Georgia Tech’s contemporary chamber music ensemble-in-residence, Sonic Generator, features music by Alvin Lucier, Jason Freeman, Steve Everett, Tae Hong Park, Adam Silverman, and Pedro Rivadeneira in a free performance in partnership with the Woodruff Arts Center. Showcasing innovative music by Atlanta-based composers who integrate technology into contemporary music, the concert also includes the premiere of SGLC by Jason Freeman, a professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Music.
In the performance, four laptop musicians type in short fragments of computer code to create, share and borrow musical motives that are in turn displayed on digital screens for four acoustic musicians to sight-read in performance. This unusual combination of live computer coding, real-time music notation and “extreme” sight-reading encourages a novel, improvisatory collaboration as the ensemble develops musical ideas together live.
Two works on the program use the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever as a starting point. Atlanta native Adam Silverman’s Strawberry Fields Continued integrates recordings of the original’s lyrics with both live instruments and a multitracked orchestra of cellos to offer a new perspective on the classic tune, while experimental music pioneer Alvin Lucier’s Nothing is Real uses the unusual acoustics of a teapot to transform the song’s melody.
The concert also includes works that explore the possibilities of spatialized sound. Sonic Generator presents Tae Hong Park, who recently moved to Atlanta from New Orleans to join the music technology faculty at Georgia State University, with his work for violin, drum kit and seven-channel surround sound. In addition, the group performs the world premiere of Argentinian composer Pedro Rivadeneira’s work for flute, clarinet, keyboards and live quadraphonic electronics. Rounding out the program is music for flute and live electronics by Steve Everett, a long-time Atlantan, professor at Emory and collaborator of the ensemble.
Sonic Generator, Georgia Tech’s contemporary chamber music ensemble-in-residence, explores the ways in which technology can transform how we create, perform and listen to music. The ensemble, comprised of some of the top classical musicians in Atlanta, works closely with Georgia Tech students and faculty in the GVU Center and the Center for Music Technology to present concerts that bring cutting-edge technologies to the world of contemporary classical music.
Sonic Generator is sponsored by the GVU Center, which seeks to advance the state of the art of the interaction between people, computing machines and information. The concert series is organized in collaboration with the Center for Music Technology and the School of Music in the College of Architecture. These entities champion advancements in creativity, expression and human-computer interaction through research and education at Georgia Tech. Sonic Generator’s season is also supported by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.
Over the past 40 years, the Woodruff Arts Center has distinguished itself as one of the premier cultural centers in the nation. The Woodruff Arts Center campus houses four renowned arts organizations including Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art and Young Audiences. In addition to its role as a cultural beacon and hub of the Southeast, the Woodruff serves as a critical economic, educational and social catalyst for Atlanta and the region. For more, visit woodruffcenter.org.
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