Instrument Design Lab explores the science of music

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Instrument Design Lab explores the science of music Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/02/2023 - 00:00

Adam Goldstein

For Annika Socolofsky, the realms of art and science aren’t mutually exclusive.

Socolofsky, assistant professor of composition and faculty coach for CU Boulder SoundWorks, has solid footing in both worlds. She’s an accomplished composer, vocalist and musical pedagogue, and she also boasts a long academic resume as a student of science.

She weds these two facets of her personality in Instrument Design Lab (IDL), a course designed to give College of Music students a foundation in the science of music as they pursue their creative muse. Based on a similar class that was developed by Socolofsky’s graduate advisor Dan Trueman at Princeton University, the IDL course launched in the fall of 2022 and offers a science-based context to instrumentation, sound and musical creation.

“The course objective for IDL is for students to better understand how the physics of sound, tuning and temperament, resonance and performance all interact in our discipline,” says Socolofsky, who was preceptor for the class at Princeton. “We work to achieve this understanding through the building and designing of new acoustic instruments.”

Specifically, that’s translated into a wide array of learning activities, including constructing stringed instruments from scratch, a class activity that allows students to see exactly what goes into the physics of music. Having a perspective into each phase of the creation of an instrument can be revelatory for students, even for those who’ve been playing music since childhood.

The class also explores the scientific components of the human voice in ways that are engaging and fun. For example, Socolofsky speaks about breaking down recordings of Dolly Parton’s tune “Shinola,” and digging into the deeper scientific implications of her performance.

“Students compared the resonances of multiple vocal techniques Parton uses in the song,” Socolofsky says. “They used their mathematical findings to further why Parton chose to use various vocal techniques—head voice, chest voice, aspirated qualities and false vocal folds—to deepen the meaning of the text in the song.”

The class culminates in final projects that see students conducting in-depth research, or designing and building their own instruments. The prompt spurred innovative inventions from students, including novel takes on harps, flutes and even Japanese swords.

“Student inventions included a multi-flute—a flute capable of performing multiple notes simultaneously—by Rain Michael, a ‘bassoon-a-loon’—a wind instrument that used vibrating balloon membranes to create sound in the manner of a double reed—by Robert Scherer, and a harp with numerous resonating bodies of various shapes and materials by Jessie Lausé,” Socolofsky recalls. “A final project experiment by Reina Krumvieda was an analysis of the Aeolian tones, or ‘tachikaze,’ that Japanese swords make as they are swung through the air at different speeds.”

All of these projects harnessed the fundamentals of physics, sound analysis and basic science to help students see musical creativity in new ways. For budding musicians looking to take their art to new and exciting places, it’s an approach that’s bound to pay off in all realms of composition and performance.

Assistant Professor of Composition Annika Socolofsky blends the realms of art and science through the Instrument Design Lab (IDL). The course offers a science-based context to instrumentation, sound and musical creation.

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Redubbed “CU Boulder SoundWorks” celebrates new approach to composition + conception

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

Redubbed “CU Boulder SoundWorks” celebrates new approach to composition + conception Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/19/2022 - 00:00

Adam Goldstein

Labels aren’t a priority for the creative directors behind the College of Music’s Pendulum New Music series.

The live performance/forum for new works, which will officially change its name from Pendulum to CU Boulder SoundWorks in January 2023, doesn’t place the same emphasis on formal categorization that obsesses many music fans and scholars alike. According to Egemen Kesikli, Pendulum/SoundWorks’ newly appointed artistic director, the focus of the concert series is more about inclusion, exploration and innovation than it is about classification.

“We value a broad aesthetic range of sound-based art that is inclusive of all genres and manners of music making, ranging from concert music to songwriting, electroacoustic to jazz, experimental and beyond,” says Kesikli, a composer, performer and educator who earned a doctorate in composition from CU Boulder and a master’s from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to his new role, Kesikli serves as instructor of music theory at Colorado State University. “In my position for CU Boulder Soundworks, I strive to promote diversity in contemporary music and decolonize the canon.”

On that note, the program’s new title will represent its all-encompassing mission. Kesikli’s own creative output represents an ambitious creative approach, one that includes orchestral works, concertos and chamber works that spotlight traditional Anatolian instruments as well as unorthodox ensemble arrangements. He wants to bring that same spirit to a concert series that’s pushed musical boundaries since its inception in 2001 by CU Boulder faculty Michael Theodore, Andrew May and Daniel Sher. The series kicked off thanks in part to a generous donation by Tom Higley.

“The Pendulum Committee and College of Music have thought long and hard about the mission of this wonderful series and decided that it’s time to rebrand, to better capture its spirit of innovation and inclusivity,” Kesikli says, pointing to the program’s recent achievements under the direction of Elizabeth McNutt, Hsing-ay Hsu, Clay Allen and Annika Socolofsky. “‘SoundWorks’ embraces all visions, creative processes, genres, theories and manners of music making.”

For the CU Boulder Soundworks’ 2022-23 season, that mission translates into a broad range of performers who represent a wide spectrum of backgrounds, musical styles and creative approaches—from two new string quartets by Keenan Powell and Spencer Stepanek, pieces written specifically for the College of Music’s Lírios Quartet; to three new saxophone quartets by Rain Michael, Isabel Goodwin and Ilan Blanck, written for ~Nois, one of the preeminent contemporary music ensembles and saxophone quartets in the country; to two new chamber works by graduate composers Abby Kellems and Jessie Lausé, written for the Boulder Altitude Directive (BAD).

These new works push the vision and accomplishments of the CU Boulder SoundWorks series, even as it honors the achievements of the past. Since its creation more than 20 years ago, the series has featured artists and innovators like Alarm Will Sound, Bang on a Can All Stars, Eighth Blackbird, HOCKET, loadbang, ~Nois and annual appearances by the BAD ensemble, directed by Carter Pann. The CU Boulder Wind Symphony, directed by Donald McKinney, and Renova—the college’s newly established choir founded by Jessie Flasschoen—have also been featured in the series.

For Kesikli, this lineup reflects the all-encompassing heart of CU Boulder SoundWorks, a performance series and format to celebrate new music, deconstruct preconceptions and open the world of composition to a whole new crowd of artists and audience members.

“SoundWorks is inclusive, and avoids a binary of artistic polarities and stylistic dichotomies such as ‘high and low,’ ‘tonal and atonal’ or ‘East and West,’” he concludes.

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