SlipGrid

Program Note

SlipGrid (2020), stereo electroacoustic music and video, was composed for the University of Northern Iowa School of Music Scholarship Benefit Concert in September of 2020. The work is an exploration of interactions between two contrasting ideas/materials in both the audio and visual domains. The first idea is the "grid" which is represented in the audio with percussive polyrhythmic repeated materials and generally more metrically quantized events. In the video, the "grid" is represented by rectangles of various sizes that skeeter around the screen. The second idea is more abstract and can be thought of as "without grid." This is reflected in the audio by gestural and texture materials more associated with acousmatic music. The video aspect of the second idea is represented through the manipulation of a particle system and ranges from evolving abstract shapes to noise.

The materials for SlipGrid were composed using Max, Ableton Live, and Final cut. This piece is part of the composer's continued research into algorithmic mixing and manipulation of audio, live-reactive animation, algorithmic video manipulation, and laptop performance.

Performance Information

• Premiere: UNI School of Music Scholarship Benefit Online Concert, September 28, 2020.
• CMS Southern Chapter Regional Conference 2021, Online Conference, February 25–27, 2021.
• SEAMUS National Conference 2021, Online Conference, April 23–25, 2021.
• Iowa Composers Forum 2022 Festival of New Music, June 3–5, 2022.
• 2023 NYCEMF Conference and Festival, New York, New York, June 19–25, 2023.
• IX Festival de Música Electroacústica, Santiago, Chile, May 2–4, 2024.
• MA/IN 2024 Festival and ArteScienza Festival 2024, Rome, Italy, July 7, 2024.