My PS Quartet No. 1 for electronic ensemble had an exciting debut season last year. In addition to multiple performances, the piece was featured in Score Follower. You can now watch the score of the piece while listening to the recording:
Compare this with the original video:
I also have received a grant to write and perform more piece for electronic ensembles from the Wayne State University’s Arts and Humanities Research Enhancement Program. The PS Quartet was used as an example of what the possibility of an electronic ensemble. With the grant, I will be purchasing 16 Dualshock controllers and write a piece for a large-scale electronic ensemble. More info soon!
PS Quartet No.1 is a piece for Sony DualShock 4 Controllers and computer. All sound and graphics were created with SuperCollider. This piece is written for small to large laptop ensembles.
The piece was premiered and recorded by EMEWS (Electronic Music Ensemble of Wayne State). In the recording above, the piece was performed by the following members (from left to right)
Sean Monaghan
Laura Apolloni
James VanRysseghem
Joey McLennan
Charles Moore
This piece can be performed by anyone with a PlayStation controller and a computer. Instructions, scores, and necessary codes are available at the following link:
Turn on the controller before opening SuperCollider
Open SuperCollider
Each performer opens one of the files from PSQ1-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, or Bass according to his/her part and the connection (there are different files for USB and Bluetooth)
Go to Menu->Language->Evaluate File. The screen will become black and the patch is ready to start.
To quit or stop, press command+. (period) or anequivalent shortcut of Stop in Menu->Language
Composer/Saxophonist/Technologist extraordinaire Molly Jones and I made an album. It is released by NoRemixes. Here are two video previews of the album as well as the link to the Bandcamp site. All tracks in the album were recorded live.
Monophonic Triplets was inspired by Poeme Electronique, which introduced site-specific electronic music to a great population in 1950’s. It is also my attempt to convert a ubiquitous space and tool into an expressive instrument.
The video above is a small-scale demo and a technical demonstration. Imagine this piece in a computer lab or a gallery. The piece can be easily transferred and extended to a large number of computers.
If you are interested in running Monophonic Triplets in a computer lab or a gallery, contact me at joowon(at)joowonpark(dot)net. I can create a customized code for any number of computers.
Indescriptive is for tenor saxophone and video. Headphone or a low-frequency friendly speaker is needed for the best listening experience. A video projection system and subwoofer are recommended for the performance. You won’t hear much in the first 30 seconds on phone/laptop speakers.
The piece was commissioned by Wayne State University Saxophone studio. It was premiered and recorded by Megan Parsell on 2017.
Scores and electronic part can be found in the link below. For the performance without the visuals, use Indescriptive-ElecAudio.mp3. A higher-quality audio can be provided upon request. Otherwise, use Indescriptive_ElecOnly.mp4 for the electronic accompaniment. If you feel adventurous, I can send you a SuperCollider version that will algorithmically change the electronic part at every performance. Just let me know.
