World Premiere of Rightist Mushrooms (2019) in Kulturpalast Dresden by AuditivVokal (Nov. 9, 2019)
Information
Kingyo Obsession (2017)
日本語:金魚オブセッション
for four voices or choir (SATB)
Commissioned by Soundstreams (Canada)
ca. 5 min.
Interviews, Talks, and Press
Interviews, Talks, and Press
Interviews, Talks, and Press
composer | sound artist
-shikaku-
Information
-shikaku- (2013)
日本語:しかく
for Chamber Orchestra constructed of four ensembles and electronics
ca. 10 min.
Instrumentation
4 Flutes
3 Clarinets in B-flat
1 Bass Clarinet in B-flat
1 Horn in F
1 Trumpet
1 Trombone
1 Tuba
1 Timpani (28")
1 Vibraphone
1 Bass Drum
2 Guillo
1 Wind Chime
1 Sleighbell
1 Thunder Sheet
1 Marimba (4.3 oct.)
1 Drum Set
1 Lione (Lion's Roar)
1 Temple Blocks
2 Snare Drums
4 Suspended Cymbals of different sizes
1 Tubular Bells
1 Prepared Piano
Electronics
2 Violins
1 Viola
1 Cello
Additional sound engineer required
Awards and Honors
Arima Prize 2014 (Japan)
Columbia University School of the Arts Dean's Grant Spring 2016 (USA)
Program Note
Consciously or unconsciously, composers have composed their music on the assumption that the audiences will experience their works in the best location possible. Concert halls for classical music are built so that the audiences face the stage – it would be a pity to listen to W.A.Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto from the backstage, just because Mozart did not compose his music for audiences listening behind the orchestra. On the other hand, composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis consciously determine the location of the audiences in their respective works “Gruppen” and “Nomos Gamma”.The concept of –shikaku- comes from its Japanese homophones "四角 (square)", "視覚 (visual)", and "死角 (blind spot)", which all are pronounced as "Shikaku". The setting of this work is designed so that the music, with deliberate blind spot, is delivered to all audiences surrounding the chamber orchestra. Audiences on each of the four sides and angles of the chamber orchestra will, with the blind spot, have a diverse aural experience. This reflects the story of “Blind Men and An Elephant”, where a group of blind men touch an elephant, each feeling a different part of the animal, and discussing it. Argument breaks down when the men starts to claim that an elephant was a thin, floppy, fan-like creature, as another states that it was a smooth, solid being. Not one man’s statement is untrue, as those are the precise features of an elephant. –shikaku- submerges the audiences into diverse acoustical pockets where each listener will have their own story at the end of the performance.Each of the chamber orchestra stations consists of one brass player, a string player, a woodwind player, and two percussionists. Instrumentalists facing the exterior of the –shikaku- will play according to the conductor who appears in real-time on the analog television monitors located in every station. Two Sennheiser MD441U microphones are installed above the soundboard of the prepared piano, located in the center of the chamber orchestra, and dispatch the accumulated sound of the piano and other instruments to Max/MSP, where the data is processed real-time and re-exposed from a 4.1ch speaker system.-shikaku- was first installed and premiered in Kunitachi College of Music on January 24, 2014.
Performance Note
Stage Setting:
The orchestra consists of four ensembles each facing the exterior of the center. The audience are seated around the orchestra. In the center is the prepared piano with two Senheiser MD441U microphones installed above the soundboard. The conductor stands at the far end of the piano, and is filmed by an analog video camera, which sends the video recording to four analog television monitors located in each station. Make sure each ensemble is at least 2-meters apart, as the percussionists must walk through to the prepared piano during the performance. Click image to enlarge.
Piano Preparation:
The materials needed for the prepared piano are one rubber, three screws, one big screw, three bolt, one large bolt, two cloths, and six violin bow strings (1m each). Insert each material between the appropriate piano strings in the right position accordingly. Use tools such as a minus screw driver, if necessary. Remove the lid, lid prop, and music rack from the instrument. Click image to enlarge.
Electronics:
The two Sennheiser MD441U microphones, installed above the soundboard of the prepared piano, dispatch the accumulated sound of the piano and other surrounding instruments to Max/MSP, where the data is processed real-time and re-exposed from a 4.1ch speaker system. Once opening the Max patch, click ON [; 4ch-pan_vol 0, 1 3000;] for performance.
Past Performances
January 24, 2014 (World Premiere)
-shikaku-
Kunitachi College of Music, Tokyo, Japan
Students of Kunitachi College of Music
Past Exhibitions
Oct. 10-12, 2014
Audio Visual Synthesis Workshop at Dartmouth
Curated by Andy Sarroff (Dartmouth College)
Dartmouth College Music Department, Hannover, NH
Exhibition of scores and video of -shikaku- (2013)
Dec. 6, 2014
Brad Garton Memory Book App Release
Curated by Douglas Repetto
Computer Music Center at Columbia, New York, NY
Exhibition of video of -shikaku- (2013)
April 16, 2015
Interdisciplinary Arts Council Spring 2015 Exhibition
Curated by IAC
Columbia University, New York, NY
Exhibition of video of -shikaku- (2013)
Aug. 6 ~ 28, 2016
Finished Goods Warehouse: Columbia MFA Summer Show
Curated by Natalie Bell (The New Museum)
Former Pfizer Factory, New York, NY
Exhibition of scores of Shiki to Unkai (2013), -shikaku- (2013), and Cover Your Ears! (2015)