Programming Sound: Performance Systems

Programming Sound: Performance Systems transforms sound and light into a responsive performance system. A digital instrument controls spatial audio and embedded LED lighting in real time, synchronizing sonic and visual gestures throughout the performance space. As sound moves and light shifts, the surrounding environment becomes an immersive audiovisual field in which sound is experienced as a spatial event—made visible through light and movement.

“Rosa Park brandished a wooden joystick she made while performing an ethereal soundscape that eventually gave way to skipping breakbeats and a deep bass. The piece also included samples from I Am Sitting in a Room, an iconic piece by experimental composer Alvin Lucier. “It was a striking performance and Rosa had great command over the flow,” notes Greenlee. “She fully explored the potential in creating her own sound mixing and signal processing system, along with building instruments using digital fabrication equipment.”

— Abigail Crocker, our risd press