from digital ECHOS to virtual ETHOS
Music technology meets philosophy

Jeff Morris: The Collected Solo Piano Works of Ferin Martino, as Conjured by Your Presence

Jeff Morris: The Collected Solo Piano Works of Ferin Martino, as Conjured by Your Presence
 
Onassis Cultural Center (ΣτέγηΓραμμάτωνκαιΤεχνών), Ground Floor, Main Entrance
 
107 Syngrou Avenue, Athens 11745 http://goo.gl/k2Glxl
 
Building on the venerable technique of imitative counterpoint, this improvisation captures sounds made live during the performance, transforms them, and folds them back into the performance to influence the development of the music. This highlights the ephemera of live performance, as "Nows" are recorded and played back as mere digital copies and as they transform and interact with new material, gaining new life within the music. The software used in this performance can create no sounds on its own. Its modes of interaction vary so that at some times it acts like a responsive instrument; at other times it may impose structure as in a composition or lay out an interactive environment for the performers to explore. It gives the computer performer a range of controls so that his roles vary from instrumentalist to conductor to privileged listener, occasionally able to influence the flow of the music.
 
Jeff Morris is PerfTech Studio Director in the Texas A&M University Department of Performance Studies. He curates the Fresh Minds Festival of audiovisual art and Weblogmusic, a platform for time-shifted free improvisation ensembles. His work explores the impact of technological mediation on the human experience. It has been presented at the International Society for Improvised Music conference, the Milano Triennale museum, the Austin Museum of Art, and the Bonk festival of new music. He studied at the Florida State University and the Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia (CEMI) at the University of North Texas.