Category Archives: Research

Music For Dance

Collaborators, Compositions, Research, , ,

I have been writing and performing electronic music for dance for more than a decade. I learned so much from choreographers, and I look forward to working with them more in the future. Here’s a documentation of my music for dance so far.

Improvisation with Megan Bridge at Philadelphia City Hall (2012)

My dance collaboration started as an improviser. Megan Bridge of the Fidget and I met in Philadelphia, and we had many improv sessions. May sessions I had with the dancers during my Philly years (2008-2014) made me a better musician and listener. Below is another improvisation project with Erick Montes, Eunjung Choi, and Guillermo Ortega Montes.

The strangest thing (2014)

When I moved to Oberlin, I was fortunate to work with Holly Handman-Lopez. I was involved in producing an evening-length show about the woman suffrage movement. My role was to compose music with a short deadline and multiple changes/edits. I learned how to communicate with choreographers and dance production staff. Unfortunately, I do not have footage of the actual performance, but below are a promo video (with someone else’s music) and a recording session of a piece used in the show.

In Detroit, my current stomping ground, I continue to work with the dancers with different roles. In 2021, I worked with IS/LAND as a technologist. I provided an electromagnetic instrument that made sounds as the dancers approach an object. I was happy to be a part of a production as non-composer or non-performer (but still as a musician)

Invisible Embrace by IS/LAND (2021)

Last April, Biba Bell and I collaborated to make a 60min site-specific piece for dance and electronic ensemble. My job was to make music and direct an ensemble consisting of nine electronic musicians. It was the largest work I have ever worked on in terms of the number of people involved. The documentation of the work was also excellent.

A Dream Is A House for remembering the future (2022)

My most recent collaboration is with Joori Jung of Artlab J. Through this collaboration, I worked with a Pansori singer to compose a 20min music. The collaboration also took me to a new stage. I never thought my music was going to be on an Asian Culture Showcase! The video documentation is on the way, but here are pictures of the rehearsal.

Dance and music are time-based arts, and dancers and musicians learn from each other. I am grateful that I had opportunities to work with excellent choreographers and improvisers. I look forward to doing more projects with movements! I am not a dancer myself, but I am studying the relationship between movement and sound. Check out the video below!

Vespers

Performances, Research, ,

On March 10, 2022, EMEWS performed Alvin Lucier’s Vespers at their Winter Concert. I made a SuperCollider patch to play the piece since I do not have access to the original 1970s technology for the piece. Also, the piece’s duration was adjusted to fit the length of the concert.

The link below contains the SuperCollider file and the score. The SuperCollider turns the performer’s laptop into a sound and light generator for the piece. The performer can freely change the rate of “clicks” and the color of the lights.

https://app.box.com/s/tep9y2rb59mq7y3weicoou0t7wmynuho

Performing Vespers in a darkened room with improvised sound and color was a memorable experience for both audience and the performer. Feel free to use the Vespers patch for your ensemble’s performance. No previous experience on SuperCollider is necessary. Just follow the instruction on the score.

Aphasia (2009) by Mark Applebaum – performed by Joo Won Park

Influences, Performances, Research, , ,

I got obsessed with Mark Applebaum’s Aphasia (2009) in the past two months. I perform my own music and often improvise, so studying and learning another composer’s piece with a score was challenging. But Applebaum is one of my electroacoustic heroes, and I have wanted to try Aphasia for a decade. After about two months of practice, I think I learned enough to enjoy performing it. Thank you for watching!

Forms to Ponder

Collaborators, Compositions, Research

Forms to Ponder is a collaborative EP with Theodosia Roussos. The nine tracks in the album relate to each other in many ways. It is a culmination of my musical practice for the last six months.

Program

A form in music connects what we hear now to what we heard before. When we notice the form, we can also expect what may come next. Tracks in this album have forms best expressed with recorded sounds and digital music technology. Amidst the unfamiliar electronic sounds, I hear delightful relationships unfold. Creating and listening to this album was a fun memory game for me, and I hope to share that feeling with you.

The included bonus item is a production map that connects one track to another. More information and an explanation of how and why I made this album is available at www.joowonpark.net/cmpe.

Computer Music Practice: Forms to Ponder

Tracks in Forms to Ponder features audio apps and processes I developed for Computer Music Practice Examples (CMPE). CMPE’s goal is to show how and why I use technology to make music. The only way I know how to create the sounds and forms featured in this EP is by using digital technology. There are musical expressions only possible when sounds turn into data. The video below elaborates this idea with the usual block diagrams and Google slides.