My first week in New York city has been so busy that I have not had much time to do a retrospective of my eventful week, from August 15th to 22nd at EMPAC in Troy, NY.

I am happy to report that I was successful in creating a “visual music” presentation on 3 screens with one of the aspects controlled in real time using gesture control.

Adafruit shipped my Arduino boards to EMPAC and I was able to research on the internet and receive help from others in the workshop to understand how to make the system work. I chose the infra-red distance sensor and used information from the Adafruit website to help me program the board. My trusty Ubuntu computer handled all of the Arduino code uploading while I ran the Isadora program on the Macbook.

My performance was thrilling for me, but I was inspired and informed by the work that everyone else in the class showed on Saturday, August 21, 2010.

The first work we saw was by Joff, a theatre instructor who has a company that puts on plays in Second Life. The work included a grassy field with images of human figures that were short videos. The figures would fade in, seem to be sleeping, then move in some way, then fade out. We were invited to interact with the figures, but I found it fascinating just to watch them.

It was eerie and engaging as an installation and Joff might develop it further as a performance or to be more interactive.

There were two other installations, one by Ian (pronounced Ion) that consisted of a table and two chairs with a set of seemingly random objects on the table. The screen that faced the participants in the chair included a delayed video of individuals who had visited in the past mixed and overlaid with video of the present visitors. The more people that participated the more interesting the exhibit became as the past visitors would show up on the screen seeming to sit opposite the live participants.

Ian also staged an interactive performance and he was very generous in assisting with coding other people’s projects.

I hope to have more time to process the photos I took and I hope that Johannes (pictured here enjoying interacting with Ian’s installation) will be able to produce some video excerpts from the documentation of the Saturday events.

It was a full schedule and everyone worked very hard to create interesting and innovative work.

One of the largest collaborations was Sarah’s (shown activating one of the messages left) project. This was a complex installation that interacted with the visitor. As the person moved on the lighted squares the text and the audio would respond by changing. This process required complex programming, audio and text preparation and a lot of testing. The final showing was a great demonstration of the power of collaboration and the strong idea that Sarah realized.

Victor contributed to many projects as a programmer, electronic music composer and performer and finally, he revealed his own powerful statement.

Victor is a karate master who tracked his movement with a light controlled with infra-red tracking. It was a surprise to everyone who had watched all of the other projects evolve during the week with Victor seen as a helpful computer coder and audio designer. Victor amazed everyone with his grace and intensity as he put on a very effective performance.

More information about the activities of the busy week can be found on the workshop blog titled, EMPAC Live. Media+Performance Lab.

I do have more material, but no time at present. When I return home and I am shut in during the rainy season, memories of this wonderful week will pull me back to share more with you.

Share on Facebook

The first day at the EMPAC Lab with a group of very creative individuals from all over the globe. Two dancers from Australia, a computer science student from Italy, a dancer from South Korea, a Second Life theatre company member from England, various American citizens and myself, the lone Canadian.

My arduino boards did arrive in the mail today, so I am looking forward to developing that direction. The facilities and staff here are magnificent, giving us a level of technical support and available equipment that exceeds my expectations in every way. More photos and posts to come. This will be an exciting exploration for all of us.

Share on Facebook

A variety of spoken word artistry provided by:
Max Kala
France Perras
Alice Hamilton
Eric Wyness
T Crane
Music provided by Paul Plimley, piano+guitar; Tommy Babin, upright bass; Phil Emerson, guitar and Victoria Gibson, notebook+vocals.

This event is part of a new summer festival presented by Visions Ouest Productions:
Un nouveau Rendez-vous d’été / A new Summer Rendez-vous
L’ÉTHÉÂTRE 2010

Jeudi 12 Août / Thurs. August 12, 2010

à/at
Auditorium Jules-Verne, Vancouver
5445 Baillie Street, Vancouver (at 37th Avenue, between Oak & Cambie,
close to Van Dusen Botanical Gardens). Skytrain Station 41st. Free parking.

20h00

Tickets : $16 presale online until 6 pm/ Prévente jusqu’à 18h00 ce soir
www.rendez-vousvancouver.com
or $18 at the door

There are two more nights of the festival featuring:
Friday August 13, 8 pm:
Screening of (English subt.) – L’ENFANT PRODIGE / THE CHILD PRODIGY Luc Dionne
Admission: $10 Tickets sold online
Bande-annonce / trailer <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3a3UkDD5gs>

Saturday August 14 – THE CLOSING NIGHT
Screening of PICHÉ, ENTRE CIEL ET TERRE / PICHÉ: THE LANDING OF A MAN
(English subt.) – Sylvain Archambeault
Admission: $10 Tickets sold online
Bande-annonce/ <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAPUeWCaS38&feature=related>
trailer

Followed at 10 pm by L’ÉTHÉÂTROPICAL with DJ Marc Fournier
Une célébration de l’été et un au-revoir à tous les artistes et bénévoles
qui ont participé à L’ÉTHÉÂTRE.

I will miss the extremely fun after party because I will be in New York city.

So you have to come to my show if you want to see me before I go.

Share on Facebook

You are invited to join Paul Plimley, Tommy Babin, Phil Emerson, Victoria Gibson, T Crane and guests at the Auditorium of the Jules Verne School, located at 5445 Baillie Street (between Oak and Cambie off 41st Ave), Vancouver, BC.

COLLABORATIONS will usher in a series of projects directed by
…PAUL PLIMLEY with musicians TOMMY BABIN, VICTORIA GIBSON and PHIL EMERSON. Guests include Poet T Crane.

“An improvisational feast sure to stimulate on a molecular level!” posted T Crane in his facebook event invitation.

Other poets will also be appearing to interact with the real-time improvisation of the musical ensemble.

COLLABORATIONS is a part of L’ÉTHÉÂTRE, a summer festival that celebrates cultural multidisciplinary experience.

L’ÉTHÉÂTRE runs from the 5th of July until the 15th of August, featuring films, live performances and visual art produced by Visions Ouest Productions.

Tickets are available in advance or at the door. Check the official website – www.rendez-vousvancouver.com for more information.

Here are some photos of Paul, Tommy and Phil taken from their performance as part of the Olympic Cultural Events on Granville Island.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Share on Facebook

The trio with Barry Guy, Paul Plimley and Lucas Niggli was one of my personal highlights from the 2010 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. They reached the highest levels of improvisation in ensemble performance where they meshed into a texture of beauty and complexity that shone with emotion.

Lucas Niggli is a Swiss drummer who plays with style and delicate strength. He stretches the boundaries of percussion while playing in the pocket for the band. This balancing act displays the greatness of a drummer; too much steady time keeping and the innovative spark fades, too much of stretching one’s own personal boundaries and the connection with the ensemble is lost.

The photos show the level of communication and emotion present in the Ironworks as each of these expert musicians wholeheartedly joined their considerable individual talents into a cohesive whole.

Barry Guy (below) is a bass player living in Switzerland, who plays with Lucas often. This evening of music allowed him to display many extended techniques and timbres. He played with intelligence, skill and unrepentant emotion. His composition, Fixed, Fragmented, Fluid; had been played as one of the festival opening works in a larger ensemble that included this trio. That was structured improv, but this was free and he was able to fly with his fingers and bow with authority.

There was a Canadian pianist who completed the trio named Paul Plimley. I must admit to being biased when I write about Paul, but I have seen him play in Vancouver many times, and grace the stage of the Ironworks with other trios. This was one of the best performances I have ever witnessed from the maestro. The combination of Barry Guy and Lucas Niggli challenged, supported, encouraged and battled with Paul in the most delightful way possible. There was always a spirit of fun and several times the joy crackled in the air like electricity.

I was a photographer that evening, soundless and motionless focusing on the light and motion as I was transported by the music.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

There are other photos of a larger ensemble concert featuring these three musicians taken by Chris Cameron posted on the Coastal Jazz website here.

Share on Facebook

WHAT SHOULD I DO IN NYC?

I am making a list – unfortunately I am just going to miss some of the best events I have found. I am posting them anyway. I wish I had known about the gamelan performance!

I will also visit Providence, RI for a day or so at the end of August 30-31. I will miss the bonfires on Aug 29th.

————————————

Lincoln Centre Out-of-Doors Festival

Kronos Quartet with Gamelan Galak Tika; Friday 13 August 2010 at 6:00pm;Broadway Plaza; New York; August 13; 6:00: Gamelan Galak Tika: Kecak workshop and Belaganjur (marching gamelan)
Broadway Plaza; Fri August 13; 7:30; Kronos Quartet with Gamelan Galak Tika; Kenge Kenge; Damrosch Park Bandshell

Larry Harlow’s La Raza Latina, A Salsa Suite (New York Premiere) Conducted by Larry Harlow, starring Rubén Blades, with guest vocalist Adonis Puentes + Bobby Sanabria Big Band; Saturday, August 14 at 7:30; Damrosch Park Bandshell

‘In Other People’s Skins’ Interactive, Multimedia Exhibition to be Displayed at Cathedral of St. John the Divine – The exhibition is free and open to the public. It will be on view at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine through August 31, 2010. For more information, please visit www.stjohndivine.org.

Solo dance performances by international butoh artists. Dance by Mari Osani. Dates: 28 & 29 August; Time: 8 p.m.; Cost: $18 for adults; $15 for NYBK students, students with valid ID and seniors. + LECTURES/INTERVIEWS 24 August at 7:30 pm: Mari Osanai interview with Ximena Garnica. CAVE | 58 GRAND STREET, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 11211 | 347.838.4677 | info@caveartspace.org |

Summer Stage

The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival :

McCOY TYNER, JASON MORAN AND THE BANDWAGON, THE JD ALLEN TRIO and REVIVE DA LIVE: CHARLIE PARKER REVISTED; Part of the NYC Revolutions series

Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan
Saturday, August 28
3:00 – 7:00 p.m.

JIMMY SCOTT, VIJAY IYER, THE COOKERS and CATHERINE RUSSELL

Tompkins Square Park, Manhattan
Sunday, August 29
3:00 – 7:00 p.m.

HERE 145 Sixth Ave. (enter on Dominick Street one block south of Spring), NY, NY 10013 – check back

Meer Festival, Sunday afternoon from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm for lakeside music at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center in Central Park’s beautiful northern end. August 29: Cocomama (Cuban Salsa) + September 5: Sounds of Deliverance (Gospel)

Jazzmobile, a concert in a park every day in summer

MoMA is open late every Thursday in July and August, with live music presented in two sets, at 5:30 and 7:00 p.m., in the Sculpture Garden.
MoMA PS1′s historic Warm Up music series begins July 3 and will take place every Saturday through September 4, from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Hudson River Park’s Pier 84 (44th Street), the perfect site for you to take in a sunset and the sounds of an eclectic mix of bands that perform everything from bluegrass and Americana to jazz, cumbia and funk. Concerts begin at 6pm. Get directions to Pier 84.

Other Dimensions in Music – Monday, September 6, 2010  at 8:00pm - All Ages with Daniel Carter-reeds, Roy Campbell-trumpet, William Parker-bass, Charles Down-drums and

Fay Victor -voice.  The Local 269 (map) 269 E. Houston @ Suffolk Street.

Harvestworks, 596 Broadway, Suite 602, (between Houston and Prince Streets in SoHo) New York, NY 10012

[Sep 11] KonicLab/Barcelona: Gesture Following with Max/MSP

The Official Guide to NYC

Share on Facebook

This time has been very busy for me and I have not been keeping up with my news posts. After the festival I will post photos, but as always, Chris Cameron documents the festival with precision and grace. His selected photos can be found on the Coastal Jazz website and the most current ones are here. This is the 25th anniversary of the festival and of Chris as the official photographer — his work has preserved “the decisive moment” (Henri Cartier-Bresson) of many festival performances. Cameron’s body of work is an enduring legacy that captures the emotions that resonate long after the vibrations in the air have stilled.

The highlights of the festival for me so far are: Fixed Fragmented Fluid, featuring a large ensemble under the direction of Barry Guy; Paul Plimley with Barry Guy and Lucas Niggli; The Mario Pavone Trio with Tony Malaby and Gerald Cleaver and the Unity Globe Orchestra.

I have heard and been inspired by many of these shows. I loved the energy of Hiromi and Stanley Clarke; John Scofield spoke to my blues heritage with his Piety Band; Mike Stern mellowed out and got ambient;  outstanding moments of great playing at each one of my Ironworks shifts will be discussed in future posts.

Today and Sunday the music is open to the public with free concerts at the Roundhouse Community Centre Complex. I don’t want to miss any more of the music. Later!

Share on Facebook

Guru Mandala -- Victoria Gibson

EMPAC — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center

My application to attend the summer intensive workshop has been accepted. August will find me in New York at one of the most advanced media arts centres in the world learning sophisticated control technologies. This workshop is intensive, going from 10am-10pm for 7 days on campus in residency.

LIVE.MEDIA + PERFORMANCE.LAB

8/16 – 8/22

The workshop addresses emerging and professional art practitioners, scientists, researchers, and students from different backgrounds in performance and new media committed to sharing their interest in developing a deeper understanding of composing work focused on real time, interactive or time-based experiences and multidisciplinary collaborative processes (video, sound processing, projection design, lighting, choreography and directing).

This workshop will assist me in realizing my Immersive Environment Instrument (IEI) and possibly lead to collaborations with other media artists that attend. An opportunity that has come along at exactly the right time to help me create my vision requires some pre-production consideration.

A Macbook Pro looms in my future, but I will still try to program and control my sensor array with Ubuntu.

Share on Facebook

Works by Jay Habuyashi, Steve Bagnell and me will be performed. My piece is titled “Human Geometry”.

Kate Hammett-Vaughn, the choir co-organizer with Carol Sawyer, has posted the info on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125675927458667

Share on Facebook

Kate and I have known each other since I used to write reviews and the Women In Music column for Nite Moves magazine in the late 1980′s. More recently, I recorded, mastered and co-produced her CD, So Lucky To Be Me. Kate is a great vocal teacher and very well connected in the Vancouver and Canadian jazz community. This enables her to bring in a variety of talent to lead workshops with Voxy Choir such as her long time musical collaborator, Ron Samworth.

I only met Carol Sawyer recently, but she impresses me with her diversity in artistic practice that encompasses video, photography and other fine arts as well as her imaginative performance art.

Workshop leaders outside of music have included Jay Hirabayashi, best known for his work with Kokoro Dance and  a young man from the theatre, who I was introduced to as Paul. This Saturday, May 8th;  the workshop was at The Western Front with NY performance artist/composer Shelley Hirsch.

Shelley Hirsch was in Vancouver to perform on the Friday evening as part of the Voice Over Mind Festival. Some members of the Voxy Choir, including me, had also participated in part of the festival at the Chan Centre on Wednesday evening under the direction of DB Boyco and Christine Duncan. Shelley will be continuing to perform locally in Seattle, WA and Victoria, BC.

The mixed choir was drawn from Voxy and DB’s students, including members of the Roundhouse Senior’s choir. We sang an adaptation of Songbird, written by Vancouver performer/composer Takeo Yamashiro for the Songbird Oratorio, a homage to the plight of birds surviving the encroachment of urban development. This composition was followed by a conducted improvisation led by both choir directors. I sang in the low section, as most of the choir could only sing in the upper range and I have worked hard to expand my range in the low part of my voice.

Christine and DB sang Stall, a newly commissioned work for voice and ambient sounds by one of Canada’s preeminent composers, Christopher Butterfield, explores soundscapes and narratives of the public washroom and is intended to cajole and disturb. The location of the performance might disturb some, as it was in the ladies washroom at the Chan Centre. I found it engaging and amusing. There were snippets of text that were not vocalized, projected on the wall, example at left, and the composer provided some ambient sounds to enhance the performance.

I took some other photos during the rehearsal, but it is difficult to document a performance when you are in it.

This was a cool effect as there was a glass shelf and I was able to use it for an effect in the above photo.  The fast 50mm is great in low light, but I miss being able to change the zoom to frame the image exactly. I would have liked to get Christopher completely reflected while the two singers floated. It is a nice study of the idea though. Below is a better photo of the composer.

It was interesting to sing at The Chan Centre and to attend the rehearsals. I learned more about DB Boyco’s conducting language and her vocal teaching style. I am a great fan of DB and Christine, both individually and as a duo; they have worked together a lot and they compliment each other beautifully. A reprise of the performance will be staged in the city of  Victoria at Open Space Victoria on Sunday, May 9 at 8 p.m.

Share on Facebook