FCCS Research Series: Digital Media and Music

Digital Media and Music, the second talk in the Emerging Visions: Digital Media and Culture research series  will be held on Wednesday, October 9th from 2-3:30 pm in CCS 142. Dr. Keith Hamel and Dr. Bob Pritchard, both from UBC Vancouver, will discuss recent advances in digital media technology, and how computers have become an integral component of live music performances.

Hamel and Pritchard have been working in the field of interactive computer music for several decades and have developed a variety of tools and techniques to facilitate the creation, rehearsal and performance of new media works. Their research includes topics such as alternative controllers, score following technology, and gesture tracking. This talk presents some of their recent research and provides examples of how they use this technology to create highly innovative multimedia works.

Dr. Keith Hamel

Dr. Keith Hamel is a Professor in the School of Music, an Associate Researcher at the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS), a Researcher at the Media and Graphics Interdisciplinary Centre (MAGIC) and Director of the Computer Music Studio at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Hamel has written both acoustic and electroacoustic music and has been awarded many prizes in both media. He has been commissioned by some of the finest new music organizations and performers in Canada and abroad. Many of his recent compositions focus on interaction between live performers and computer-controlled electronics. As a computer music researcher, Hamel is recognized as one of the foremost authorities on music notation software. He is author of the NoteWriter and NoteAbilityPro software programs which are used around the world for professional music engraving and publishing, and he has developed interactive environments for live performer and computer interaction.

 

Dr. Bob Pritchard

Dr. Bob Pritchard’s works are performed and broadcast worldwide and his research includes interactive performance, gesture tracking, and gesture-controlled speech synthesis. He has received multi-year research grants from SSHRC and CC/NSERC and he has contributed chapters to books dealing with the body in performance. He creates video, software and music for his interactive works and in 2007 his interactive piece Strength received a Unique Award of Merit from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers. His short film Crisis is part of Cathryn Robertson’s cancer documentary 17 Short Films About Breasts which received five Leo nominations, and is in international distribution. He teaches in the UBC School of Music where he co-directs the Laptop Orchestra and is a member of several research units.

Emerging Visions: Digital Media and Culture is sponsored by Green College UBC and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, UBC Okanagan. For more information on the research series, visit www.ubc.ca/okanagan/fccs/research/areas-of-expertise/media/emergingvisions.html