This past weekend Assistant Professor Brett Masteller presented his piece BowMu STUCK MoBue at MOXsonic, the Missouri Experimental Sonic Arts Festival.
BowMu STUCK MoBue is a piece that embraces the ideas of indeterminacy, algorithmic composition and structured improvisation. The indeterminacy comes from the fact that the performer is allowed to choose their instruments based on a specific set of parameters. The algorithmic composition is an aspect of the computer programming, created by the composer, which involves pitch and amplitude tracking of the chosen instruments as well as audio spectrum analysis/resynthesis using a Fast Fourier Transform. The pitch and amplitude data is used to synthesize sounds and create a duet between the human performer and computer, therefore the computer is reliant on the human and the human is also influenced by the computer to realize elements of a structured improvisation. It is a feedback network, or could also be viewed as a symbiotic relationship.
For this concert Julie Licata, Assistant Professor and Director of Percussion at Capital University in Columbus Ohio, performed the piece using a set of instruments that she specifically chose for the performance.
Tags: Performing and Fine Arts
