This piece unites Cage’s conception of graph music with ideas from the field of swarm intelligence. The software uses a graph of notated musical fragments to generate a score in real-time, for live performance. It does this by allowing a swarm of virtual insects to crawl over the graph, choosing new fragments with each move.

New Music Hartford premieres 19 works written within less than an hour including “Zais” by Benjamin Fuhrman 0:01, “Space Music” by Jamie Klenetsky 0:59, “Meditation in 60 Minutes” by Ted Smeltz 1:57, “Tangent” by Peter Lawless 4:19, “Burrowing” by Charles A. Turner 5:54, and “Confined” by Evan Merz 7:03

This week I interviewed Nolan Stolz about his upcoming concert, which features works composed simultaneously in a 60-minute time span. The concert is being sponsored by New Music Hartford, and is a benefit for the South Park Inn.

Nolan Stolz in the Recording Studio

Listen to the ComputerMusicBlog interview with composer Nolan Stolz.

To donate to the South Park Inn before the concert on Sunday, donate through Nolan Stolz paypal account. To give to South Park Inn after the concert, visit http://www.southparkinn.org/.

Later tonight I’m going to be interviewing composer Nolan Stolz about his work, and his annual concert that celebrates compositions written in under 60 minutes. In this video, we see him performing his composition titled 6/12/09.

premiere performance of “6/12/09″ (for electromagnetic waves, 2 TV antennas, 2 DTV converter boxes, wah-wah and distortion pedals) by Nolan Stolz.

Les Paul passed away on Thursday. He was 94. Musically, he was more involved with popular entertainment than with the kind of music that we write about on this blog. But he invented an instrument that, in many respects, defined twentieth century musical innovation: the solid-body electric guitar.

Beyond defining the sound of rock music, Paul also defined the spirit of electronic curiosity that has been present in so many electroacoustic composers. He showed the world that innovative new sounds could come from a few hours of tinkering with spare parts in the garage. Today, with the prevalence of DIY music and homebrew music software, this spirit is more alive than ever.

Today I caught up with Elliot Miles McKinley, one of the members of the electroacoustic imrpovisation group earWorm.

In the interview, we talk about the group’s creative process, and how the four composers work as an ensemble. McKinley elaborates on the surprises and enlightening moments that occur when improvising with computers.

Listen to the Computer Music Blog interview with Elliot Miles McKinley of earWorm.

Later today, I’m going to be talking with composer Elliot Miles McKinley. McKinley is a member of the improvisatory electroacoustic ensemble earWorm. We will be discussing the new, self-titled album from the group.

For now, here’s a video of the group performing at Michiana.

This summer, Central Park is home to some new electroacoustic music by John Morton.

This summer, avant–garde composer John Morton’s sonic collage, Central Park Sound Tunnel, will be installed in one of Central Park’s iconic pedestrian tunnels between the Central Park Zoo and the Tisch Children’s Zoo at 65th Street. Beginning every half–hour with the ringing of the Delacorte chimes, this 20–minute, 6–speaker sound installation incorporates field recordings made in Central Park over the last year.

Using computer technology, a randomly generated selection of ambient sounds such as horses clopping, baseball games, birds, and chime tunes are woven together to form ever–changing compositions that echo through the cavernous tunnel.

“John Morton’s Central Park Sound Tunnel enables visitors to experience the sonic landscape of the world’s most famous park,” said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “This multi–faceted installation furthers our commitment to presenting innovative public art by leading contemporary artists and provides another exciting reason to visit Central Park this summer.”