Theremin Sensors Workshop with Andrei Smirnov :: May 18 - 22, 2009; 12:00 - 6:00 pm :: NK, ElsenStr. 52 (2.Hof) Berlin, Germany :: Course Participation fee: 100 euros :: Registration required (limited to 12) — email enka_nkATgmxDOTde

This intensive workshop offers hands-on introduction to interactive systems, based on the theremin-sensor technology developed by Andrei Smirnov and based on the same principle as a well known electronic musical instrument the Theremin, invented by Russian inventor Leon Theremin in 1919. The sensors are small and sensitive digital Theremins useful for numerous applications including motion tracking, gestural interfacing, monitoring of small variations of electrical capacitances related to any sorts of conductive materials and media, including metal objects, foil, liquids, water, human body, plants, metal threads, thin plastic films with metallization, all sorts of Christmas stuff etc. Continue reading

Rafael Toral: The Space Program :: May 8, 2009; 8:00 pm :: EMPAC, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY.

From Lisbon, musician Rafael Toral presents a collection of his Space Studies, a series of works exploring different combinations of gestural control and sonic palette. Each study is an interdependent spatial and aural exploration that together create an instrument of Toral’s own design. These instruments require visible performance techniques that in many cases are more akin to dance than to what we think of as part of a laptop or electronic music performance (clicking, knobbing, mousing, buttoning). Continue reading

Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center presents Gestures and Responsive Media — with Pamela Z, Elliott Sharp, Zach Layton, Sha Xin Wei, Sawako, Bill Hsu & James Fei :: May 14 - 16, 2009; 8.30 pm :: Roulette, 20 Greene Street, (between Canal & Grand)

Produced in partnership with Roulette’s Mixology Festival, Gestures and Responsive Media consists of three concert programs focusing on modern experiments in performance technology. Central to this series is the exciting way that live performers are exploring the use of gesture to control computers and building technological environments for free, improvisatory play. From Pamela Z’s gesture-based vocal experiments to Sha Xin Wei’s phenomenological experiments with movement and media, the presenting artists not only expand the boundaries of traditional performance and instrumentation, but also humanize electronics through creative means. Continue reading

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Pamela Z and Dan Joseph- solo sets :: October 25, 2008; 8:00 pm :: LISTEN/SPACE, 195 Skillman Avenue (@ Humboldt), Brooklyn, NY.

Pamela Z will present a set of new and existing works for voice, electronics, sampled sounds, and processed found objects. Dan Joseph presents a new work-in-progress for solo hammer dulcimer and electronics that offers a new perspective on this ancient and largely unknown instrument.

Pamela Z is a composer/performer who makes solo works combining a wide range of vocal techniques with electronic processing, sampled sounds, and The BodySynth™ gesture controller. She has also composed scores for dance, film, and new music chamber ensembles. Continue reading

Origami is the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. Its goal is to represent an object using only one piece of square paper, which is then folded and creased in intricate ways. American artist Joo Youn Paek has recently combined this traditional art form with contemporary digital sound mixing processes, via an interactive installation called Fold Loud. The installation consists of three square pieces of paper with opened circuits made out of conductive fabrics, which are stitched in place. The sheets are creased according to three origami bases: the balloon, the kite and the dog.

When the papers are folded along the crease lines, a circuit is closed and a sound is emitted. Each fold is assigned to a different human vocal sound so that combinations of folds create harmonies. Users have to bend multiple Fold Loud sheets together to produce a chorus of voices. But in order to generate a harmonic sound, users need to carefully fold and repeat their gestures, focusing on a slow and patient process. Continue reading

Sculpt: An interactive sound/image work for sensor gloves - MEME Thesis Performance by Robert Griffin Byron :: April 1, 2008; 8:00 pm :: Grant Recital Hall (behind Orwig Music Bldg., corner of Hope Street and Young Orchard Avenue), Brown University.

Sculpt is work for sensor gloves, interactive electronics and interactive projected image that explores the relationship between synthetic sound and synthetic image through the tactile nuance of human gesture.

Robert Griffin Byron won the A.B.C. Young Composer’s Award in 1995. Since then, Byron’s chamber music and orchestral works have been heard all across Australia, the United States, and Asia. His work has been performed by the most of Australia’s state orchestras. Continue reading

Flocking Orchestra (aka DT1) by Tatsuo Unemi and Daniel Bisig: DT1 is an interactive installation that employs flocking algorithms to produce music and visuals. The user’s motions are captured by a video camera and influence the flock’s behaviour. Each agent moving in a virtual 3D space controls a MIDI instrument whose playing style depends on the agent’s state. In this system, the user acts as a conductor influencing the flock’s musical activity. In addition to gestural interaction, the acoustic properties of the system can be modified on the fly by using an intuitive GUI. The acoustical and visual output of the system results from the combination of the flock’s and user’s behaviour. It therefore creates on the behavioural level a mixing of natural and artificial reality. The system has been designed to run an a variety of different computational configuration ranging from small laptops to exhibition scale installations.

Open Space introduces a New Music Workshop Series facilitated by an array of local and visiting composers, musicians and sound artists, each offering their unique perspective on the creation of real-time music. All workshops are hands on, offer musicians of all abilities a place and time to explore their craft and practice in a group setting.

Workshop: Music Improvisation – gadgets and non-traditional instruments :: Presenters: Gayle Young, Jeff Morton, Tina Pearson :: Date: October 29, 7 pm, Open Space. Drop in fee - Focuses on alternate objects, tools and ‘instruments’, and discusses the authority of musical gesture. Gayle Young’s Amaranth and Columbine, tuned tubing, circuit boards, circuit bent electronics, circuit boards, no-input mixer, contact mics, toys, bells and other gadgets will be available to explore – and bring your own stuff. Continue reading

Bodily Movement and the Music Theory Paradigm: The University of Oslo Department of Musicology is developing the Musical Gestures Toolbox, a collection of applications with useful features for video and audio analysis. The toolbox is built with Max / MSP / Jitter from Cycling ‘74, and will be available as standalone applications for Mac OS X and Windows, as well as the original patches.

It features: (1) Video capturing from USB/FW-cameras (2) Playback of video files (any QuickTime-readable format) (3) Adjustable resolution and playback rate (4) Brightness, contrast, saturation controls (5) Zoom, offset and displacement controls (6) Cropping functions (drag and crop) (7) Automatic cropping based on contraction (8) Computer vision analysis (9) Save snapshots and image sequences (10) Save video from the analysis (11) Contraction and centre of gravity (12) Audio analysis: spectrogram, sonogram, spectral centroid, noisiness, loudness… Continue reading