By Melissa Alonso | June 12, 2026 - Atlanta, GA
Memory rarely arrives in a straight line. A melody, a voice, or a familiar sound can suddenly transport us decades into the past. In Water Memory (Jala Smriti), a world-premiere opera presented by and , sound becomes the medium through which memory itself is explored.
At the center of that sonic journey is 17cÍøÒ³°æ Tech 17cÍøÒ³°æ faculty member Chaowen Ting, who conducts the production's chamber ensemble, helping bring composer Kitty Brazelton's emotionally layered score to life.
The opera follows Janani, a South Asian woman navigating the early stages of dementia, and her adult children as they grapple with the shifting realities of memory and identity. To tell that story, Brazelton's music moves fluidly between acoustic performance and electronic soundscapes, creating an environment where memories seem to surface, dissolve, and reappear.
For performers and audiences alike, the result is less like watching a traditional opera and more like stepping inside someone's recollections.
Supporting that experience is percussionist TeAiris Majors, whose work combines live performance with recorded audio and electronic elements to create a mixed-reality sonic environment.
The production incorporates Max/MSP technology, a platform widely used in experimental music and interactive media. Through live processing and layered audio design, the system helps blur the boundaries between the physical and emotional worlds of the opera.
Those artistic choices mirror the work's central themes. As Janani's memories become fragmented, the music shifts alongside her experience. Familiar sounds evolve. Rhythms emerge and disappear. Acoustic instruments and electronic textures intermingle, creating a sonic landscape that reflects both uncertainty and connection. The project highlights the growing role of technology within contemporary music performance, while also demonstrating how digital tools can serve storytelling rather than overshadow it.
For the 17cÍøÒ³°æ, Water Memory represents an opportunity to engage with a new generation of operatic work—one that embraces experimentation while remaining grounded in emotional authenticity. The collaboration with The Atlanta Opera also underscores the School's commitment to connecting students and faculty with professional artistic practice and interdisciplinary innovation. At its core, however, Water Memory remains a story about people.
Through sound, performance, and technology, the production invites audiences to experience memory not simply as information stored in the mind, but as something felt in the body, carried through relationships, and expressed through music. In a work centered on remembrance, it is fitting that the score itself becomes a vessel for memory—allowing audiences to hear what words alone cannot fully express.
