Point studies no. 2 (2013) for any two PITCHED instruments and computer

Excerpt from point studies no. 2 (2013) performed by Cat Hope (alto flt.) and  Lindsay Vickery (bass cla.)

64x4x4 (2017) for string quartet

Score excerpts from 64x4x4 (2017)

5x3x3 (2019) for three winds and hololens

Still image within the Unity3D development platform of the 3D score for 5x3x3 (2019).

Excerpt from a performance of 5x3x3 (2019) by the ELISION ensemble featuring Carl Rosman, (cla.), Ryan Williams (b. rec.), and Tamara Kohler (flt.) at the Ian Potter Centre for the Performing Arts, Melbourne.

88x3x2  (WORKING  TITLE) FOR PIANO AND HOLOLENS

Projection mapped score example

point studies no.2 (2013) for any two pitched instruments and computer, continues a series of pieces in which a musical space is articulated by a distribution of points representing various musical parameters. In point studies no. 2, these points are figuratively indicated in a three-dimensional musical score generated in real-time by a MaxMSP/Jitter patch. In the score, which varies from performance to performance, pitches are represented by points of different color and are connected by line segments, indicating durations, of various lengths. Performers navigate their way through the score, which slowly transforms during the course of the work, and are accompanied by electronically generated sounds that are developed along similar principles to those through which the performers interpret the score.

64x4x4 (2017) for string quartet continues an exploration of the musical possibilities of graphic, open-form scores generated in real time. Each member of the quartet is presented with a unique, shifting view of a three-dimensional grid of colored nodes which represent various natural harmonics. The nodes are connected by a series of thin lines the color of which denote the strings on which the harmonics are to be performed. The live performance of the quartet is accompanied by a computer generated reading of the score built from prerecorded string samples with the form of the work emerging as a result of these explorations of the work’s generative structure. 

5x3x3 for any three pitched wind instruments is an open-form work featuring a reactive graphic score generated in real-time and displayed for each of the performers on Microsoft’s HoloLens, see Figure 1. The score presents a series of three (3x) dynamic three-dimensional constructs formed from 45 spherical nodes connected by lines of variable curvature, color, and length which each denote particular musical parameters. As the performers musically explore various pathways through the score, the score itself is subject to transformations driven by variations of timbral nuance each performer is able to elicit from their respective instrument in addition to a number of global spatial transforms which cause the three discrete constructs to expand, contract and intersect. The open-ended field of musical possibilities presented by the evolving score in the mixed reality space of the HoloLens, promotes a physical engagement with the score where the navigation through its various possibilities is musically traced through a dérive-like sonic exploration.
 
Released in 2018, Microsoft’s HoloLens is a mixed reality device which presents immersive, three-dimensional visualizations to the wearer. The device affords a practical solution for displaying three-dimensional scores hitherto not possible. In 5x3x3, multiple HoloLens are synchronised over a local network with the information displayed to the performers modified via a UDP connection with a master Max signal analysis and control patch. 5x3x3 is a technically complex work which was made possible through a professional development grant awarded by the Australian Council for the Arts which made possible a research residency at IRCAM in January, 2018. Many thanks also to Daryl Buckley and the ELISION ensemble, for whom the work is written, for their ongoing support throughout its long development. 
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The work for which I am seeking an Australia Council grant features a 3D projection mapped score presented for the pianist on the HoloLens. The still image at left provides an example of how such a score might look for the pianist. Musical events are denoted by colored nodes connected by colored lines with placement on the keyboard dynamically shifting and unfolding as the piece develops. While the mapping of graphic symbols to musical parameters has yet to be completely determined, it is likely that the placement of nodes will correspond to pitch, their height to dynamics, and the lines connecting them to duration. Colors have yet to be mapped.