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Program

Charles Nichols: The Fluted Bird (2024)

For solo flute and computer. Duration: 8:05

Performers: Elizabeth Lantz (flute), Charles Nichols (computer)

The Fluted Bird is a lyrical piece for solo flute and computer, in which the computer musician samples the frequent grace notes performed by the flutist. These samples are loaded into video matrixes that are filtered to echo and smear the audio, resynthesized as an ambient accompaniment to the live performance. The title was taken from a poem of the same name by Daniel Haberman. The piece was written for flutist Elizabeth Lantz, who will premiere the spatial audio version in the 70 channel spatial audio system of the Multimedia Room at McGill University.

Charles Nichols: Sonder (2021)

For flute, alto saxophone, and computer. Duration: 6:55

Performers: Elizabeth Lantz (flute), Kyle Hutchins (alto saxophone), Charles Nichols (computer)

Sonder, as defined in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig, is the realization that everyone around you is living a complex and interesting story that you may never know. In the piece Sonder, for flute, alto saxophone, and computer, singing while playing, multiphonics, timbral trills, and flutter tongue serve as background textures to a lilting melodies and rolling arpeggios, while the performance is recorded in the computer and played as looped accompaniment. Short samples of the performance, stored in video matrices, are processed with video filters, smearing and scattering the recording, while playing back the parts forward and backward. Longer samples are stored in buffers that are played in different directions, while rhythmically jumping to random sections of the recording. The piece was written for flutist Elizabeth Lantz and saxophonist Kyle Hutchins, who premiered the spatial audio version in the 140 channel spatial audio system of the Cube at Virginia Tech.

Charles Nichols: Emerging: Wuhan-Hu-1 (2023)

for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and fixed media. Duration: 10:15

Performers: Elizabeth Lantz (flute), Kyle Hutchins (alto saxophone), John Irrera (violin), Danijela Kos (cello), Charles Nichols (computer)

Emerging: Wuhan-Hu-1 (for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and fixed media) sonifies the amino acid side chain sequence of the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus, with acoustic instruments and recordings played in a dome of speakers around the audience. With a commission from the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, composer Charles Nichols collaborated with molecular biologists Deborah Good and Shannon Mauro, who compiled a sequence of the amino acids, including their folding behavior and glycosylation, for the spike protein of the first human variant of the virus. Nichols converted the side chains of the twenty amino acids, that link to form the protein, into musical motives. By employing the same musical cryptogram systems that Bach, Schumann, and Ravel used to translate names into notes, he mapped the chemical symbols of the skeletal formulas to different pitches. Working across the ball and stick model of each amino acid, if a side chain branches, the notes of the musical motive transpose up and down in pitch. To add rhythm and articulation to the notes, the higher the element in the side chain appears on the periodic table, the longer the rhythm sustains and the stronger the articulation stresses the corresponding pitch. To sonify more of the spike protein structure and increase musical interest in the sequence, the folding behavior of the amino acid, whether it causes the protein to helix, coil, or sheet, determines the overlap of the musical motives across instruments and recorded instruments, and the amount of glycosylation determines the pitch transposition of sections. Flutist Elizabeth Lantz, clarinetist Kyle Hutchins, violinist John Irrera, cellist Alan Weinstein, and conductor Derek Shapiro premiered the piece in surround sound at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA and in immersive spatial audio in the Cube at Virginia Tech.

Dear Younger Me (2023)

Fixed audiovisual media. Duration: 5:00

For additional information on the project, please click here.

The adultification of Black girls, and the dehumanization of Black women by stripping them of the right to express emotion and vulnerability, contribute to various degrees of mental health issues in Black women and girls. The Dear Younger Me Project is a collaborative art effort which utilizes technology and psychology to curate healing spaces and raise awareness in communities. The project takes a three prong approach (1) a workshop for women to write a note to their younger self; (2) the recording of the women reading their notes using an Empatica E4 watch; pulse oximetry and electrodermal activity (EDA) to record their emotional response in that moment; and (3) an immersive art experience is then curated with the audio visuals, integrating the words from the notes with artificial intelligence to create images, and using the data generated from the EDA data output to provide lighting and ambient sound which is placed behind a live reading of the notes.

Eric Lyon: BLUE (2019, rev. 2024)

For two tenor saxophones and spatial chaos. Duration: 20:00

Performers: Kyle Hutchins & Marie-Chantal Leclair, saxophones

BLUE was originally composed in a version for tenor saxophone and tenor trombone, premiered by Kyle Hutchins, saxophone, and Jay Crone, trombone. A new version for two tenor trombones receives its premiere at this concert by Kyle Hutchins & Marie-Chantal Leclair. Two key concepts for the piece are spatialization and elongation. Short saxophone events are articulated with impulse responses with lengths of up to 70 seconds. Many different impulse responses were generated for the piece. The distended nature of the interaction between saxophones and computer processing allows for an introspective performance in which timbral decisions made in very short performance time spans have long term consequences.

Bios

Charles Nichols

Composer, violinist, and computer music researcher Charles Nichols explores the expressive potential of instrumental ensembles and computer music systems, for the concert stage and collaborations with dance, video, and installation art. Spatial audio, data sonification, motion capture, telematic performance, and interface design play a role in his creative process. He performs and records on electric violin and laptop as a member of the band Modality, which recently released the album Embodiment on Bandcamp, and on laptop in the duo Kill All Kings, with saxophonist Kyle Hutchins. After earning degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Yale University, and Stanford University, he was a technical director at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics and an associate professor at the University of Montana. Nichols is currently an associate professor of Composition and Creative Technologies at Virginia Tech. His album Crossing the Divide, recorded by the Beo String Quartet, was recently released by Centaur Records.

Elizabeth Lantz

Elizabeth Lantz is a Senior Instructor of Flute in the School of Performing Arts at Virginia Tech. A regular soloist and chamber musician, Ms. Lantz has performed and presented masterclasses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, the United States, Trinidad, South America, Canada, Europe, and South Korea. Recent performance engagements have included the International Computer Music Conference in Seoul, South Korea, the College Music Society’s International Conference in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, the National Flute Association National Convention, the International Conference for Saxophone Pedagogy and Performance, the United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, the Flute New Music Festival in Stony Brook, N.Y, and the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference. Administratively, Ms. Lantz has served as Program Chair for the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention and serves as Visiting Artist Coordinator for the School of Performing Arts at Virginia Tech. She holds degrees from the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona. Her teachers have included Ann Diener-Zentner, Jim Walker, Tadeu Coelho and Jean-Louis Kashy. Elizabeth Lantz is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

Benjamin Knapp

R. Benjamin Knapp is the Founding Director of the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) and Professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech. ICAT seeks to promote research and education at the boundaries between art, design, engineering, and science. Dr. Knapp also leads the Music, Sensors, and Emotion research group, with researchers in the UK and the US.
For more than 20 years, Dr. Knapp has been working to create meaningful links between human-computer interaction, universal design, and various forms of creativity. His research on human-computer interaction has focused on the development and design of user-interfaces and software that allow both composers and performers to augment the physical control of a musical instrument with direct sensory interaction. He holds twelve patents and is the co-inventor of the BioMuse system, which enables artists to use gesture, cognition, and emotional state to interact with audio and video media.

In previous positions, Dr. Knapp has served as a Fulbright Senior Specialist at University College, Dublin, and chief technology officer of the Technology Research for Independent Living Centre. As the director of technology at MOTO Development Group in San Francisco, Calif., he managed teams of engineers and designers developing human-computer interaction systems for companies such as Sony, Microsoft, and Logitech. He co-founded BioControl Systems, a company that develops mobile bioelectric measurement devices for artistic interaction. Dr. Knapp has also served as professor and chair of the Department of Computer, Information, and Systems Engineering at San Jose State University.

He earned a doctorate and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University. Dr. Knapp has been a PI in several pan-European projects including, CAPSIL (Common Awareness and Knowledge Platform for Studying and Enabling Independent Living) and SIEMPRE (Social Interaction and Entrainment Using Music Performance) and coordinated the EU project, BRAID (Bridging Research in Ageing and ICT Development).

Eryc Lyon

Eric Lyon is a composer, computer musician, spatial music researcher, audio software developer, curator, and author. In the 1980s, Lyon developed a wide range of new signal processing strategies for modifying both synthetic and acoustic sounds, including a wide range of spectral processors based on Fourier analysis. In the 1990s, he developed algorithmic approaches to sound design that resulted in increasingly complex and unpredictable timbres. In parallel, he began working with live processing of acoustic sounds, first with the Kyma system, and next with Max/MSP, ultimately writing a large collection of his own Max/MSP externals.

In the first decade of the 21st century, Lyon has continued developing interactive computer chamber music, with precise DSP designs integrated into instrumental counterpoint. He also began developing strategies for creating multichannel music. In the second decade of the 21st century, Lyon has focused on creating immersive music for massively multichannel systems, also known as high-density loudspeaker arrays (HDLAs). He has increasingly automated live DSP processing in his works for acoustic instruments and electronics, drawing on the sequencing capabilities of Ableton Live in tandem with its internal DSP plug-in design platform Max for Live. Lyon’s publicly available software includes FFTease (with Christopher Penrose) and LyonPotpourri, collections of externals written for Max/MSP and Pd.

Lyon is the author of the book “Automated Sound Design” (2023) which develops multiple strategies for using code to automate the sound design process in both real-time and non-real-time contexts. Lyon is also the author of the book “Designing Audio Objects for Max/MSP and Pd” (2012) which explains the process of designing and implementing audio DSP externals. In 2016, Lyon was guest editor of the Computer Music Journal, editing two issues (CMJ 40:4 and 41:1) dedicated to the subject of HDLAs. Lyon also curated the 2016 Computer Music Journal Sound Anthology, which was the first binaural anthology published by the CMJ.

In 2011, Lyon was awarded a Giga-Hertz prize from ZKM, resulting in the creation of the 43-channel computer music composition Spirits. His 124-channel composition “The Cascades” was premiered in the Cube at the Virginia Tech Center for the Arts, and performed on the BEAST system at BEAST FEaST 2015 in Birmingham, and at the SARC Sonic Lab in Belfast at Sonorities/Speculations 2016. His multichannel composition "Spaced Images with Noise and Lines" was selected for multiple performances in the 2015 MUSLAB competition, and his computer music composition "Light Rain, Laganside" was selected for performance at the International Society for Contemporary Music’s 2016 World Music Days festival. In 2018, Lyon was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition.

Kyle Hutchins

Kyle Hutchins is a visionary experimental performance artist, composer, improviser, and educator, forging new sonic frontiers with his saxophone, voice, cutting-edge technology, and an arsenal of unconventional instruments. Hailed as “epic” (Jazz Times) and “gripping” (Star Tribune), Kyle’s music has been showcased at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and The Walker Art Center, and featured at festivals across five continents, including the World Saxophone Congress, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, and the International Computer Music Conference. His artistry has earned him accolades from DOWNBEAT, New Music USA, The American Prize, and American Protégé, as well as recognition in The Roanoker Magazine’s “40 under 40” for 2024.

A leading figure in experimental performance and electroacoustic new music, Kyle has premiered over 350 new works and appears on more than thirty albums as both a leader and sideman. He regularly performs with 113 Composers Collective, Fonema Consort, and Strains Ensemble, and has worked with prominent composers and performers including Pauline Oliveros, George Lewis, Chaya Czernowin, Douglas Ewart, and Claire Chase. Kyle has also developed long-standing collaborations with many contemporary artists such as Ted Moore, Tiffany M. Skidmore, Joey Crane, Emily Lau, Elizabeth A. Baker, Charles Nichols, Eric Lyon, and many more wonderful artists and dear friends.

“Part of electroacoustic improv’s well-hewn dynasty” (Downtown Music Gallery), Kyle is an eminent improviser whose playing is described as “undoubtedly brave” (Issues Magazine) and “frankly unsafe” (I Care If You Listen). His work can be heard on labels such as Carrier, Lurker Bias, Noise Pelican, and Mother Brain, as well as at festivals and series like afterMAF, SKRONK, and CUSP. His ongoing projects, including Binary Canary, Kill All Kings, and Banshee, draw on influences from free jazz, noise music, and punk rock.
Since 2016, Kyle has been a faculty member at Virginia Tech, where he serves as Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Performing Arts and Director of the New Music + Technology Festival and ArtX Program at the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota, and Bachelor's degrees in Music Performance and Music Education from the University of North Texas, studying under Eugene Rousseau, Eric Nestler, Marcus Weiss, and James Dillon. Kyle is a Performing Artist for Yamaha, Légère, and E. Rousseau Mouthpieces.

John Irrera

Praised by the Santa Barbara Daily Sound for his “moving and hypnotic” performances and Fanfare magazine for his “impeccable precision”, violinist John Irrera is flourishing as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, and pedagogue. John’s Carnegie Hall debut was lauded as a “riveting and dynamic performance’ by the New York Concert Review. Since his concerto debut with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto under the baton of Maestro Jeff Tyzik, John has performed concertos with numerous orchestras including the Penfield Symphony, the Georgia Symphony, the Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra, the Kennesaw State University, and with the Eastman Percussion Ensemble. His recitals have been heard in concert halls such as Lincoln Center, the Eastman Theatre, Spivey Hall, and across the globe on three continents.

Recent appearances include performances at the College Music Society National Conference in Miami, Florida, the University of New Mexico, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the University of Louisville, the Conservatori Superior de Música Óscar Esplà, in Alicante Spain, at the National Library of Wales, and at Conway Hall in London, England.

As a chamber musician John has co-founded, with his brother Joseph, the Irrera Brothers duo, which has concertized around the globe. The duo released composer Robert Morris’ complete works for violin and piano, on the Centaur label, having received positive reviews. Fanfare Magazine stating “The Irrera’s are impressive. John negotiates an often demanding, disjunct violin part with subtle finesse, without sacrificing a sense of musical line.” John is also a founding member of the mixed instrument chamber ensemble, October Sky, comprised of fellow Virginia Tech faculty members. The ensemble just released its first album in summer of 2023 on the MSR label to critical acclaim with Fanfare Magazine stating “They play with arresting spirit, tonal richness, and razor-sharp ensemble. Recommended with enthusiasm” and “the marvelous playing by John Irrera, throughout the album adds immeasurably to the charm and interest.”

As an active orchestral musician, John has performed with the New World Symphony under conductors Michael Tilson Thomas and Thomas Adès, with the Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble under the baton of composer Tan Dun, was concertmaster of the Genesee Symphony Orchestra, and with the Charleston Symphony (SC). In the spring of 2022, John was named the Associate Concertmaster of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra.

John holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts having studied with and serving as the Teaching Assistant for the studios of Zvi Zeitlin and Federico Agostini. Currently, John is Assistant Professor of Violin at Virginia Tech.

Additional info

Production team

• Keisha V. Thompson, researcher & project leader
• Jada Hoffman & Gilette B., Adele, featured readers
• Ben Knapp, producer
• Dacia Kings, composer
• Tianyu Ge, data processing & feature extraction
• Eric Lyon, sonification & spatial treatments
• Geefa Adane, transcription
• Sydney Johnson, animations
• Meaghan Dee, graphic design advisor
• Andraé L. Brown & Tilandra Rhyne, project recruitment

*Videos for Dear Younger Me were recorded at Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center.