Keynote Speaker Charles Nichols "Composing Human-Computer Interactivity for Musical Performance"
Composer, violinist, and computer music researcher, Charles Nichols (www.charlesnichols.com) is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech, and has earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Yale University, and Stanford University. He has presented his compositions, including acoustic and electroacoustic music, and research, including telematic musical performance over Internet2, haptic musical human-computer interface design, and wavelet audio analysis and resynthesis, at national and international conferences and festivals. He has received support from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New Music USA, and Prop Foundation, and recognition from the National Academy of Music, La Fundación Destellos, Institut de Bourges, ASCAP, and the Montana Arts Council. Recently he was a visiting scholar, at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast, N. Ireland, a visiting composer, with the Namaste Ensemble in Città di Castello and Rome, Italy, and a resident, at the Ucross and Brush Creek Foundations, in Wyoming. His latest premieres include Nicolo, Jimi, and John, a concerto, for amplified viola, interactive computer processing, and orchestra, three movements, based on the virtuosity of Paganini, Hendrix, and Coltrane, performed by Brett Deubner, and the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Darko Butorac, and This Edge I Have To Jump, a multimedia collaboration with video artist Joan Grossman, composer Eric Lyon, and programmer Carol Burch-Brown, commissioned for the opening of the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech.
www.music.vt.edu/faculty/nichols/
www.charlesnichols.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/CharlesSNicholsII
www.music.vt.edu/faculty/nichols/
www.charlesnichols.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/CharlesSNicholsII
Virginia Tech Linux Laptop Orchestra (L2Ork)
L2Ork (Linux Laptop Orchestra)
Virginia Tech
Brock Allen
Wisdom Ebirim
Mason Gottschalk
Chris Kurmel
Erik Rodriguez
Paul Sathre
Charles Nichols, director
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Pinnacle (2013) - Chris Kurmel
Event Horizon (2013) - Paul Sathre
Poluushko-Polye (2013) - Erfan Faneian
The Transition (2013) - Wisdom Ebirim
Cataclysm in Orleans (2013) - Brock Allen
Cacophony of a Dream (2013) - Mason Gottschalk
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Program Notes
Often a long and arduous journey, reaching the top of a mountain is a transformative journey. Pinnacle was inspired by the work Apotheosis by Austin Wintory, and the challenge to convey the journey to the top of a mountain within a soundscape. Performers utilize three sound files: a religious chant, a descriptive sound, and a bell or gong. These help create a complex and thick atmosphere, filled with religious overtones and musical complexity.
Inspired by the exponential evolution of technology observed over the span of human history, Event Horizon seeks to address the concept of a "Technological Singularity". Coined by mathematician and computer scientist John von Neumann, and popularized by contemporaries such as Ray Kurzweil, the concept suggests that as technological growth accelerates it must inevitably lead to a fundamental change to the experience of being human. A selection of sounds representing pivotal technologies from across the last 10,000 years emerge, sustain, and retract in correlation with their lifespans. The ten millennia of sound are mapped onto a five minute performance using a logarithmic time scale, which lays bare technology's exponential trend; the first minute's 9,000 years are barely a ripple to the second's tumultuous 900 years, and so forth. The piece culminates with a single final question: which side of the horizon does today find us on?
Polyushko-polye, "field, my field", is a Russian traditional song, that was originally performed in 1933. This piece has been played on various musical instruments, such as the violin and piano. Polyushko-polye is one of the most popular Russian songs, for the past 70 years.
From a stormy night to a busy city morning, this piece uses to different sounds assigned to different players to create a transition/time lapse from a stormy night with rains and thunders. Then we hear the crickets and frogs. Finally, we hear the alarms and sirens going off, signifying the starts of a new busy morning. This piece uses a lot of reverb, clip speed and encourages lots freehand controls.
New Orleans is a harbor of culture that creates an atmosphere unlike any other city. The unique street artists give the city an anthem and the streets a melody. The city has endured many disasters and hardships, but the streets still sing. My piece reflects the soulful sounds of New Orleans while the noise and chaos of the city are present in the ears of its listeners. Just as the city has persevered its hardships, the underlying melodies can be perceived through the noise.
Cacophony of a Dream is an exploration of cacophony, as well as creating and distorting a unique soundscape. The overall structure of the piece emulates a dream, in which the volume increases over time, with a startling interruption, where once back asleep, the same dream starts back where it left off, only fading now, but leaving unsettling images. For this piece, each of the 7 performers were assigned three sound files, which are processed using the motion, position, and buttons of Wii remotes. This piece relies heavily on delays, pitch shift, and creative sampling of the sound files, in order to create very particular textures, throughout.
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Composer Bios
Chris Kurmel is a third year Music Technology major at Virginia Tech. His main instrument is piano, and he also plays guitar, percussion, and viola. Prior to attending Virginia Tech, he studied piano for 12 years with Kimberly Dawson of Alexandria, Virginia. Currently, he is taking piano lessons with Dr. Kent Holliday, and studying audio technology with Professor Michael Dunston. His compositions are inspired by film and video game music. Chris is a member of the Virginia Tech Linux Laptop Orchestra (L2Ork).
A post-M.S. Research Associate in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech, Paul Sathre has been a performing member of L2Ork since the fall of 2012. Prior to attending Virginia Tech for consecutive B.S/M.S., Paul studied french horn and trumpet under the direction of Mike Brown of Bluefield, VA for seven years. A newcomer to the art of computer music composition, Paul is interested in exploring the intersection of his day job in High Performance Computing Research with both ubiquitous computing trends and generative audio/visual "hyper-arts".
Erfan Faneian was born in Tehran, Iran. He transferred to the Bradley department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech in Fall 2011. Erfan has played guitar for the past 10 years. His primary musical styles are Classical and Flamenco. Mr. Faneian graduated in Fall 2013.
Wisdom Ebirim is a Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics major, hoping to switch into Mechanical Engineering after this Spring semester. He plays the keyboard, bass guitar and drums, and joined the laptop orchestra during the Fall 2013 semester.
Brock Allen is a sophomore in Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. Brock has been playing saxophone for 10 years, receiving formal training from the Governors School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia and private lessons with Tommy Loyola. Combining his two passions, Brock has explored his interest in music technology by joining the Virginia Tech Linux laptop Orchestra (L2Ork).
A sophomore studying Music Composition, Piano Performance, and Music Technology, Mason Gottschalkhas performed a variety of computer music pieces, and composed a number of pieces for the medium. Having been a member of L2Ork, since he began studying at Virginia Tech, he has performed a number of different styles of composition, in the Laptop Orchestra. Mason’s most common compositional focus has been writing for cello and realizing computer music.
Virginia Tech
Brock Allen
Wisdom Ebirim
Mason Gottschalk
Chris Kurmel
Erik Rodriguez
Paul Sathre
Charles Nichols, director
-----
Pinnacle (2013) - Chris Kurmel
Event Horizon (2013) - Paul Sathre
Poluushko-Polye (2013) - Erfan Faneian
The Transition (2013) - Wisdom Ebirim
Cataclysm in Orleans (2013) - Brock Allen
Cacophony of a Dream (2013) - Mason Gottschalk
-----
Program Notes
Often a long and arduous journey, reaching the top of a mountain is a transformative journey. Pinnacle was inspired by the work Apotheosis by Austin Wintory, and the challenge to convey the journey to the top of a mountain within a soundscape. Performers utilize three sound files: a religious chant, a descriptive sound, and a bell or gong. These help create a complex and thick atmosphere, filled with religious overtones and musical complexity.
Inspired by the exponential evolution of technology observed over the span of human history, Event Horizon seeks to address the concept of a "Technological Singularity". Coined by mathematician and computer scientist John von Neumann, and popularized by contemporaries such as Ray Kurzweil, the concept suggests that as technological growth accelerates it must inevitably lead to a fundamental change to the experience of being human. A selection of sounds representing pivotal technologies from across the last 10,000 years emerge, sustain, and retract in correlation with their lifespans. The ten millennia of sound are mapped onto a five minute performance using a logarithmic time scale, which lays bare technology's exponential trend; the first minute's 9,000 years are barely a ripple to the second's tumultuous 900 years, and so forth. The piece culminates with a single final question: which side of the horizon does today find us on?
Polyushko-polye, "field, my field", is a Russian traditional song, that was originally performed in 1933. This piece has been played on various musical instruments, such as the violin and piano. Polyushko-polye is one of the most popular Russian songs, for the past 70 years.
From a stormy night to a busy city morning, this piece uses to different sounds assigned to different players to create a transition/time lapse from a stormy night with rains and thunders. Then we hear the crickets and frogs. Finally, we hear the alarms and sirens going off, signifying the starts of a new busy morning. This piece uses a lot of reverb, clip speed and encourages lots freehand controls.
New Orleans is a harbor of culture that creates an atmosphere unlike any other city. The unique street artists give the city an anthem and the streets a melody. The city has endured many disasters and hardships, but the streets still sing. My piece reflects the soulful sounds of New Orleans while the noise and chaos of the city are present in the ears of its listeners. Just as the city has persevered its hardships, the underlying melodies can be perceived through the noise.
Cacophony of a Dream is an exploration of cacophony, as well as creating and distorting a unique soundscape. The overall structure of the piece emulates a dream, in which the volume increases over time, with a startling interruption, where once back asleep, the same dream starts back where it left off, only fading now, but leaving unsettling images. For this piece, each of the 7 performers were assigned three sound files, which are processed using the motion, position, and buttons of Wii remotes. This piece relies heavily on delays, pitch shift, and creative sampling of the sound files, in order to create very particular textures, throughout.
-----
Composer Bios
Chris Kurmel is a third year Music Technology major at Virginia Tech. His main instrument is piano, and he also plays guitar, percussion, and viola. Prior to attending Virginia Tech, he studied piano for 12 years with Kimberly Dawson of Alexandria, Virginia. Currently, he is taking piano lessons with Dr. Kent Holliday, and studying audio technology with Professor Michael Dunston. His compositions are inspired by film and video game music. Chris is a member of the Virginia Tech Linux Laptop Orchestra (L2Ork).
A post-M.S. Research Associate in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech, Paul Sathre has been a performing member of L2Ork since the fall of 2012. Prior to attending Virginia Tech for consecutive B.S/M.S., Paul studied french horn and trumpet under the direction of Mike Brown of Bluefield, VA for seven years. A newcomer to the art of computer music composition, Paul is interested in exploring the intersection of his day job in High Performance Computing Research with both ubiquitous computing trends and generative audio/visual "hyper-arts".
Erfan Faneian was born in Tehran, Iran. He transferred to the Bradley department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech in Fall 2011. Erfan has played guitar for the past 10 years. His primary musical styles are Classical and Flamenco. Mr. Faneian graduated in Fall 2013.
Wisdom Ebirim is a Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics major, hoping to switch into Mechanical Engineering after this Spring semester. He plays the keyboard, bass guitar and drums, and joined the laptop orchestra during the Fall 2013 semester.
Brock Allen is a sophomore in Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. Brock has been playing saxophone for 10 years, receiving formal training from the Governors School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia and private lessons with Tommy Loyola. Combining his two passions, Brock has explored his interest in music technology by joining the Virginia Tech Linux laptop Orchestra (L2Ork).
A sophomore studying Music Composition, Piano Performance, and Music Technology, Mason Gottschalkhas performed a variety of computer music pieces, and composed a number of pieces for the medium. Having been a member of L2Ork, since he began studying at Virginia Tech, he has performed a number of different styles of composition, in the Laptop Orchestra. Mason’s most common compositional focus has been writing for cello and realizing computer music.