ICMC 2011 Review: Concert 9, Thursday 4th August

By Howard Kenty

Phipps Hall, a fairly acoustically dry space with a surround speaker configuration, seats approximately 100 people.  This program was repeated at 2:00 PM the same day; this review deals only with the 12:30 concert.

The first performance consisted of two short pieces from Eric Lyon’s Selected Noise Quartets, featuring the Noise Quartet (Steve Davis, drums; Eric Lyon, piano; Franziska Schroeder, saxophone; and Paul Stapleton, electric guitar).  The performers generated all sounds acoustically (save the guitar’s amplification); the electronic elements here wirelessly delivered text instructions to the performers via synchronized computers.  These instructions were apparently often new to the players and/or impossible to execute literally, and as their selection and order was chosen live by a computer program, each performance is different.  It was indeed quite “noisy,” in the manner of avant-garde free jazz.  The players were all gifted improvisers, and handled the abrupt starts, stops, and aggressive dynamic and tempo changes with aplomb.  Though the pieces are by nature of an uncertain structure, and would perhaps have benefited from a more composed form, the performances were enjoyable to watch, and an interesting variation from standard ICMC fare.

ICMC 2011 Review: Concert 12, 5th August 2011

By Diego Garro

Hosted in Phipps Hall in the imposing Creative Arts Building at Huddersfield University, Concert 12 was the last of the series of ICMC 2011 lunchtime events and, regrettably, failed to excite as much as the previous, thoroughly outstanding concerts. The medium-size venue, not more than functional in its architectural feel, boasted a state-of-the-art audio/video projection system capable of delivering pristinely accurate sonic detail. On occasion the power conveyed by the multi-channel system was excessive, a painful reminder that unlimited possibilities in the manipulation of amplitudes, frequencies and spectral densities can hurt an audience of audiophiles as much as it can transfix it.

ICMC 2011 Review: Concert 10, 4th August 2011

By Miriam Akkermann

Scheduled as an evening concert, No. 10 took place at St. Paul’s Hall, a former church built in the 18^th century. I mention this because the venue did a great job of creating a light but focussed atmosphere, especially for the works that appeared on the first part of the concert (after changing the program schedule), which all presented smooth, pensive sounds.

Nathan Wolek’s response to Bob Gluck

When I opened the PDF of the latest edition of Array back in August, I was tickled to find among the letters to the editor a response from Bob Gluck to my review of his CD Electric Brew.  As a graduate student, I remember one of my musicology professors telling me about the back and forth debates that would sometimes ensue in the pages of academic journals as colleagues responded to each other.  To suddenly find myself in the midst of such a debate is a genuine thrill!  I mean this with all sincerity, something we have to be increasingly sure to state because of internet communication’s tendency to default to sarcasm.  Fostering an environment where such debates can happen is a vital function of professional organizations and their publications.  I will echo Bob’s call for such exchanges to be conducted “in a spirit of collegiality and friendship with the goal of engaging ideas”.  I hope that our open and honest discussion will be good for the discipline and allow (as Proverbs reminds us) iron to sharpen iron.

A Summary and Transcript of the ICMC 2010 UnConference UnSession on Computer Music Performance

by Identified Participants and Authors: Jeremy C. Baguyos (JB), David B. Wetzel (DW), McGregor Boyle (MB), Bonnie Lander (BL), Scott McLaughlin (SM), Scott Hewitt (SH), Krista Martynes (KM), Dale Parson (DP), Andrew Cole (AC)

Introduction and Rationale

The time has come to reflect upon and assess the role and the identity of the computer music performer specialist.  In pursuit of creating a forum for those that are interested in the art of computer music performance, An UnConference UnSession on Computer Music Performance was hosted on June 5, 2010 at the International Computer Music Conference in New York to initiate a dialogue regarding the past practices, current state, challenges, and future opportunities for the sub-field of computer music performance. The UnSession on Computer Music Performance was proposed and integrated into the ICMC 2010 Unconference by faculty and alumni of the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University.  To date, the Peabody program in computer music is the only program in the United States (and possibly the world) that grants degrees, both undergraduate and graduate, in the specific area of computer music performance. Reflecting the inherently eclectic make-up of computer music, the unsession attracted a diverse group of performers, composers, researchers, computer scientists, sound engineers, and technicians. This unsession was particularly interesting because a collective of performers drove the content of the discussion within a larger ICMC conference that is normally driven by a collective of researchers and composers.

The Unconference Format

On her web site <unconference> found at http://www.unconference.net, professional unconference facilitator Kaliya Hamlin defines an unconference as “a facilitated participant-driven face-to-face conference around a theme or purpose.”  The unconference format has several advantages over the traditional paper formats of poster, presentation, and panel discussions. Its egalitarian, fluid, user-generated approach allows a large swath of participants ranging from established veterans to promising emerging talents to spontaneously and collectively introduce and develop ideas, which is not always possible within a traditional conference. Most importantly, this format allows for more informal, direct, and honest dialogue. The format is flexible, open, and interactive and allows for points of relevant departure as well as tangential discussions.  It allows for the crowdsourcing of the collective intellectual capital of the willing attendees and yields ideas that otherwise might be withheld if the focus were only on the prepared paper and structured presentation of a primary investigator. As in the tech sector, which spawned the idea, the unconference and the unsession format can be just as enlightening as the traditional paper/panel/poster formats when applied to academic computer music.  Jennifer Howard published the article “The ‘Unconference’: Technology Loosens Up the Academic Meeting” in the online version of Chronicle of Higher Education on May 23, 2010 and can be found at http://chronicle.com/article/The-Unconference-Technol/65651/.  The article outlines the unconference format and extols its advantages.

Summary

What follows in the main text of this article is an edited transcript of a recording of the active participants in the discussion of issues in computer music performance.  Although the identified participants are named, some of the dialogue will not be attributed to any specific participant because some of the participants could not be identified.  However, the majority of the dialogue was culled from the identified participants. The identified participants were the scheduled presenters and moderators of the UnConference UnSession on Computer Music Performance as organized by Freida Abtan, the ICMC 2010 Unconference chair, and her staff.  Although they are not identified by name, some of the other attendees did participate actively in the discussion and many more were in attendance listening intently.

Items available for review in Array

The following items are available for review in Array. Reviewers will be able to keep review copies free of charge.  If you are interested in writing a review for our next issue, please email me at array dot journal at gmail dot com.

If you have materials that you would like to see added to this list, please email me as well.

Thanks,

Jenny Merkowitz

Array Editor

 

Books:

Miller, Paul D. aka DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid.  Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2008.

http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11401

Boulanger, Richard and Victor Lazzarini, eds.  The Audio Programming Book. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2010.

http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=12283

Farnell, Andy.  Designing Sound. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2010.

http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=12282

CDs/DVDs:

[re]: multichannel DVD-Audio and DVD-Video of music commissioned by the Third Practice Festival of Electroacoustic Music at the University of Richmond.  everglade, 2006.

http://www.everglade.org/everglade/store/Entries/2006/11/2_[re].html

The Japanese Society for Sonic Arts (JSSA)

Former ICMA board member Naotoshi Osaka founded the Japanese Society for Sonic Arts (JSSA; http://www.jssa.info) in 2009. What follows is the opening address written for the society’s first journal in June 2009.

Founding a New Field for the Study of Sonic Arts:

The Inauguration of the Japanese Society for Sonic Arts

Naotoshi Osaka

President, Japanese Society for Sonic Arts

Abstract

No organizations concerning the creation of music and related topics are known to exist in Japan, and there has been a need for such an organization. This article first introduces the history behind the founding of such an organization, and then states the organization’s mission: to issue original papers. It is a natural mission, though it can be difficult for creators of music. Some strategies to support the organization in achieving its mission are also introduced. We also discuss a new framework for free-of-charge musical performances, which are linked to research presentations. Moreover, a strategy for internationalizing the organization is introduced; such a strategy will allow the organization’s members to incorporate well-balanced information from all over the world into their compositions and research.