Sunday, September 21, 2008

AOM performs October 3, 2008


Avatar Orchestra Performs
Friday October 3, '08
Second Life U21 Global
Real Life Drew University, Madison, New Jersey
Noon SLT / 3 PM EDT / 2100 CET

http://slurl.com/secondlife/U21Global%20Campus/143/220/103

Pataphone Aomprovisation

In memory of Michel Waisvisz

(featuring Michel Waisvisz' SL instrument)
Aleacitry
by Bingo Onomatopoeia (Andreas Mueller)
Waste From Real Life
by BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom (Biagio Francia)
In Whirled (Trance) Formations
by North Zipper (Norman Lowrey)

Pataphone Aomprovisation
In memory of Michel Waisvisz
Members of AOM perform on Michel Waisvisz' instrument, the Pataphone, designed and build by Michel and his avatar Pata Mayo at Steim. The audience will also have a chance to try this instrument.

Aleacitry
by Bingo Onomatopoeia (Andreas Mueller)
"This piece attempts to leave the known harmonic scheme completely, trying to use mostly sounds that have no real pitch. As sources, there are my circuit-bent instruments and my archive of field-recordings. My intention is to have the orchestra perform an expressionist soundpainting - the first idea was to do "The four seasons", with the name of the seasons as the only conductor's advices (plus maybe some more references to settings/weather, like "Play a little pond in the woods, early & misty morning in spring".) Aleatoric/citric/electric are blended to form the title ... it fits into Second Life, also into the idea that random sounds are used to describe a certain mood."

Waste From Real Life
by BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom (Biagio Francia)
The instruments built for this composition use a blend of sounds including synthesizer patches, drum and piano samples. The piece can be performed with live percussion and other instruments, and includes samples of sounds gathered by the performers from their 'real' lives. The October 3rd version features a virtual cello.

In Whirled (Trance) Formations
by North Zipper (Norman Lowrey)
featuring Singing Masks live at Drew University and virtually in Second Life at a campfire on the campus at U21 Global. "In Whirled Trance(Formations) is an improvisatory piece created for the Avatar Orchestra Metatverse by North Zipper. It invites participants to transform themselves through sounding and moving, with members of AOM primarily employing North's virtual versions of his Singing Masks as "vehicles of transformation." The result is intended to be a spontaneously playful shaping of sound, light, and motion."

Saturday, June 28, 2008

AOM @ at Crosswire/NIMK Amsterdam opening 2nd july

Optofonica presents: From 03-07-2008 until 26-07-2008Aernoudt Jacobs (BE), Sagi Groner (IL/NL), Kaffe Matthews (UK), Telcosystems (NL) and TeZ + Janis Ponisch (IT/DE).The Amsterdam festival 5 days off kicks off with the opening of the exhibition “Optofonica presents: Crosswire – in search of the synesthetic effect” on Wednesday 2 July 08 at 18.30 hrs.During opening : 7:30 pm performance Avatar Metaverse Orchestra 8:30 pm Aernoudt Jacobs

more info at:


and



Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Video document of AOM performance (by Liz Solo)

Avatar Orchestra Metaverse performance June 20, 2008 at U21 Global in Second Life
Filmed by Liz Solo while she was performing.


Excerpts from:


Rue Blanche by Bjorn Eriksson / Miliew Takahe
instruments by Andreas Mueller / Bingo Onomatopoeia


Wee No Kresh by Andreas Mueller / Bingo Onomatopoeia 
instruments and animations by composer


PwRHm by Tina Pearson / Humming Pera
instruments by Andreas Mueller / Bingo Onomatopoeia
receivers and particle design by Sachiko Hayashi / Goodwind Seiling


Fragula by Bjorn Eriksson / Miliew Takahe
instruments and animations by Andreas Mueller / Bingo Onomatopoeia

Heart of Tones by Pauline Oliveros / Free Noyes
instruments, colours and animations by Andreas Mueller / Bingo Onomatopoeia

Monday, June 9, 2008

Avatar Orchestra Metaverse Performs June 20, http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif2008

Avatar Orchestra Metaverse
Concert in Second Life

Friday, June 20, 2008, 8 AM SLT / 11 AM EDT / 1700 CET

Location: Second Life at U21Global
http://slurl.com/secondlife/U21Global%20Campus/5/207/21


AOM's June 20 Second Life concert will include the second AOM performance of the beautiful work Heart of Tones (virtual reality version) by iconic American composer Pauline Oliveros (aka Free Noyes), the award-winning composition Rue Blanche by Swedish sound artist Bjorn Eriksson (aka Miulew Takahe), the dance-able Wee No Kresh by AOM instrument builder and German sound designer Andreas Mueller (aka Bingo Onomatopoeia), and PwrHm, a work by Canadian composer Tina Pearson (aka Humming Pera) with visuals by media artist Sachiko Hayachi (aka Goodwind Seiling) that was premiered by AOM at a mixed reality concert in New York city.

Avatar Orchestra Metaverse Performers, June 20, 2008

Bingo Onomatopoeia (Andreas Mueller), Regensburg, Germany
BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom (Biagio Francia), Agropoli, Italy
Fernsing Llewelyn (Cathy Lewis), Victoria, BC, Canada
Gumnosophistai Nurmi (Leif Inge), Oslo, Norway
Humming Pera (Tina Pearson), Victoria, BC, Canada
Ida Aabye (Nathalie Fougeras), Paris / Brussel
Lizsolo Mathilde (Liz Solo), St. John's, Nfld, Canada
Miulew Takahe (Bjorn Eriksson), Solleftea, Sweden
North Zipper (Norman Lowrey), Madison, NJ, USA
Paco Mariani (Chris Wittkowsky), Regensburg, Germany
Trombonejen Wigglesworth (Jen Baker), San Francisco, USA
Zonzo Spyker (Viv Corringham), Minneapolis, USA, London, UK

June 20 Concert Composers:
Pauline Oliveros (aka Free Noyes)
http://www.paulineoliveros.us/
Bjorn Eriksson (aka Miulew Takahe)
http://ruccas.org/wiki.pl/Miulew
Andreas Mueller (aka Bingo Onomatopoeia)
http://www.myspace.com/transponderfish
Tina Pearson (aka Humming Pera)
http://hummingpera.blogspot.com/

Thursday, April 24, 2008

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