Library Group
Theatre of Eternal Music
La Monte Young's drone ensemble, formed in New York in 1962, later known as The Dream Syndicate.
Formed by La Monte Young in New York in 1962 to play and develop his composition The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys — sustained, slowly shifting drones improvised within Young’s own strict rules of “allowable” harmonic sequences — the Theatre of Eternal Music’s first lineup was Young, Marian Zazeela, Angus MacLise, and Billy Name; from 1964 to 1966 it settled into Young (voice, saxophone), Zazeela (voice, lighting), John Cale (viola), and Tony Conrad (violin), sometimes joined by Terry Riley. Later known as The Dream Syndicate, the group performed across the US East Coast and Western Europe.