Output details
35 - Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts
Queen's University Belfast
Portfolio of Compositions investigating ensemble improvisation, distributed and real-time scoring, and multi-nodal input and output
This portfolio is a collection of compositions which explore ensemble improvisation, ensemble management, real-time and distributed scoring, multi-nodal participation, and animated graphic notation. Compositions include: Activities I; tutti, duet, trio, solo, quartet; Lewitt Notations I; Webwork I; and Sometimes I feel the space between people (voices) in terms of tempos. These compositions are presented in computer animated scores which are synchronized through the network and subject to real-time modification and control. They can be performed by ensembles distributed over large physical spaces. The scores for these compositions are based in software modules which display the animations, structure and disseminate score events, and trigger events. Scores can also incorporate live electronics. These scores are ‘toolkits’, they contain animated graphic objects including time-lapsing metaphors such as clocks/radars, animated cursors, and scrolling graphics. There are physically-modeled bouncing objects for tactus and coordination, curve-following objects giving a precise location within a trajectory, and an expanded palette of symbolic notation which can include video and live visual feeds. These score environments include textures, lighting and camera strategies to investigate visual impact. They are interfaced through the widely adopted Open Sound Control protocol and can be accessed through any device with OSC capability. These works explore system-based models of composition looking at strategies of multiple participation, inter-ensemble relationships as compositional material, and interaction-based models for generating musical form. These works also explore the medium of animated graphic visuals, investigating both the performer and audience’s relationship to the score and the impact animated graphics has, not only as a set of symbolic instructions, but also as pieces of visual media.