Dr. Robert Morris Lecture at MAT

Time: Wednesday, October 12, at 5 pm (PST) 2 pm (EST).

Zoom Link: https://ucsb.zoom.us/j/9314307354

Abstract

I will discuss and describe my new composition, Musics of the Sphere, to be presented in the AlloSphere on Oct 13 and 14, 2022.

Musics of the Sphere is a celebration of musics from all over the world. Over 150 excerpts of all types of music from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe comprise the sounds in each track. These musics are heard from without modification to complete transformation via a host of computer music techniques. This composition is not the first of mine that uses “world musics.” In 1973, I composed a 45-minute electronic piece in four tracks called Thunder of Spring over distant Mountains. This piece was based on seven pieces of Asian and south-Asian music. 

The talk I will discuss the differences between Thunder and Musics from three points of view: the technical sound production; the structures of each; and the way each piece implements my thinking about music from an ethnomusicological perspective.

Directions to the AlloSphere Research Facility 2621 @ Elings Hall

Take Ward Memorial Boulevard (Highway #217) to the main entrance of UCSB.  

The building immediately in front of you with the Kandinsky graphic is the California NanoSystems Institute (Elings Hall). Bear right before the traffic circle. Quickly get into the left lane and turn left at signal into Parking Structure 10.  

Find a visitor parking space (marked Coastal Access on the lower levels) and follow the instructions to obtain a parking permit from the vending machine, marked in red on the map below. Enter the California NanoSystems Institute, at the entrance adjacent to the parking garage.  

Take the stairs or elevator to the second floor and enter the AlloSphere in room 2621.