Alexander Bonus

(aka Revolting Robots)

Orphic Rites

for modular synthesizer and living musical improviser

2026

world premiere

Orphic Rites reimagines the semi-divine, mythological musician Orpheus as an electro-acoustic performer. Orpheus’ music was, by its very subject matter, of universal significance. His harmonic artistry was inspired by the harmonic motion of the universe itself, the Neoplatonic “Music of the Spheres.” In the Middle Ages, the Byzantine scholar John Tzetzes recounted the natural world’s attraction to Orpheus:

Greatest of all musicians whom light has seen,

So much so that he charmed stones, beasts, growing things, and things of all natures,

With his music, and drew them behind him.

As sonically depicted in this premiere performance, the prophetic musician arrives within the heart of nature, where he soon attracts all living beings and inanimate objects through his alluring sonic incantations. This is Orpheus far from the Underworld: He is the magical musical prophet, whose music concerns the heavens above. He sings a universal story without words.

Featuring analog modular synthesizers and audio-responsive video, Orphic Rites is presented as a live, semi-improvised musical ritual—a sonic meditation on the human spirit within the cosmos, an Orphic theme variously expressed across time, space, and technology.

Bio

Alexander Bonus (aka Revolting Robots) brings extensive international experience creating and performing works that challenge the stylistic boundaries between the past and the present. An active improviser on historical instruments, including the harpsichord, chamber organ, and cornetto, Dr. Bonus now applies his instrumental expertise to modular synthesizers and computer systems in live performance.

His electro-acoustic compositions often evoke a “surrealistic” sound world (The Cleveland Plain Dealer) and are performed across America. Alexander Bonus’ one-movement concerto for trombone and electronics, Mahler Fantasy, was performed and recorded by the Associate Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic. Recent recital-length works in Vienna, Guben, Zielona Góra, Berlin, and New York highlight Bonus' uncommon approaches to keyboard improvisation and live modular synthesis.

More musical media by Alexander Bonus (aka Revolting Robots) are found at:

www.revoltingrobots.bandcamp.com

www.instagram.com/revoltingrobots

https://www.youtube.com/@revolting-robots-records