>> Concert 1a

Abstract

Resonances in brass instruments are created not through blowing streams of air through the instrument as might be logically inferred, but rather using an air stream to vibrate the lips, which in turn resonate the air already present in the instrument, resonances which then radiate outwards via the bell. In Incursion, a work for solo extended tuba, a feedback loop system provides an additional source of resonation for the air contained within the instrument, which, given the fact that it does not rely on use of the lips, can radiate outwards via both the bell and the mouthpiece. 

Following a long-term collaboration between composer Luciano Azzigotti, and tubist Jack Adler-McKean, the piece forms an initial artistic realization of the development of two microphone-based sonic interventions. A piezo-electric microphone is connected to a modified fourth valve slide, which is connected to an amplification pedal, and outputted to a loudspeaker which is suspended inside the bell by means of a 3D printed mount. By depressing the fourth valve and opening the connected valve chamber, it can therefore create a feedback loop resonating inside the valve loop itself.  

Furthermore, the third valve slide of the tube is removed, and thus when this valve is depressed, this open valve loop acts as a second ‘bell’, the output of which is balanced with the closed loop resonances through means of condenser microphone placed close to the outlet chamber of the valve. This combination of multi-directional, simultaneous modes of oscillation leads to acoustic interactions and collisions, allowing one to speculate on possibilities of hybridisation as a certain distributed cognition of the principle of operation. By treating brass instrument valves as continuous rather than discrete mechanisms through so-called fractional valving, this intervention can also be modulated by the performer’s gestures to a high degree of sensitivity. This electroacoustic disposition coupled with the use of multiphonics and vocal tract resonances creates a very complex and unstable matrix of timbres, which gives rise to the overall syntax of the piece, presenting here an initial approach to an electroacoustic resonator as a statistical-organological investigation of acoustic production. 

Biographies

The work of the Swiss-based Argentinian composerLuciano Azzigotti is characterized by the invention of systems where a specific type of relationship between instruments, beings and the environment can collide. He looks to reinterpret the basis of vibration as an immanent force and the musical object as an enactive experience by incorporating amplification and multimodal mediation as necessary materials in his writing for instruments, using dynamic notation, video, and spatial processes. He was awarded the Juan Carlos Paz Composition National Prize 2017, and has received commissions and awards from Fondo Nacional de las Artes, Ministry of Culture Argentina, Centro Cultural de España, Art Mentor Lucerne, Cultural Promotion Council Buenos Aires, CALQ, Fundación Telefónica, Melos/Gandini, and Colon Theatre. He is currently teaching Multimedia Composition at Haute école de musique de Genève and UNTREF (Buenos Aires), and is a PhD candidate at the Hochschule der Künste Bern / Musikhochschule Freiburg.

Jack Adler-McKean promotes the tuba family through collaborations with ensembles, composers, and academic institutions. Recent projects include performances with Klangforum Wien, music theater productions at the Luzerner Theater, collaborations on new solo works with George Lewis and Sarah Nemstov, premières at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse (2018 scholarship prize winner), and recitals in Buenos Aires and New York, as well leading tuba masterclasses in Jihlava, composition seminars in Malmö, and writing reviews for TEMPO and Music and Letters. His first book The Playing Techniques of the Tuba was published by Bärenreiter in 2020; other research outputs include conferences presentations in Vienna, Bloomington, and Paris, contributions to the Historical Brass Society Journal and Handbook of Wind Instruments, collaborations with the Musikinstrumentenmuseum der Universität Leipzig, and curation of the Contemporary Music for tuba collection for Edition Gravis. Jack was recently awarded his PhD from the Royal Northern College of Music (supported by the AHRC). 

Abstract

The title Nuk means soul in Korean and represents a non-material and supernatural being that is believed to dominate the body and mind. Based on the concept of collective unconsciousness revealed in Carl Jung’s study, it explores the archetypes that exist at the ethnic level. It focuses on Korea as a subject of inquiry with its long history of ethnic unity. As a method of exploring the archetypes that are difficult to reveal clearly, this piece allows the Korean performer to improvise during the creation and performance process. In the creative process, melodies are composed based on repeated motifs and rhythmic aspects during improvisation, and electronic sound transformation is possible as a device to amplify the aspect of personal unconsciousness beyond the materiality of the contrabass. During the performance process, the path of inquiry is guided by the score, and the performer continues to explore the original by adding improvisation. This process sets the performer as an ego with a persona as a subject of negotiation for the external world and establishes an identity as a unique human being in the process of transforming and growing through dynamic movements and psychological energy. 

Nuk breaks the limitations of the contrabass through its meaning and delivery method. All sounds come from the contrabass and are processed with Csound and cabbage plug-in to transform the sound of the bass. The Nuk Live System, a Csound Plugin specifically designed for this piece, uses functions such as delay with cross synthesis, distance emulator, multi-reverb, and spectral effects to enable live performance with electronics. It also explores new techniques through the exploration and transformation of extended techniques for contrabass. During the live performance, certain parameters are set that go beyond the physical limits of the contrabass, resulting in the replication and layering of sound. In particular, the percussion characteristics of the contrabass are highlighted through Crossed Delay, Bounce Delay, and Shredulator, and the sound is modified using real-time spectral processing. 

Biography

Luhee Hyunkyung Shin is a contrabassist, electroacoustic composer, and music technologist with a deep passion for shaping the future of sound and culture. Her innovative spirit drives her to explore new frontiers of music and to design novel ideological and technical systems that allow her to compose and perform in this evolving sonic landscape. 

Having started her musical journey as a classical bassist, she has since expanded her artistic interests and explored sound in new and exciting ways. Her compositions incorporate extensive use of technology, including the design of software and hardware that extend the possibilities of sound. In addition, she integrates other creative disciplines, as noticed by her multi-channel, multi-sensory interactive installations.

Abstract

The eTu{d,b}e framework is a series of performances including improvising musical agents and a performer on the eTube, an augmented instrument utilising a saxophone mouthpiece and custom controller interface. The title eTu{d,b}e simultaneously refers to the name of the eTube and to a series of improvised etudes based on human-computer musical interactions. The French word étudier (to study) suggests that the performer and musical agents étudie (study) each other in performance. The performer and/or programmer learn how agents react differently with certain audio corpora or listening settings, and the agent studies the performer’s sound using audio descriptors and machine listening via the microphone. 

The eTube is purposefully limited in its sound production yet it proposes an intriguing sound world which features techniques such as timbral trajectories, percussive attacks, multiphonics, layered overtones, and singing while playing. A light, flexible, and directional instrument, the eTube invites movement and spatialised gestures to be incorporated into performances. These instrumental gestures also appeal to a spatialised performance environment for the electronics. Augmented with a simple two- button controller, the eTube enables communication with the improvising agents, influencing listening and interaction settings in the software. 

Over the past year Kasey has developed spatialisation models for the eTu{d,b}e framework which enables the agents to be placed in discrete locations throughout a multi-loudspeaker setup. Numerous presets have been created which place the agents in different locations throughout the speaker setup. Kasey will use a MIDI controller to manipulate the spatialisation presets. Processing of the eTube’s microphone will also interpolate between adjacent spatialisation presets, allowing the positioning of the agents to constantly react to the eTube’s sonic output, helping mimic the spatial cues created by the micromovements of real musicians. 

Biographies

Originally from St. John’s, Kasey Pocius is a gender fluid intermedia artist located in Montreal who grew up experimenting with multimedia software while also pursuing classical training in both viola and piano. In late 2014, Kasey began to concentrate more intensively on the creation of digital audio works. Outside of fixed electronic works, they have also pursued mixed media performances with live electronics, both as a soloist and in comprovisatory collaborative environments such as CLOrk, Exit Points & Fillesharmoniques. They are particularly interested in multichannel audio works and spatialization, and how this can be used in group improvisatory experiences. They hold a BFA from Concordia in Electroacoustic Studies and are currently pursuing an MA in Music Technology at McGill under the direction of Dr. Marcelo M. Wanderley. They are also the current Technical Coordinator at Matralab. 

Tommy Davis embraces a versatile career in music driven by the desire to collaborate with multifaceted artists in co-composed or co-improvised projects and to share the results within his community and abroad. He is currently a doctoral candidate and SSHRC Doctoral Fellow at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music under the tutelage of Marie-Chantal Leclair. His research investigates live electronic music performance and computer improvisation through a research-creation project called eTu{d,b}e. Tommy’s current research interests include improvisation, contemporary saxophone techniques, posthumanism, and human-computer interaction and agency in computer music performance. With Student Research Awards (2021–22, 2022–23) from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) at McGill University, Tommy has been developing an augmented instrument called the eTube alongside Vincent Cusson and Kasey Pocius. As a CIRMMT student co- representative he organizes educational, outreach, and research events for over 250 student members.

Abstract

Inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s jidaigeki film Kagemusha, Kagemusha: for Live Pipa and Electronics is an eight-minute electroacoustic piece that explores new possibilities of the traditional Chinese plucked instrument pipa. The piece highlights how people in the Sengoku period battled with the severity of wars at the disastrous end of a turbulent era. Musically, the pipa and the electronics always echo throughout the piece. It starts with electronic sounds and slowly introduces the pipa. The pipa part follows the traditional pipa repertoire form, showing various left- and right-hand techniques. All the electronic sounds are generated based on the melodies played by the pipa using signal processing tools to create a dark atmosphere, mimic the fierce metallic sounds of swords colliding, and portray a state of chaos that people were struggling with.  

Biography

Ningxin Zhang is an electroacoustic composer, sound designer, and pipa player born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Her college studies began at the Hong Kong Baptist University, majoring in Translation, Interpreting, and Intercultural Studies. She then continued to study Electronic Production and Design at Berklee College of Music. In Ningxin’s electroacoustic works, She uses various signal-processing techniques to compose with field recordings and modular synthesized sounds, exploring topics related to sociology, psychology, and philosophical theories such as phenomenology, structuralism, and typology. Also, she has been focusing on using Csound to develop synthesizers and signal-processing tools for different platforms such as DAWs, Teensy, Raspberry Pi, Unity, and Oculus Quest. Ningxin has performed as a pipa/electric pipa player at many concerts, including performances of microtonal music at the Micro-jam concert, traditional Chinese music at the International Folk Festival, and multichannel audiovisual pieces at the Interdisciplinary Arts Institute Showcases.

Abstract

Performance of a piece for marine trumpet and electronic processing. The marine trumpet is a rare medieval instrument that became “obsolete” in the 18th century. It is generally distinguished for its triangular shape and its only string. However, it doesn’t have a standard configuration: it has different sizes, shapes and numbers of strings. It also doesn’t have teachers, at least in South America, where I lived when I started playing it.

The marine trumpet I own is a two-string custom-made one. I have been working with the instrument since 2007.  I first played it in Ensamble Decamerón, a medieval music ensemble specializing in secular music of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. Then I joined the free improvisation scenes of Buenos Aires in 2010. The contact with experimental music and the technical background I got while studying Electronic Arts at the University of Tres de Febrero led me on a path of autodidacticism. Through the years, I carried out several experiments, including working with extended techniques, amplifying the instrument, using pedals to process the sound and collaborating with composers and sound artists.

In 2022, after a hiatus in playing and researching the instrument, I recorded an album -currently in post-production- that shows some of the techniques I’ve been working on. Since then, I have been regularly playing the instrument in the experimental music scene of DC. The concert at the Conference will focus specifically on the harmonics and multiphonics of the trumpet marine.

Biography

Alma Laprida (San Miguel, Argentina) explores the territories among composition, improvisation, performance and installation. She works with trumpet marine, field recordings, synthesizers, lyre and other non-conventional instruments and objects. She played, performed and set installations in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Italy, Mexico and the United States. She released three solo albums, two collaboration albums and several pieces in compilations. She’s currently working on an album for trumpet marine. 

Laprida studied piano at Julián Aguirre School of Music, Arts Management at the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero and Electronic Arts at the same University. She worked as Curator at the Centro de Arte Sonoro, and was an Assistant Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero. She’s now pursuing an MA in Contemporary Latin American Aesthetics at the Universidad Nacional de Avellaneda (Argentina). After living and working in Buenos Aires for ten years, she’s been based in Maryland, USA, since 2021.

Abstract

Morphés for Flute and Electronics is a multipart electroacoustic collaboration between flutist Alexander Ishov and composer Theocharis Papatrechas. Morphés’s objective is to utilize technology to reveal the inner acoustic world of the flute, displace auditory perspective, and allow listeners to inhabit otherwise inaccessible sonic landscapes.

Morphés is the creative output of PrismaSonus, an artistic research initiative exploring the relationship between microphone placement, technique, and perception. By placing sensors inside the body of the instrument, this project highlights timbres and microtechniques that are otherwise hidden to performers and listeners. PrismaSonus examines how technology, technique, notation, and listening interact and converge in electroacoustic collaborations, proposing novel ways of creating immersive auditory experiences.

The first part of this collaboration, titled Morphés I, is a 30-minute fixed media work for 20 channels that was premiered in February 2023 at the Spatialization Lab of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (CalIT2). The 20 loudspeakers in the space are arranged in a dome configuration, where listeners receive sound from all directions. Through a constantly shifting musical landscape, Morphes I challenges the sense of space, timbre, and orientation.

At this event, working within a more compact setup, the team presents Morphés I.5, integrating an interactive dimension into the experience. The performer, their flutes, and their signals join to form a stimulating dialogue with pre-recorded materials. Morphés I.5 seeks to challenge further the spatial perception and orientation of the listener, alternating and overlayering the distinct acoustics of the interior space of the flute, the virtual space of of the loudspeakers, and the performance space itself.

In June 2023, the team will expand the live performance version into Morphés II occupying the 32 loudspeakers of the Experimental Theater at UC San Diego’s Music Department. Morphés III will be an online version of the project, mixed binaurally for headphones. Later in 2023, PrismaSonus will unveil an interactive database of electronically-mediated flute techniques that will serve as a modern, interactive resource for flutists and composers taking upon electroacoustic collaboration.

Biographies

Alexander “Sasha” Ishov is an innovative flutist specializing in 20th and 21st century music, devoted to the co-creation of new acoustic and electroacoustic works, as well as showcasing repertoire that challenges perceptions of the historical canon. As a committed researcher, he explores the intersection between interface design, pedagogy, and electronics, engaging with issues of design in the practice room, the classroom, and the concert hall. He is currently a DMA Candidate in Contemporary Music Performance at the University of California San Diego, and holds the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble flute fellowship position.

Theocharis Papatrechas is a composer and sound artist interested in utilizing technology to expand sonic possibilities and engage listeners into immersive artistic experiences. Having obtained a Ph.D. in Music from UC San Diego, he is currently holding the position of Postdoctoral Scholar at Qualcomm Institute of CalIT2. Converging research on environmental science, acoustic ecology, and audio arts, through data-driven sonification, his work investigates the impacts of extreme events on the acoustic signatures of underwater and remote terrestrial environments.