AOM at the Network Music Festival, Birmingham, UK September 28, 2014

Avatar Orchestra at Network Music Festival

Sunday, September 28, 2014, Birmingham, UK

http://networkmusicfestival.org/nmf2014/programme/performances/

Works by Björn Eriksson, Tina M Pearson and Norman Lowrey

Ten composers, artists and musicians spread through Europe and North America meet in a networked virtual world. There, together as avatars, they design and play new otherworldly virtual instruments while experimenting with identity, perception, telepathy and collectivity. The instruments determine movement, audio emissions, and the release of particles and textures that give visual indications of sounds made independently by individual players in real time. There is no streaming involved – the performance is created completely within the networked 3-D environment world Second Life.

Bjorn Eriksson's Fragula moves from granulated sine waves, square waves and sawtooth-shaped sounds through arpeggiated synthetic figures into samples of an old harmonium with imprecise playing. Each sound control triggers a specific small or big movement and animation of the avatar, while exploding each avatar’s sound sack into colour.

PwRHm: Breathing the Network Electric by Tina M Pearson uses two sets of sine tones tuned to the harmonic series of the AC currents of North America and Europe. Separated by continents, AC frequencies and instrument sets, the two groups of performers play according to their individual breath rhythms while exploring sonic phenomena effects and the pure just intoned sonic relationships that occur when they meet within the 3-D virtual world. A separate set of instruments built on the processed field recordings of electric motors from each continent gives added possibilities.

In Whirled (Trance) Formations by Norman Lowrey invites performers to transform themselves through Singing Masks as "vehicles of transformation." The result is a spontaneously playful shaping of sound, light, and motion, using virtual mask instruments to connect with alternate realities, modes of cognition, or underlying fabrics of energies.

PERFORMERS

BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom (Biagio Francia), Agropoli, Italy 

Frieda Korda (Frieda Kuterna), Antwerp, Belgium)
Groucho Parx (Brenda Hutchinson), San Francisco, USA

Gumnosophistai Nurmi (Leif Inge), Oslo, Norway
Humming Pera (Tina M Pearson), Victoria, Canada

Maxxo Klaar (Max D. Well), Regensburg, Germany
Miulew Takahe (Björn Eriksson), Sollefteå, Sweden

North Zipper (Norman Lowrey), New Jersey, USA
Paco Mariani (Chris Wittkowsky), Regensburg, Germany

Zonzo Spyker (Viv Corringham) (New York, USA)

Virtual set by Frieda Kuterna, Liz Solo, Tina Pearson and Norman Lowrey
Virtual Instruments built by Andreas Mueller and Norman Lowrey
Animations by Andreas Mueller, Tim Risher and Norman Lowrey
Performed at Odyssey Art and Performance Simulator in Second Life

Machinima release: Rotating Brains / Beating Heart

The Avatar Orchestra Meteverse is pleased to announce the release of the machinima

 Rotating Brains / Beating Heart 

May 12, 2012

 The full length machinima can be viewed on Youtube here

Information about the making of Rotating Brains / Beating Heart can be found here
 

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart

A virtual reality performance collaboration featuring

Pauline Oliveros, Stelarc and the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Fifteen performers, two timekeepers, one conductor

Separated by geography, connected in virtual space

Avatars, objects, sounds, images and lights

Synchronized in real time

Recorded live at the RMIT Melbourne simulator in Second Life

during a networked performance for

New Adventures in Sound Art Sound Play Festival

November, 2010, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada

Machinima by Steve Millar

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart

Created by

Stelarc, Pauline Oliveros, Franziska Schroeder, Tina Pearson, Norman Lowrey, Andreas Müller

and the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Scored and conducted by

Tina Pearson

Performed by

Stelarc

Rotating avatar (Stelarc Luik), Stelarc automatons, voice

Daniel Mounsey

Rotating Stelarc automatons, floating texts

Pauline Oliveros

Flying avatar (Free Noyes) and drones

Norman Lowrey

Giant brain sound and images

Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Floating avatars and virtual audio-visual instruments

Andreas Müller (Bingo Onomatopoeia, Regensburg, Germany)

Biagio Francia (BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom, Agropoli, Italy)

Brenda Hutchinson (Groucho Parx, San Francisco, USA)
Carolyn Oakley (Carolhyn Wijaya, Boulder, Colorado, USA)

Tim Risher, (Flivelwitz Alsop, Durham, North Carolina, USA)

Peter Wong (Gargamel Frequency, San Francisco/Oakland, CA, USA)

Tina M. Pearson (Humming Pera, Victoria, BC, Canada)

Norman Lowrey (North Zipper, New Jersey, USA)

Chris Wittkowsky (Paco Mariani, Regensburg, Germany)

Ryan Ross Smith (Pow Zero, Berkeley, CA, USA)

Seidi Palonen (Saara Edring, Helsinki, Finland)

Viv Corringham (Zonzo Spyker, Minneapolis, MN, USA / London, UK)

with

Leif Inge (Timekeeping)

and

Ze Moo (Additional automatons)

Set Design

Stelarc and Daniel Mounsey

Composition and Sound Design

Norman Lowrey, Andreas Mueller, Pauline Oliveros, Tina Pearson, Stelarc

Stelarc Luik Automatons and Animations

Designed by Stelarc, scripting and construction by Daniel Mounsey

Automaton Choreography

Stelarc

Flying avatar (Free Noyes) Choreography

Pauline Oliveros, Norman Lowrey

Avatar Orchestra Choreography

Tina Pearson, Tim Risher and Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Virtual giant brain 5-Channel Audiovisual Mixer

Designed and Built by Norman Lowrey

Sound samples from the human nervous system and outer space

Images of the human nervous and circulatory systems

Virtual 9-Channel Audio Drone Mixer

Conceived by Pauline Oliveros

Designed and built by Norman Lowrey

Sounds from Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros, Franziska Schroeder, Tina Pearson,

Viv Corringham and Stelarc

Avatar Orchestra Virtual Instruments

Designed by Tina Pearson and Andreas Müller

Built by Andreas Müller

Sounds of the human circulatory system from Tim Risher,

in-womb heartbeats from Lilith and Doris,

mechanical processes from Andreas Müller,

tuned sine tones from Tina Pearson

Avatar Orchestra animations

Built by Tim Risher

Second Life performance filmed and edited by Steve Millar

Audio recording from Second Life by Andreas Müller

Filmed at RMIT Melbourne Simulator in Second Life

Rotating Brains / Beating Heart was originally created as a mixed reality collaboration

Premiered at the 2010 Digital Resources for the Humanities and the Arts Conference at Brunel University, UK

By Stelarc, Pauline Oliveros, Avatar Orchestra Metaverse,

Franziska Schroeder (saxophone) and Martin Parker (electronics)

THANKS TO

RMIT University (Melbourne), OCAD University (Toronto), New Adventures in Sound Art, Nadine Thériault- Copeland, Darren Copeland,

Hector Centeno, Hannah Dean, Bentley Jarvis in Toronto, Canada;

Franziska Schroeder at Sonic Arts Research Centre in Belfast, Ireland, Dr. Lisa Dethridge at RMIT in Melbourne, Yael Gilks (Fau Ferdinand), Ze Moo, Dennis Moser, Sachiko Hayashi, Max D Well, Steve Millar (Arahan Claveau).

New Adventures in Sound Art Residency funding for Tina Pearson provided by the SOCAN Foundation, Canada

Avatar Orchestra at Odyssey March 26

This one's for you, Second Life.

Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 12:30 PM SLT (Pacific Time) the Avatar Orchestra will perform a concert at the new Odyssey Art and Performance Simulator in Second Life specially for an in world audience. 

AOM's concerts of the past year have focused on First Life venues. This one is for our Second Life friends. Please join us.

Click here for the SLurl to the concert location Teleport. You should arrive next to a billboard displaying  the image above. (If you arrive at ground level, fly up 300 feet.)

The program will include

Heart of Tones by Pauline Oliveros (Free Noyes)

Aleatricity by Andreas Mueller (Bingo Onomatopoeia)

2 John by Viv Corringham (Zonzo Spyker)

Fragula by Bjorn Eriksson (Miuleiw Takahe)

In Whirled (Trance)formations by Norman Lowrey (North Zipper)

PwRHm2 by Tina Pearson (Humming Pera)

AOM performs at ISEA2009 Kritical Works Exhibition

The orchestra had the pleasure of working with Angrybeth Robinson (aka UK artist Annabeth Robinson) for the presentation of her interactive Second Life installation I Am Note, We are Music. The piece is constructed as a circular arena, where avatars can enter to trigger gentle piano tones, the pitch of which is determined by the avatar height. The prominence each tone is determined by the distance of the avatar from a central column in the arena.

On Friday, August 7, 2009, AOM took part in Angrybeth's presentation at the International Symposium on Electronic Art at the University of Ulster in Belfast.

AOM performed within I Am Note, first simply illuminating its ways, then adding AOM instruments and sound samples for an extended AOMprovisation with I Am Note's piano tones. The I Am Note Aomprovisation was followed by a performance of Bingo Onomatopoeia's Aleatricity.

Angrybeth's blogs about I Am Note, the Symposium and the performance are here and here

To watch a Quicktime video of the I Am Note AOMprovisation and Aleatricity performance, click here

AOM performers for this event were
Bingo Onomatopoeia (Andreas Mueller), Regensburg, Germany
BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom (Biagio Francia), Agropoli, Italy
Carolhyn Wijaya (Carolyn Oakley), Boulder, Colorado, USA
Gumnosophistai Nurmi (Leif Inge), Oslo, Norway
Humming Pera (Tina Pearson), Victoria, BC, Canada
Paco Mariani (Chris Wittkowsky), Regensburg, Germany

AOM performs at SARC, Belfast May 15 2009

Avatar Orchestra Metaverse
SARC, Belfast May 15, 2009

As part of the Pauline Oliveros (Free Noyse) residency at Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland, AOM will perform 3 of its repertoire pieces:

In Whirled (Trance)formations by North Zipper (Norman Lowrey), USA
PwRHm by Humming Pera (Tina Pearson), Canada
Fragula by Miulew Takahe (Bjorn Eriksson), Sweden

Friday, May 15
12:20 PM SLT / 3:20 PM EDT / 8:20 PM UK / 2120 CET

AOM on location at U21 Global in Second Life
Send an Instant Message to an AOM member to attend.

World's Biggest Smile Charity Performance

Avatar Orchestra Metaverse performs a benefit concert

World's Greatest Smile Peace Project
Saturday April 25th, 2009 4 PM SLT
(0100 CET April 26th)

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vanaheim/176/31/2234

The World's Greatest Smile aims to enhance peaceful international communication and friendship. It is supported by 19 Nobel Laureates, including the Dalai Lama, politicians and many celebrities.
http://www.worlds-greatest-smile.com

The concert is made in cooperation with project leaders for the World's Greatest Smile Peace Project and avatar makers; Yeti Bing and Yoa Ogee.

The Avatar Orchestra Metaverse will play live “Fragula” by Börn Eriksson aka Miulew Takahe and “Aleacitry” by Andreas Mueller aka Bingo Onomatopoeia

The concert is #11 in a series of Orchestral Investigations by Avatar Orchestra Metaverse.

Avatar Orchestra: Live May 10, 2008: Mixed Reality and Audio Stream

AOM announces a special concert of two world premiere compositions. The performance features Jeremy Owen Turner's XAANADRuuL, dedicated to the memory of Karlheinz Stockhausen, who died last year and Pauline Oliveros' Heart of Tones, dedicated to the memory of trombonist Toyoji Tomita, who passed away April 17, 2008. The performance takes place on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 2 PM Pacific/SLT on Second Life (stay tuned for SL audience url) and at the 4th annual Open Space Voice++ Festival in Victoria, BC, Canada. The concert will also be streamed for listening at

Shoutcast server 1
http://d-oo-b.cc:8034
Listening url server 1
http://d-oo-b.cc:8034/listen.pls

Shoutcast server 2
http://d-oo-b.cc:8036
Listening url server 2
http://d-oo-b.cc:8036/listen.pls

Shoutcast server 3 (reserve)
http://d-oo-b.cc:8038
Listening url server 3
http://d-oo-b.cc:8038/listen.pls

Saturday May 10 2 PM PDT; 5 PM EDT (NYC, Toronto); 9 PM GMT; 10 PM UK; 11 PM CEDT

Web Streaming: Loop Luo (Loopland), Regensburg, Germany
Web Stream Host: Eifachfilm Vacirca Films, Basil, Switzerland

PROGRAM

(Times are approximate. Due to the nature of the technology of the virtual reality platform, there may be slight delays experienced in the audio stream)

2:00
XAANADRuuL
Stockhausen's Pleasuredome 4 Sirius Business (2007/2008)
by Wirxli Flimflam (Jeremy Owen Turner)

--short break for set change--
--(there may be a pause in the audio stream)--

2:30
The Heart of Tones (mixed reality version)
by Free Noyes (Pauline Oliveros)


PROGRAM NOTES

XAANADRuuL
Stockhausen's Pleasuredome 4 Sirius Business (2007/2008)
by Wirxli Flimflam (Jeremy Owen Turner)

dedicated to the memory of Karlheinz Stockhausen

XANADRuuL is a Second Life composition in 3 sections created for the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse. One can see this composition as an official elegy/tribute to the Modernist music pioneer, Karlheinz Stockhausen. XAANADRuuL was created from samples that were solely derived from the composer's (Wirxli's) own digitally manipulated voice. This composition was inspired by Stockhausen's claim of being an alien from Sirius and so the 3 sections of this composition correspond to Sirius A, B and C stars. In addition, there are also many references to Xanadu (including the movie with Olivia Newton John). The Opening Ceremonies take place on Sirius A where angels sing along with the selected voice samples from heavenly heights on the ceiling of a pentagonal geodesic dome and also on Sirius B where meandering avatars vainly attempt to communicate with these alien angelic muses using only pre-recorded samples. Sirius C is a "meta-composition" and is performed by the public throughout Second Life.

PERFORMERS

Virtual Instruments (Second Life):
Avatar Orchestra Metaverse
Bingo Onomatopoeia (Andreas Mueller), Regensburg, Germany
BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom (Biagio Francia), Agropoli, Italy
Goodwind Seiling (Sachiko Hayashi), Stockholm, Sweden
Gumnosophistai Nurmi (Leif Inge), Oslo, Norway
Ida Abe (Nathalie Fougeras), Brussels
Miulew Takahe (Bjorn Eriksson), Solleftea, Sweden
Paco Mariani (Chris Wittkowsky), Regensburg, Germany

Vocalists via Second Life:
Aurel Miles (Stephani Farrington), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Liz Solo (Liz Solo) St.John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
Zonzo Spyker (Viv Corringham), Minneapolis, USA, London, UK

Vocalists on site at Open Space Victoria:
Bowlerhat Tranchcoat (Christopher Reiche), Victoria, BC, Canada
Fernsing Llewelyn (Cathy Lewis), Victoria, BC, Canada
Humming Pera (Tina Pearson), Victoria, BC, Canada

_____

The Heart of Tones (mixed reality version)
by Free Noyes (Pauline Oliveros)

dedicated to the memory of Toyoji Tomita

This piece was originally composed for trombone and two oscillators, and commissioned by Abbie Conant and her Wired Goddess Project during her residency at Mills College in the Fall of 1999. This is an ensemble version of the piece adapted for the mixed realities of Second Life and Real Life, combining virtual instruments with live trombones and voices. The Heart of Tones: A tone, in this instance D4, is minutely explored in the smallest possible increments on, above and below the prescribed pitch, through the smallest timbre variations and spatial locations by performers on virtual and RL instruments. The pitch variations are never more than a half step away from the given pitch. The resultant beats, timbral shifts and audio illusions create rhythms, transformations and textures of depth. The focus is on listening to the beat frequencies and the overtones that result. The musicians decide independently and intuitively on the variations.

PERFORMERS

Virtual Instruments (Second Life):
Avatar Orchestra Metaverse
Bingo Onomatopoeia (Andreas Mueller), Regensburg, Germany
BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom (Biagio Francia), Agropoli, Italy
Fernsing Llewelyn (Cathy Lewis), Victoria, BC, Canada
Free Noyse (Pauline Oliveros), Kingston, New York, USA
Goodwind Seiling (Sachiko Hayashi), Stockholm, Sweden
Gumnosophistai Nurmi (Leif Inge), Oslo, Norway
Humming Pera (Tina Pearson), Victoria, BC, Canada
Liz Solo (Liz Solo) St.John’s, Newfoundland
Miulew Takahe (Bjorn Eriksson), Solleftea, Sweden
Paco Mariani (Chris Wittkowsky), Regensburg, Germany
Zonzo Spyker (Viv Corringham), Minneapolis, USA, London, UK

Vocalist via Second Life:
Zonzo Spyker (Viv Corringham), Minneapolis, USA, London, UK

Vocalists on site at Open Space Victoria:
Fernsing Llewelyn (Cathy Lewis), Victoria, BC, Canada
Humming Pera (Tina Pearson), Victoria, BC, Canada

Trombonists via Second Life:
Sum Noyes (Monique Buzzarté), New York
Trombonejen Wigglesworth (Jen Baker), Oakland, California, USA
Weave Noyes (Sarah Weaver), New York

Seattle Toyoji Band via Second Life:
StuArtnoise Sass (Thomasa Eckert, voice; Janice Giteck, cello; Roger Nelson, keyboard/voice; Paul Taub, flute; Renko Ishida Dempster, koto; Stuart Dempster, trombone), Seattle, Washington, USA

Statement from Pauline Oliveros:
“In my career of half a century I have used new technologies as they come about. I was excited by the new sounds I could make with electronics in the 50s and 60s. I was excited by performing with electronics in the 70s and 80s and by using computers for more powerful controls in the 90s and 2000s. My excitement with Second Life (SL) is the entry into the computer or virtual world where many things are possible that are not possible in Real Life (RL). In the virtual world many people come together from any part of the connected world (the planet) to collaborate on mutual interests. In this case music. The Heart of Tones is a RL piece that I have revised for SL/RL performance. The premiere will involve RL musicians performing for both RL and SL audiences. I am excited because there is a transition going on between the reality we know and the virtual reality to come. The Heart of Tones is an early venture in bridging both worlds.”

About Avatar Orchestra Metaverse
Virtual instruments and performance practice:

AOM compositions are created solely on the virtual reality platform that is Second Life. Some performances occur only on the Second Life platform, while many others are screened into Real Life concert and multi media presentations in centers in Europe and North America. In the case of Real Life performances, one or more onsite AOM members coordinates the internet linking and technical set up at the Real Life venue, and the virtual performance is projected live with amplified sound. The common way of presenting live music in Second Life is to stream sound. That is, somebody sits in a studio with mic or line connected to a computer running Second Life, and the sound is streamed to the Second Life listeners (avatars) who are at the same Second Life location. There might be a few avatars holding props looking like a musical instrument guitar, and the avatars might be animated to look like they are playing the
‘instruments’. The effect of this is very much like listening to live radio, even if it is a radio with a sophisticated user interface. The sound generated has no three-dimensional impact on the Second Life listener. This is very much a way the orchestra opposes.

There are two other options: to upload samples or to input live directly into Second Life with a mic input. AOM primarily uses the option of uploading sound samples into Second Life, and then synthesizes instruments using those Samples for each composition. This instrument, accessed through a Heads Up Display on the computer screen of each avatar, looks similar to what video games use for individual player control. Each individual performer is thus able to trigger sounds independently from each other.

Visually, AOM uses ‘receivers’, which are animations built into the HUD controls that indicate that the avatar is making sound. The animations are usually in the form of objects attached to the avatar’s body (back, head or torso) that change colour and shape, and that sometimes animate the avatar to fly, hover, or dance.

BIOS AND CREDITS

PAULINE OLIVEROS (Kingston, New York): Oliveros’ life as a composer, performer and humanitarian is about opening her own and others' sensibilities it the many facets of sound. Since the 1960's she has influenced American Music profoundly through her work with improvisation, meditation, electronic music, myth and ritual. Many credit her with being the founder of present day meditative music. All of Oliveros' work emphasizes musicianship, attention strategies, and improvisational skills. Oliveros has been celebrated worldwide. During the 1960's John Rockwell named her work Bye Bye Butterfly as one of the most significant of that decade. In the 70's she represented the U.S. at the World's Fair in Osaka, Japan; during the 80's she was honored with a retrospective at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.: the 1990's began with a letter of distinction from the American Music Center presented at Lincoln Center in New York: In 2000 the 50th anniversary of her work was celebrated with the commissioning and performance of her Lunar Opera:Deep Listening For_tunes. Oliveros work is available on numerous recordings produced by companies internationally. Sounding the Margins (as it was) - a forty year retrospective will be released soon in a six CD boxed set from the Deep Listening Institute www.deeplistening.org, which she founded with her creative partner IONE.

JEREMY OWEN TURNER (Vancouver) Jeremy Owen Turner (b. 1974, Victoria, B.C., Canada) is an inter-disciplinary artist, published writer, virtual performer and music (audio) composer currently based in Vancouver but exhibits, curates, performs and collaborates globally. As Wirxli Flimflam, he co-founded Second Front and also composes for the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse. His degree is in Art-History from the University of Victoria where he has also studied music composition with John Celona, Christopher Butterfield and John Cole. Turner is also a co-producer for the pioneering avatar performance group called The Gates - www.techworlds.org/thegates.htm and the internet punk band, The Hotmails – www.thehotmails.com He has been published in many sound-related publications including Musicworks, Front Magazine and C-Theory.

Avatar Orchestra Instrument (HUD) and Receiver Builder:
Bingo Onomatopoeia (Andreas Mueller), Regensburg, Germany
ANDREAS MUELLER was declared to be insane by his mother when she caught him in the kitchen recording a chamber concerto for washing machine, breadcutter, tape-loop and metronome at the tender age of 12. He managed to convince her successfully that he was not and only tried out what he had read in a book about modern music he had picked up from the public library. Since then he has worked in many areas of visual and acoustic art/noise, both digital and analogue. He currently works with the media-art group Pomodoro Bolzano (Regensburg, Germany) and in several collaborations within Second Life. http://www.pbspace.de/ , http://www.myspace.com/transponderfish

Avatar Orchestra Set Design and Construction (XAANADRuuL):
Dethomas Dibou (Detlev Thomas), Regensburg, Germany
DETLEV THOMAS is an artist and architect uses virtual reality technology to design eco and energy efficient houses, as well as furniture, and interior and urban spaces. Since 1993, his projects have been realized in Spain, Germany and Austria. Since 2006, as his Second Life avatar Dethomas Dibou, Detlev has designed virtual art spaces and sets for artists in Germany, Italy and Canada as well as for projects of the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse.

Performance Platforms on Second Life courtesy of
Humlab, Umeå University, Sweden: James Barrett and Patrik Svensson