Artist Spotlight: Midori Samson

On her recent musical piece, A Visit From Ivy, and her extraterrestrial inspiration

This post is the first in a series of artist profiles on Soft Star. This series seeks to highlight writers and artists creating work that aligns with the Soft Star ethos of optimistic futurism and speculative fiction.

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Meet Midori Samson

Dr. Midori Samson (she/her) is the Instructional Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Illinois State University and plays section bassoon in the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. Recent collaborators include Yo-Yo Ma and Youth Music Culture Guangdong (China), Mashirika Theater Company (Rwanda), Artists Striving to End Poverty (India), and Flying Carpet Festival (Turkey).

A Visit From Ivy

Samson: “My electroacoustic compositions use found soundscapes and electronic distortion to explore themes of nature, imagination, whimsy, and horror. Professionally, I am a musician, educator, and social work scholar; personally, I am a mixed-race Asian woman and bisexual person. These intersecting identities are inseparable from my musicianship and influence everything I create, including this new work. 

A Visit from Ivy was composed in the forest of the Hudson Valley during a residency at the Fishkill Ridge Creative Arts Retreat. In those woods, thick ropes of ivy creep their way up nearly every tree and leave scars and scratches in their path. As I gazed at them on daily hikes, it was hard not to imagine that they are signs of life from another universe—how could these creatures be from Planet Earth? 

This soundscape is my attempt re-creating at the audio that played in my mind as I imagined their journey here to earth. How did they arrive here? What is the intention of their visit? Do they really mean to harm us with their poison stingers? 

Even though much of the music imitates the soundtrack of their vines climbing back to their extraterrestrial home, the music ends with hopefulness that we can live in harmony with each other. Audio materials in the track include forest field recordings, melodies played on old egg slicers, prepared piano, and EBow. I am so grateful to my collaborators Satoko Hayami and Zachary Pulse who also performed on this track.”

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