Scot Gresham-Lancaster is a composer, performer, instrument builder and educator. He is dedicated to research and performance using the expanding capabilities of computer networks for musical and cross discipline expression. He studied with Philip Ianni, Roy Harris, Darius Milhaud, John Chowning, Robert Ashley, Terry Riley, “Blue” Gene Tyranny and Jack Jarret, among others. Gresham-Lancaster has been a composer in residence at Mills College and he has been developing new families of controllers at STEIM, Amsterdam. He has toured and recorded as a member of the HUB and has performed the music of Alvin Curran, Pauline Oliveros, John Zorn, and John Cage, under their direction. Gresham-Lancaster has also worked as a technical assistant to Lou Harrison, Iannis Xenakis, David Tudor among many others. http://o-art.org/Scot; http://myspace.com/scotgl; blog: http://scotgl.blogspot.com/.

Helen Thorington: Welcome Scot. You were a member of the computer network band, the HUB, and an early pioneer of computer networked music. Tell us about the HUB and the kind of work you, John Bischoff, Tim Perkis, Chris Brown, Mark Trayle and Phil Stone did at that time. Continue reading

Miya Masaoka is a musician, composer and performance artist. She has created works for koto, laser interfaces, laptop and video and written scores for ensembles, chamber orchestras and mixed choirs. In her performance pieces she has investigated the sound and movement of insects, as well as the physiological responses of plants, the human brain, and her own body.

Helen Thorington: Miya, you were trained in Japanese court music as well as contemporary music and I understand have expanded on the playing techniques of the koto – first by using extended techniques, but more importantly, by building a Laser Koto. For those who don’t know, can you tell us about the koto and how you developed it? What is the Laser Koto and how does it work? Continue reading

Amit Pitaru is an artist, designer and researcher of Human Machine Interaction (HCI). As an artist, he develops custom-made musical and animation instruments, and has recently exhibited/performed at the London Design Museum, Paris Pompidou Center, Sundance Film Festival and ICC Museum in Tokyo. He is also a designer with particular interest in Assistive Technologies and Universal Design. He was recently commissioned by the MacArthur Foundation to write a chapter for an upcoming book on his recent work – creating toys and software that are inclusively accessible to people with various disabilities. As an educator, Amit develops curricula that focus on the coupling of technology and the creative thought process. He regularly teaches at New York University’s ITP and Cooper Union’s Arts department.

Helen Thorington: Welcome Amit. I know you’re originally from Israel, but tell us something more. Where did you grow up, what is your educational background and how did you become a musician? Continue reading

Jason Freeman received his B.A. in music from Yale University and his M.A. and D.M.A. in composition from Columbia University. He is currently an assistant professor of music at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. The recipient of numerous awards, including two Turbulence commissions, one for N.A.G. in 2003, the other for Graph Theory in 2006, and a 2005 Rhizome commission for iTunes Signature Maker, Freeman’s works have been performed all over the world.

What his works have in common is that they break down conventional barriers between composers, performers, and listeners, using new technology and unconventional notation to turn audiences and musicians into compositional collaborators. Continue reading