  San Diego, California.

 

●  “Conversion Analysis: Ratios to Cents.”  Interval: A Microtonal Newsletter.  Winter 1979, p. 5.  Jonathan Glasier, Editor.  San Diego, California. 

 

●  “Diamond Marimba.”  Interval: A Microtonal Newsletter.  Winter 1979, pp. 16–18.  Jonathan Glasier, Editor.  San Diego, California.

 

●  “Harry Partch: Ein Bildnis,” (“Harry Partch: A Portrait”).  In Für Augen und Ohren, Magazine of the Berlin Music Festival.  January–February, 1980, pp. 10–13.  Dr. Ulrich Eckhardt, Publisher.  Berlin, Germany.

 

●  “When the Music's Over.”  Omni.  May, 1981, p. 14.  New York, New York.

 

●  Reflections on building, tuning, and persevering; and on Song of Myself: Intoned Poems of Walt Whitman.  In Sonic Art, Catalog of The Art Gallery at California State College, San Bernardino.  February–March, 1982, pp. 12–13.  Marlin Halverson, Editor.  San Bernardino, California.

 

●  Descriptions of five original acoustic instruments; and of the Chrysalis Foundation.  In Making Music, Catalog of the California Crafts Museum.  February–April, 1987.  Bill Mellentin, Editor.  San Francisco, California.

 

●  “Plain String Calculations.”  Experimental Musical Instruments V, No. 6, April 1990, pp. 10–11.  Bart Hopkin, Editor.  Nicasio, California.

 

●  On the physics of musical glasses and marimba bars.  Experimental Musical Instruments VI, No. 3, October 1990. pp. 4–5.  Bart Hopkin, Editor.  Nicasio, California.

 

●  “Wound String Calculations.”  Experimental Musical Instruments VI, No. 3, October 1990. pp. 14–17.  Bart Hopkin, Editor.  Nicasio, California.