Flute/light Video 6: Nick Rich’s “This is a picture of”

It’s been awhile, but I’m excited to announce the release of a new flute/light video!

Flute/light video? What am I talking about? Here’s a video that explains my flute/light project.

We live in a world saturated with information and virtual communication, thanks to technology. But does technology always illuminate, or is it more likely to obfuscate? How can we better use technology to help us in our interactions with other people and the truth? These are questions that strike me as I listen to Nick Rich‘s flute/light composition “This is a picture of.” Nick thoughtfully contrasts the human with the technological, and then integrates them in a manner that is both surprising and beautiful. For more information about the piece, read my interview with the composer from earlier this year.

Many thanks to fiddler Rich Hartness, multimedia artist Jonathan Wall, bassist Emily Damrel, and video artist Wayne Reich!

Check out the rest of my flute/light videos:

Anna Meadors, At Daybreak
Kyle Rowan, Komorebi
Michael S. Rothkopf, I Dream of Coloured Inks
Stuart Saunders Smith, The Circle of Light
Jacob Thiede, And everything in-between

Flute/light Project Video 5: Jacob Thiede’s And everything in-between

PC: Ash Stemke. Used with permission.

I’m a doctor! Which means the end of my dissertation project adventure. Yes. This is my last flute/light video release—at least for now!

Flute/light video? What does that mean? Let me get you up to speed.

Here’s a video I made explaining my flute/light intermedia art project!
And below are links to four more flute/light videos:

Anna Meadors, At Daybreak
Stuart Saunders Smith, The Circle of Light
Kyle Rowan, Komorebi
Michael S. Rothkopf, I Dream of Coloured Inks

Does all music have a narrative? Jacob Thiede’s piece And everything in-between investigates this question—and also the concept of unlistable infinity. The result: a palpable sense of excitement, mystery, and adventure. Does And everything in-between ever foil your expectations? Can you identify some of the many moods, sounds, and colors it explores? Feel free to comment with your thoughts below!

And everything in-between was recorded on December 3, 2016 in Brown Theatre at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Wayne Reich and Ben Singer created the cinematic video. Lowell Fuchs helped me with sound; and Asher Carlson and Abigail Simoneau served as grips. I will never be able to fully express my thanks to all who contributed to this video—and to all who helped make my flute/light project possible!

This has been an incredible journey. My thanks also to all who have taken the time to watch these videos and join me in their celebration!

For more about And everything in-between (and some beautiful photos), check out Wayne’s blog, here.

Musician vs. Technology.

In July, I was honored to perform a revised version of  Michael Rothkopf‘s Improvisation for Flute and Computer.  Dr. Rothkopf, a composition and music technology professor at UNC School of the Arts, created a complex computer program which analyzes six elements of sound being produced by the performer (frequency, amplitude, etcetera), proceeds to make quick decisions with regards to how it ought to respond to those six elements (similarly, or in contrast?), and generates sounds of its own.  I imagine that, in a way, performing the piece was something like playing chess with Deep Blue.  There is always an element of the unexpected.

Click here to listen to a recording of the live performance.