Anne Beal (animation artist) and Christopher Zuar (composer) are developing a project examining the creative process. In 'Tonal Conversations’ the two artists explore the magic that happens in the space between expression and interpretation. Through listening to Christopher compose his music at the piano, Anne creates thousands of paintings that will become a series of animated short films. An average studio session might sound like this: “Hey, Anne, how do I get more of that deep blue color? What part of the tonality is evoking that hue?” Or, “Hey Chris, can you play the second phrase of this piece again? I’m trying to understand the timing so I know how many frames to paint.” The artistic conversation shifts as the work evolves. Christopher's music is performed by a jazz orchestra featuring horns, woodwinds, and percussion. With this new collection of sounds, the work transforms and Anne revisits the animation to develop the film further. The first recording session took place on August 30th, 2018, at the legendary Sear Sound in Manhattan. The Christopher Zuar Orchestra, featuring 20 of New York's foremost jazz musicians, recorded 5 of Christopher's new pieces. The ongoing collaboration between the two artists will manifest as musical animated short films and evening-length multimedia concerts featuring the Christopher Zuar Orchestra. Anne is learning VJing software so that she can manipulate the animation in real-time during concerts. The first edition of 'Tonal Conversations' takes place at 150 Media Stream, a larger-than-life video art installation in downtown Chicago from October 8th, 2018, through November. In this iteration of the project, Anne designs the animation specifically for the 150 Media Stream structure. Chris's music will fill the atrium as people pass through the building. More info here: (https://150mediastream.com/about/) On October 25th, the Christopher Zuar Orchestra will perform at the 150 Media Stream 2018 opening exhibition as a nonet. Thank you for viewing our work-in-progress!

Tonal Conversations is a collaboration between composer, Christopher Zuar, and animation filmmaker, Anne Beal.

Zuar’s GRAMMY-nominated album, Exuberance, was released in 2024, on Tonal Conversations, a label the duo created to house work they co-produce.

Tonal Conversations debuted in its earliest form in Chicago at 150 Media Stream, a larger-than-life video and sound sculpture on the Chicago River, in October 2018. The above video includes footage from the opening performance, animation, and scenes from the Tonal Conversations team at work.

Tonal Conversations’ second project premiered in NYC at the Sheen Center, where the 22-piece Christopher Zuar Orchestra performed Zuar’s latest album, Exuberance. Anne Beal’s live watercolor animation projections supported the music in concert and can also we found on the album art.

Jazz and Animation: Exuberance with the Christopher Zuar Orchestra and Anne Beal Animation, Sheen Center, NYC

Jazz and Animation: Exuberance with the Christopher Zuar Orchestra and Anne Beal Animation. The Sheen Center, NYC, May 11th, 2024.

Anne Beal and Chris Zuar at the Exuberance release concert, New York, 2024.

150 Media Stream press release for Tonal Conversations’ first project, Chicago, 2018.

Learn more about Christopher Zuar’s work as a composer here.

Learn more about Anne Beal’s work as an animation filmmaker here.