Voices at the End Live Show

Voices at the End is John’s big statement about the state, and the future, of civilization. It pulls together concepts and commentary from extraordinary poets, writers, and thinkers; and projects these - as a kind of constantly unfolding haiku - alongside original film content, to an audience in the constant throes of an exhilarating, highly-emotionalised live musical performance.

Voices at the End is 75-minutes long and consists of two works; Voices at the End, and Second-Hand Time. Throughout the show, video and an epic audio sound world create an immersive environment for a virtuosic performance by UK pianist Dawn Hardwick. There is something about bringing these elements together in this way that creates a deep and powerful impression on audiences. The musical language of Voices at the End and Second-Hand Time sits equally well in a festival populated by DJs as it does in a more traditional festival context.

This is a narrative-disrupting, intensely-moving challenge to the status quo, that is as confronting as it is exhilarating and inspiring. The work delivers precisely integrated social commentary on crucial issues like runaway economic models, their impact on society, threats to education, climate, current life and culture, and the future prospects of the human race.

We have intentionally kept presentation options flexible and made the show scalable. Indoors and outdoors are both possible. The show works equally well in a standard concert hall, in intimate and unusual locations, and on the largest-scale (projection onto buildings).

Download the show’s EPK and Tech Rider for further information. The Tech Rider provides information for one example presentation, but many more are possible, simply requiring discussion and collaboration to work through specific requirements.

Voices at the End will be available for touring in the 2025-2027 seasons. If you would like to discuss or require more information for your consideration please contact: John Psathas (Producer | Composer | Operator) at john@jpsathas.com or +64210659845

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Watch the Trailer

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Quote from the Composer

“What could possibly matter more right now than course-correcting the trajectory of our planets’ civilization?  Humanity is in desperate need of difficult conversations, open minds, and the igniting of wide-scale empathy. Voices at the End brings together some of the greatest living minds engaged in offering better narratives about the future. Combining these narratives with dynamic musical performance and film creates an experience that is as intensely confronting as it is exhilarating and inspiring.” John Psathas

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Programme Note

The show consists of two audio-visual works;

Voices at the End (40m) - Inspired by the film Planetary and by environmental activist Joanna Macy

Second- Hand Time (25m) - Inspired by and integrating the words of Adam Curtis, Henry A. Giroux, Brad Evans, Svetlana Alexievich, and Noam Chomsky.

This show explores a new format by combining the emotional power and excitement of virtuosic musical performance with a pre-recorded cinematic audio soundtrack (drawn from real and electronic worlds) and integrating these with synchronised projected text that delivers precisely-timed social commentary on current and crucial issues, such as runaway economic models and their impact on society, education, climate change, the threats to current life and culture, and the future prospects of the human race.

Watch the film content projected during the live performance of Voices at the End

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Second-Hand Time Part 1 The Nature of Reality (live show video content)

Second-Hand Time Part 3 The Aesthetics of Violence (live show video content)

John Psathas Biography

Ioannis (John) Psathas is a New Zealand–Greek composer with a history of large-scale collaborative projects (such as writing for the ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and collaborating with iconic artists such as Salman Rushdie, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Serj Tankian, Oum, and many others). In the last decade, the nature of his work has shifted into a space of urgent social commentary, combining a range of live performance formats and technologies. Having collaborated in electronica, pop, classical, jazz, and multi-ethnic projects, he is now weaving these strands into new work that integrates virtuosic live performance with video, text, and cinematic soundscapes.

‍Dawn Hardwick Biography

Welsh pianist Dawn Hardwick is a London-based soloist, contemporary music specialist, chamber and orchestral musician, widely known as being the UK’s foremost interpreter of the music of John Psathas.

Throughout her career, Dawn has worked closely with numerous high-profile composers such as Steve Reich, Conor Mitchell, Graham Fitkin, Colin Riley, Nico Muhly, Adrian Sutton, and Dave Maric. She spent 13 years as pianist and Director of the multi-piano ensemble ‘Piano Circus’ and performs globally with the UK’s most prestigious orchestras and ensembles such as the Colin Currie Group, The Belfast Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, and many others.  

Dawn is well known for her highly energetic and inspiring masterclasses on performance and inter-disciplinary collaboration at institutions such the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Dawn is a graduate of Chetham’s School of Music (Manchester), the Royal College of Music (London), and holds an Honorary Associateship from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.