Time: Friday 12/04/2009, 7:30 PM
Location: Reynolds Recital Hall, Montana State University
Free admission

What exactly does a laptop ensemble sound like? How can people get together to make music on their laptops? The answer is: it can be pretty much anything you want it to be. Come experience the latest sensation in music technology with the Electric Monster Laptop Ensemble. In our premiere performance, Electric Monster will be joined by talented musicians from the Montana State University, Department of Music.

Coming of age at the turn of the 21st century, laptops, with their ease in mobility and connectivity, have revolutionized the way music is made. Taking full advantage of the laptop’s plasticity, the Electric Monster Laptop Ensemble is currently playing pieces written in the programming languages Max/MSP, PureData, Java, Flash, and PowerPoint (you heard that right!). Unlike compositions written for more traditional instruments, the members of the ensemble contribute musical ideas to each composition. In addition, the synchronization of each laptop sometimes relies on a wireless network, while other times it relies on old-fashioned ears and eyes. Because laptop ensembles are technologically intense, the musical compositions tend to call for improvisation as a way to balance the demand that the technology requires.

The Electric Monster Laptop Ensemble is the premiere laptop ensemble at Montana State University. Founded by professor Hsiao-Lan Wang in fall 2009, it brings together the tradition of ensemble music playing and the computational power of the latest laptops at the crossroads of human-machine performative experience. Electric Monster actively commissions new pieces written specifically for the ensemble. This Friday, you will hear three world premieres of commissions from the Electric Monster Laptop Ensemble.

Concert Program

Five Pieces for Laptop Quartet by Adam Scott Neal
“Presets” & “Baffin Bay”

OM (premiere) by Kyong Mee Choi

Spider Fugue by Freed Hartmann
Hsiao-Lan Wang, piano; Kent Johnson, inside piano

Clean Slate (premiere) by Cole Ingraham

Solid State by Greg Surges
Lissette Norman, flute

Wind Farm (premiere) by John Gibson
joined by Will Hartley and Zac Wallace

WaveDrag by Jeff Morris
Patrick McCann, electric guitar

Electric Monster Laptop Ensemble
Hsiao-Lan Wang, director
Clayton DeSimone
Justin Gannon
Stephan Gueguen
Kent Johnson
Theo Lipfert
Patrick McCann
Lissette Norman