David B. Gunn - Slow, for computer

Experiencing this sound can either be remarkably difficult or surprisingly easy - depending on your frame of mind. In a sense there really is no linear progression: start, middle, end - the work begins and ends in the same space. So on one side of this musical coin there is a lot of staticism. The other side of the coin, however, is a dynamic microcosm full of activity. Much as in my life, you don't get to the good stuff until you've learned to focus and let go at the same time. If you'd like the full length version of this work, email dgunn@mills.edu.

simple sample - improvisation, for computer

simple sample is an ensemble of musicians dedicated to experimental improvisational music using acoustic and electronic instruments. Its members come from many different backgrounds such as classical, contemporary, rock, jazz, hip-hop; and have performed nation-wide as well in Europe and Asia.

Oded Ben-Tal - Fortepiano, for 4-channel tape

'Fortepiano' alternates between two modes of expression. It opens with a load and diverse section, followed by a calm and introverted one. Such alterations continue while the evolution of each type is affected by the presence of the other. Most of the sound material is granulation of piano sounds using Bill Schottstaedts' CLM (Common Lisp Music).

Born in Israel in 1969, Oded Ben-Tal studied music and physics in Jerusalem. Since 1997 he is a doctoral student at Stanford University, were he studied with Jonathan Harvey, Brian Ferneyhough and Jonathan Berger. His music, both instrumental and electronic, was played in recent years in Israel, Europe and the US.

Ketty Nez - Unseen Similarities II, for 4-channel tape

A "mirror" to "Unseen Similarities" which was written for flutist Helen Bledsoe, "Unseen Similarities II" is the tape version of an extensive essay on timbral treatment of (only!) flute samples, and the possibilities of morphing between two or more sonorities and rhythms. The tape was generated using CLM; spatialisation was effected using the "Spatialisateur" library in Max/MSP, developed at IRCAM. Compositionally, the piece is generated from the figuration of Ravel's "Level du Jour" from the ballet "Daphnis et Chloe." In "Unseen Similarities" the live restless flute solo carves out trajectories of pitch and rhythm between a series of slowly-changing clusters which simultaneously saturate all levels of the porous musical texture.

Having returned to the States after living for several years in Europe, Ketty Nez is presently a visiting composer at CCRMA. Prior to attending the course for computer music at IRCAM in Paris during 1998-99, she worked for two years with Louis Andriessen in Amsterdam, and co-founded there a composers' collective.

While she was in Amsterdam, several of her chamber works were premiered by Dutch ensembles, including her orchestral piece "Machaut Mirrored," commissioned by the Orchestra Insomnio. As part of the finals of the 1997 Toru Takemitsu Composition Award, "Afterimages" was performed by the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra. Her chamber work "Pir-Ondine" was premiered in 1996 as a commission by the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group. Her orchestral work "Multi-Masking" was read by the Women's Philharmonic at their New Music Reading Session in 1993.

Her music has been played by ensembles at festivals in England, Finland, Holland, Germany, and Japan, where she spent a year studying privately with Michio Mamiya in 1988, during which time she began writing for traditional Japanese instruments. She has participated as fellow in the 1998 June in Buffalo Festival, the 1997 Britten-Pears School Composition Course (Aldeburgh, England), the 1996 California State University Summer Arts Composition Workshop, the 1995 Tanglewood Music Center, the 1989 and 1991 Aspen Music Festivals, and the 1990 Pacific Composers Conference (in Sapporo, Japan).

After having completed her doctorate in composition at the University of California at Berkeley in 1994, she taught at San Francisco State University. While in San Francisco, she also co-founded two groups, the Brodo/Nez cello-piano duo and the Composers' Coalition, and performed as pianist with Earplay and Composers, Inc. She also completed a master's degree in composition from the Eastman School of Music, a bachelor's degree in piano performance from the Curtis Institute of Music, as well as a bachelor's degree in psychology from Bryn Mawr College.

Alan Tormey - Iowa, for voice and computer
text and music by Alan Tormey
Alan Tormey, Baritone

I wish that we had taken the trip.
A moment of vacation,
Under the sun.
Smiling together,
Halfway to the sea.
Dining together,
Tasting the tender, sweet corn.
This is Indian land,
This is God's country.

This work's signal processing network was realized in the Max/MSP environment, including "Resonators~" developed at CNMAT by Adrian Freed.

Alan Tormey is a Ph.D student at the University of California at Berkeley and has received commissions from Eighth Blackbird, Andromeda and the Berkeley Art Center. His most recent work, Istikal for piccolo, midi-clarinet, piano and tape, will be premiered at this summer's June in Buffalo festival. Alan presently studies with Edmund Campion and is director of the CNMAT Users' Group.

Mickey Helms - Whispering Modulations, for CD

Whispering Modulations was composed in November and December 1996. What I wanted to achieve in this composition was a feeling of sparseness. The texture is very thin and transparent. Gestures move in and out of space, then disappear, much like a quiet whisper coming into the audible range, appearing for a moment, then receding into the silence.

The primary sound source I used in this composition is of a woman whispering nondescript sounds and words in Vietnamese. The woman is not Vietnamese and does not understand the language, making the whispering perceived as almost nonsense, as opposed to actual words. Appearing with the whispering are other vocally produced sounds and electronically generated sounds. These secondary sounds appear on their own, in addition to working with and against the whispering. At all times though, the overall effect is of an almost complete barren landscape, with only a figurative whisper to be heard and felt.

The applications and sources used in the composing of Whispering Moduations are the following: Symbolic Sound's KYMA, Digidesign's Pro Tools and Sound Designer, CERL Group's Lemur, and CalArt's SoundHack, and the vocal expertise of Michelle Francia

Mickey Helms was born September 4, 1972 in Redwood City, California, and resides in Sunnyvale, California. He recieved an AA degree in Music from De Anza College in 1992,and a BM degree in Music Composition from San Jose State University in 1997. His composition teachers have included Pablo Furman, Brian Belet, Allen Strange, Dan Wyman, and Richard Aldag.

Mickey's compositions have been performed at the following locations: the 1997 International Computer Music Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece, the 1997 Seoul Computer Music Festival, the Seventh Annual Florida Electroacoustic Festival, the 1997 SEAMUS Electroacoustic Music Week, the 1997 and 1998 SEAMUS Audioclip Web Concerts, and on various radio stations around the world. His works are featured the following recordings: Music From Cream - CDCM Computer Music Series Volume 26 (1998), and The Frog Peak Colaborations Project (1998). Mickey was also the recipient of the 1999 Eva Thompson Award in Music Composition.

Currently, Mickey is a Graduate student in Music Composition at San Jose State University, and is employed as the Web Designer for Hitachi America, Ltd in Brisbane, California.

Lucien Lamotte - Variation on a Dream, for CD

Variation on a Dream is an electronic manipulation of Dr. King's famous speech given during the historic March on Washinton, on August 28, 1963. The piece interprets the darker side and continuing struggle underlining the words in the speech.

Lucien La Motte is a BM major in composition at San Jose State University. In September 2000, he was awarded the Thomas O. Stevens string commission for his composition Surface Tension. The composer was recently commissioned to write a song cycle based on the poems of Carl Sandburg.