is a guitarist, composer, band leader, and software programmer. In 1983, he founded the avant-rock octet Doctor Nerve. He presently resides in New York City, where he composes, creates music software, and teaches computer music composition at New York University and Columbia University. He is the principle author of the computer music language Java Music Specification Language (www.algomusic.com). He has composed music for Bang On A Can All-Stars, Meridian Arts Ensemble, Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, California EAR Unit, New Century Players, Ethel String Quartet, Electric Kompany, ARTE Quartett, and other ensembles. His Punos Music record label offers CD releases of his more extreme musical projects. He is director of bioinformatics for the Gensat project at The Rockefeller University.
Didkovsky’s work with Doctor Nerve joins the furious energy of rock with intricate composition, some of which finds its origins in rich software systems of his own design. His non-didactic approach to combining human and machine creativity is his unique fingerprint in a musical world that pushes the boundaries of rock music, algorithmic composition, and contemporary music. Doctor Nerve has performed at a number of music festivals, including the Composers’ Showcase at The Whitney Museum of American Art, FIMAV Festival (Victoriaville, Quebec), MIMI Festival (Arles, France), Creative Time (Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage), Rumor Festival (Holland), Moers Festival (Germany), Festival Musique Actuelle (Victoriaville, Canada), and Festival des Musiques Innovatrices (France). In 1995 Didkovsky released a score book containing full ensemble scores for all the compositions from the CD “SKIN”.
Didkovsky is a member of the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, which to date has released two CD’s, entitled Ayaya Moses and Upbeat (Ambiances Magnetique). Didkovsky has contributed twelve compositions to the ensemble.
His new trio Bone with bassist Hugh Hopper (ex Soft Machine) and drummer John Roulat released their first record on Cuneiform Records. The CD features intricate, high energy compositions and improvisation. Bone recently enjoyed its premiere performance at “December 2006 at The STONE” curated by Bruce Gallanter, and in 2008 performed at The Whitney Museum of American Art.
With Phil Burk, Didkovsky created Java Music Specification Language (JMSL), a language for computer music composition written in the Java programming language. JMSL was premiered at Circuits: The Governor’s Conference on Arts and Technology, in Palisades, NY in March, 1998. In 2003, Minnesota Public Radio commissioned Didkovsky to design a JMSL version of the Rhythmicon, an electronic musical instrument originally designed by Henry Cowell and Leon Theremin in 1930. It is hosted at www.musicmavericks.org/rhythmicon and was featured on The Art of the Virtual Rhythmicon (Innova , 2006). Didkovsky has presented papers on JMSL at three International Computer Music Conferences (2001, ‘04, ‘06), & the JavaOne Conference (2003).
Didkovsky has received commissioning grants from The Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Meet the Composer’s Commissioning/Music USA, the Jerome Foundation, and numerous privately funded initiatives. He has received recording grants from The Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust and the Aaron Copland Fund. He was awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts Computer Arts Fellowship to support his work in computer music composition and performance.
His Black Sabbath Guitar Lessons on YouTube have been received with great enthusiasm by metal fans all over the world.
CONFERENCE – BRIEF ABSTRACT:
Java Music Specification Language (JMSL) is a Java API for algorithmic music composition and performance. JMSL co-creator Nick Didkovsky presents an overview of pieces realized in JMSL. The works demonstrate a range of what JMSL offers the composer/performer, including real-time interactive score generation (Zero Waste for sight reading pianist and computer), sonification of scientific data for compositional purposes (Liminophone, which maps ocean data to sound), and the creation of intelligent, real-time performance instruments, deployed via the www and enabled with server-side resources (Virtual Rhythmicon, based on the Rhythmicon designed by Henry Cowell in 1930).
