Center for Music Technology, Georgia Tech,
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Jason Freeman’s works break down conventional barriers between composers, performers, and listeners, using cutting-edge technology and unconventional notation to turn audiences and musicians into compositional collaborators. His music has been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, Speculum Musicae, the So Percussion Group, the Rova Saxophone Quartet, the Nieuw Ensemble, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, and Evan Ziporyn; and his works have been featured at the Lincoln Center Festival, the Boston CyberArt Festival, 01SJ, and the Transmediale Festival and featured in the New York Times and on National Public Radio. N.A.G. (Network Auralization for Gnutella) (2003), a commission from Turbulence.org, was described by Billboard as “…an example of the web’s mind-expanding possibilities.” Freeman received his B.A. in music from Yale University and his M.A. and D.M.A. in composition from Columbia University. He is currently an assistant professor in the music department at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
CONFERENCE – BRIEF ABSTRACT:
Abstract 1: Real-time Music Notation in Live Performance
Real-time music notation systems algorithmically generate a dynamic musical score, in real time, during a live concert performance. This talk places real-time music notation within the context of algorithmic and computer-assisted composition and also within the aesthetic framework of open-form composition. It then discusses two key motivations for the pursuit of real-time music notation systems: mediating the output of live performance algorithms through human musical expression, and connecting audiences to musicians by allowing them to influence the behavior of those algorithms. Finally, it explores two major challenges associated with real-time notation systems — rehearsing the music and illustrating the process to the audience — and considers a variety of ways in which to address these issues. When composers creatively take advantage of the opportunities offered by real-time notation and address its design challenges, these systems can help them to create performance paradigms that redistribute the roles of composer, performer, and listener, substituting the unidirectional flow from composer’s score to performer’s sound to listener’s ears with a collaborative feedback loop. The musical score is not only collectively interpreted; it is also collectively created.
Abstract 2: Storage in Collaborative Networked Music
This talk explores the role of storage in media art and, more specifically, its role in collaborative creativity within the field of networked music. Through a series of paired analyses of works that differentially emphasize transmission and storage or which employ different approaches to storage, the chapter discusses different opportunities, challenges, and issues related to storage in collaborative, networked art. Music by the Rova Saxophone Quartet and by Nick Collins frames a discussion of composition and improvisation; two works by The Hub initiate an analysis of the influence of technology on network design and on collaborative models of shared material and shared control; broadcast works by Max Neuhaus introduce the concept of active storage systems; the online sites WebDrum and Jamglue raise questions about network latency and the persistency of storage; and Bicycle Built for 2,000 and Graph Theory manipulate the level of awareness of storage mechanisms by various participants.
Abstract 3: Web-Based Collaboration, Live Performance, and Open-Form Scores
As social listening, composition, and improvisation applications become increasingly popular online, I seek to creatively engage audiences at live musical performances using similar strategies. Structuring live events around collaboration with audiences can lead to exciting and rewarding musical experiences, but the technical, logistical, and design constraints at live venues make such live participation systems challenging to create and deploy. This talk focuses on an alternate approach: linking web-based collaborative experiences with more traditional live musical performances. The talk explores the motivations behind such hybrid performance works and the history of them, and it then discusses and evaluates two of my recent works, Graph Theory (2006) and Piano Etudes (2009), both of which use open-form musical scores as a structural framework for participation.