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"Connectivity" arts and technology symposium to explore interrelated world of art, science, media, technology

March 03, 2006

For immediate release – March 3, 2006 Contact: Nina Lentini (860) 439-2505; nina.lentini@conncoll.edu

Connecticut College symposium to explore interrelated world of art, science, media, technology

'CONNECTIVITY' TO BRING GIANTS IN MULTI-MEDIA PERFORMANCE TO CAMPUS MARCH 30 – APRIL 1; MOST OPEN TO PUBLIC AND FREE

Editors: A four-color, hi-res jpg is available at www.conncoll.edu. Click on "Media."

NEW LONDON, Conn. — "Connectivity," the 10th biennial Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology Symposium at Connecticut College will take place March 30 to April 1 with three days of speakers, concerts, multi-media installations and dance performances that will explore expanding links in the interdisciplinary world of art, science, media and technology. Several events are free and open to the public, including the keynote speech, multi-media performances, interactive installations, gallery opening and the concerts.

Highlighting the symposium will be the keynote address and multi-media performance by Tod Machover, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) composer whose work has been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Pops. Machover is noted for inventing new technology for music, especially his "Hyperinstruments," using smart computers to augment musical expression and creativity. His company, Harmony Line, markets software that allows users, among other things, to compose their own cell phone ring tones.   An array of artists, composers, theorists and scientists will attend the symposium from the United States, Canada, Greece, England, Austria and Israel. They will present global perspectives on the interdisciplinary worlds of arts, sciences, media and technology, focusing on interactivity, the compositional and artistic processes and applications of science to art. (Attendance at the daytime paper sessions requires paid registration.) "We are thrilled to be celebrating 20 years of creative and innovative connections among the arts and technology with such an exciting program," said Bridget Baird, Judith Ammerman '60 Director of the Center for Arts and Technology and Professor of Math and Computer Science.   In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Ammerman Center's founding and the 10th Biennial symposium, the center commissioned world premieres of new works to be presented at this year's symposium. Thirty proposals ranging from interactive gaming environments to virtual 3D dance performances to geology-based outdoor light installations were submitted, and three collaborative teams composed of visual artists, composers, dancers and computer scientists were ultimately awarded the commissions, which include an honorarium and a week-long residency at the college.   "At the symposium, we will see world premiere performances and installations created by interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned experts in arts and technology," said Libby Friedman, assistant director of the Ammerman Center. During their residencies, the commission recipients will give lectures, master classes, workshops and critiques with selected students from the Ammerman Center and academic departments and will present their research in campus forums. Students will participate in the on-campus residencies and will assist in the installation of the commissions.  The following is the schedule for the free and public events, which take place in the Cummings Arts Center:

Thursday, March 30

• 3 p.m. in Evans Hall: presentations by the center's commission recipients.  • 5 p.m.: Symposium reception and gallery opening. The exhibit will run March 30 to April 1, Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 pm, and Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. in the Cummings Arts Center Galleries.

The installations are: 

"Kepesian Visualization: Interacting with Earth Data," a multi-user game installation focusing on the concept of persistent worlds and audience interaction with geophysical data by Gloria Brown-Simmons and Falko Kuester from Calit2, Center of Gravity, University of California at Irvine, "Origin, Location, Direction," an interactive sound and image installation exploring the dependent relationships between the observer and the observed by Roger Dannenberg of Carnegie Mellon University and Barbara Bernstein of Yale.

• 8 p.m. in Oliva Hall: Concert by the DaCapo Chamber Players, whose participation is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This collaboration represents a new and unique relationship between the NEA, Connecticut College and the DaCapo Chamber Players. This multi-media concert will feature works by one of the pioneers in the field of electro-acoustic music, Pulitzer Prize-winner Mario Davidovsky, music professor emeritus at Harvard and director emeritus of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. The concert will also present work for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion and electronic sound, recently described by Fanfare Magazine as "music of tremendous craft, charm, and even beauty," by Connecticut College Visiting Associate Professor of Music Arthur Kreiger; work for ensemble, synthesizer and electric bass exploring microtonal scales by Bard College's Kyle Gann; and work for clarinet and electronic sound, reflecting on his ongoing interest in minimalism New Yorker Steve Reich.

Friday, March 31

• 4 p.m. in Evans Hall: keynote speech and performance by Tod Machover, MIT professor of music and media and director of MIT Media Lab's "Opera of the Future" group. In "Art, Technology and Universal Creativity," he will explore current tendencies in art and technology, emphasizing how practitioners can keep an experimental attitude to ensure the field remains fresh and adventurous. He will show how artistic technologies can challenge the general public to engage in creative activities, becoming active participants rather than passive audiences.   • 8 p.m. in Evans Hall: keynote performance of Machover's "Jeux Deux," a concerto for solo hyperpiano, commissioned by Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops. It premiered at Boston's Symphony Hall in June. Said Machover, "The title is a playful reference to Debussy's Jeux, which is a spiritual antecedent of the new piece, as well as being (almost) French for 'two-person game,' reflecting the work's back-and-forth dialogue between piano and orchestra and between soloist and hyperized piano." The piece will performed by Michael Chertok of Cincinnati on a Yamaha Disklavier Grand, with interactive images by Michael Downie of MIT Media Lab. The performance is supported by the MIT Media Lab, and the piano supplied by Falcetti Music of Connecticut and Massachusetts. The concert will also include an interactive, live, electronic, improvisational piece for flute and percussion by Thomas Ciufo and David Birchfield of Arizona State University.   Saturday, April 1 8 p.m. in Evans Hall: "The Integrated Girl," a media-enriched performance exploring changing representations of the body, creativity and perception. The project was commissioned by the Ammerman Center and created by the Palindrome Intermedia Performance Group of Germany, represented by computer scientist Frieder Weiss, dancer Emily Hernandez and Dan Hosken of California State University, Northridge.  The concert will also include a videodance, animation and percussion performance by Ron Mazurek of Bergen Community College; and a saxophone and electronic music piece by Rodney Waschka of North Carolina State University. Audio electro-acoustic works will also be presented in a Saturday afternoon concert on CD.   The 10th biennial symposium is sponsored by Citizens Bank and AT&T through the hands-on "Teaching Technology and the Arts" program which provides professional development workshops in technological applications for area middle- and high-school art, music and media teachers. 

All events are subject to change. For up-to-date information, go to cat.conncoll.edu/upcoming.html.

Ranked among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 42 states and 41 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 84-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.

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