Duration // 10' (app.)

for Aleksander Gabrys

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Conduit is an intermedia work for augmented double-bass and fifth-order ambisonic electronics, which draws on concepts such as embodiment, sound objects, and source-bonding.  Conduit is the first piece in a small collection of works developed for double-bass and ambisonic electronics, in collaboration with bassist Aleksander Gabrys.

This work re-imagines the double-bass as an anomalous sonic conduit, serving simultaneously as a sound source, mediator, and resonant space. Conceptually, the work is imagined as a cross-section of electroacoustic composition, ambisonics sound design, and sculptural installation.  The bass is suspended in the center of a high-density speaker array in a darkened space; attached to it are a pair of transducers and four lengths of thin steel cable which extend out to various points in the space.  Sound is passed into the bass via the transducers, which is then transmitted through the tensioned cables to contact microphones at their termination points.  All of this live resonance / sound is then processed and spatialized in real-time with Max/MSP into fifth-order ambisonics, which is then further fed back into the system as a transduced feedback loop.

This version of the piece is a rendering of both the fixed and live electronics from a January 1, 2020 performance at CCRMA.

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Honors

Gold Medal Winner in the "Contemporary Computer Music" category at the Verband Deutscher Tonmeister Student 3D Audio Production Competition