Five artists come together to mark a unique moment in the development of digital instrumentalities and music. The T-Stick digital musical instrument, built in 2006, will take center stage in the world premieres of five new works, among the first music to be formally created for this instrument. D. Andrew Stewart, the leading expert in t-stick performance, has invited five American and Canadian composers to collaborate in the development of repertoire for the t-stick. He is attempting to establish a tradition and approach to creating music with electronic musical instruments. The five premieres, which are the result of collaborations between Stewart and the composers of the 2010 T-Stick Composition Workshops, will be performed along with established t-stick music, as well as improvisations combing digital and acoustic instrumentalists.
The t-sticks grew out of a collaborative project undertaken by Joseph Malloch and composer D. Andrew Stewart at the Input Devices and Music Interaction Laboratory (IDMIL) and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT). The first prototype was completed by Malloch, in 2006. The t-sticks form a family of tubular digital musical instruments, ranging in length from 0.6 metres (soprano) to 1.2 metres (tenor). They have been designed and constructed to allow a large variety of unique interaction techniques such as: touching, gripping, brushing, tapping, shaking, squeezing, jabbing, swinging, tilting, rolling, and twisting. As a result, a significant emphasis is placed on the gestural vocabulary required to manipulate and manoeuvre the instrument. The musical experience for both the performer and audience is characterised by a unique engagement between performer body and instrument. The ongoing development of the t-stick family is a result of continuing institutional and public support. To date, the t-stick has been presented in Canada, the USA, Brazil, Argentina and Portugal. As a performer and researcher, D. Andrew Stewart has presented the t-stick at: the International Computer Music Conference, Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium, Electroacoustic Music Studies Network, ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, International Music-Gesture Conference, Society for Music Theory, Guthman Musical Instrument Competition the Congrès de l’ Association Francophone pour le Savoir.
When You Least Expect It, Luna Pearl Woolf
performed by D. Andrew Stewart, soprano t-stick
Uh-huh, D. Andrew Stewart
performed by D. Andrew Stewart, soprano t-stick
Going to Ground, David Ogborn
performed by D. Andrew Stewart, soprano t-stick
packing a lunch!, Patrick Hart
performed by D. Andrew Stewart, soprano t-stick
WITH WINDS, D. Andrew Stewart
performed by D. Andrew Stewart, soprano t-stick
Chamber, W. L. Altman
performed by Terri Hron, recorder
Moon Rabbit, Terri Hron
performed by Terri Hron, recorder
Winds Duo, Improvisation 1
Terri Hron, recorder; D. Andrew Stewart, soprano t-stick
Winds Duo, Improvisation 2
Terri Hron, recorder; D. Andrew Stewart, soprano t-stick