mata make music winter 2011

Yes, I've been swamped and I haven't posted for a while. I'm sure you would love to hear the 2-voice bicinium I just finished, but I don't think it would make a very good blog post.

BUT HEY, I'm leaving for NYC today because I'll be participating in MATA's 2011 Make Music Winter workshop with Phil Kline. Remember how excited I was?

Here's my proposal.

Press Play Parade

Have you ever wanted to participate in a parade but didn’t have the musical talent to participate?

I originally created “Press Play” as an audience interactive sound installation using audio tape, percussion, toy instruments and children’s tape players. For that project, I orchestrated a previously composed fugue (the 6-voice Ricercar from Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Musical Offering) for basic child-friendly instruments, recorded the individual parts to tape and gave interspersed audience members playback devices with the six different parts (or voices) on tape. On cue, each audience member with a tape player “Press(ed) Play,” and the fugue unfolded around them, creating the effect for the audience members of being a part of a complete musical ensemble.

For my “Press Play Parade,” I will rearrange excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, record the individual parts to tape, and give parade participants playback devices. Not only will each audience member “Press Play” at the same time, but some will also be given children’s percussion instruments to play along. Now, who wants to be drum major?

Think about it. The Nutcracker. On tape.