By Tiffany Edwards , University Relations
UNCG Faculty composers past and present will harness the possibilities of computer-generated music in a public concert Tuesday, Jan. 31. Joined by visiting guest composer Michele Gillman from Gustavus Adolphus College (Minnesota), the faculty will showcase their original creations beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the School of Music Recital Hall.
The concert is sponsored by the School of Music’s Composition, History and Theory division, as part of its 2005-06 lecture series. Featured UNCG faculty members are: Mark Engebretson (composition and electronic music), Susan Fancher (saxophone), Greg Carroll (composition and theory), Nathan Daughtrey (percussion) and Michael Burns (bassoon).
The program will include:
• “SaxMax” – Composed by Mark Engebretson. A mesmerizing mix of live saxophone performance; sound files that pay homage to Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis and Michael Brecker; and the manipulations of a computer operator who records, alters and instantaneously replays the live saxophone music. Performed by Susan Fancher on soprano saxophone and Engebretson at the computer.
• “Steppe” – Composed by Michele Gillman, Gustavus Adolphus College. Inspired by Alvin Lucier, a composer who is fascinated by the way a room filters and enhances certain resonant frequencies when a piece of music or oratory is repetitively re-recorded. Gillman applies the concept to saxophone and digital media. Performance by Susan Fancher.
• “Angel Dervish” – Composed by retired UNCG faculty member Art Hunkins. An 8-channel, meditative, computer-generated piece. Hunkins was instrumental in establishing the electronic music studios at UNCG.
• “Two for Two” – Composed by Greg Carroll. Comprised of two movements, “Chillin’” and “Hoppin.’” Carroll was interested in blending the tone colors of the two instruments. Jazz idioms emerge in Chillin’, while Hoppin’ is based on the octatonic scale (alternating whole and half steps), lending it a world music flavor. Performed by Nathan Daughtrey (marimba) and Drew Hays (alto sax).
• “Blues for Contra” and “Eclecticism II for Wind Quintet” – Composed by Michael Burns. Performed by Burns on contrabassoon and by a student wind quintet.
In addition, there is a pre-concert lecture at 4 p.m. that day in Collins Lecture Hall. Engebretson will talk about his piece, technology and interactivity. Rather than writing the music linearly, the professor writes in cells with pre-established parameters. The element of improvisation on the part of the saxophonist and the variety of the computer’s actions allow the piece to grow and change over time.
“The idea is to try to invest the computer’s performance with qualities of humanness that will put it on an equal musical level with the saxophonist. We may be a ways off from true artificial intelligence, but the idea at this stage is to create the appearance of such,” Engebretson said.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, and $3 for UNCG students. To order, call (336) 334-4849. For more information about the CHT lecture/concert series, visit http://www.uncg.edu/mus/cht/html/lectseries.html.
