Twelve current and former performance studies students have had their electronic music compositions selected for a travelling concert program, 60×60. This year, the compositions were selected from among 650 submissions produced by professional composers in more than 25 countries. The 60×60 project has produced more than 30 different mixes–of 60 composers each– showcasing the works of more than 2000 composers since the program debuted in 2003.
Each hour long performance is composed of 60 electro-acoustic works that are 60 seconds or less. Electro-acoustic music is made with electronic technology and uses sounds not available to typical acoustic instruments. Every year the program collaborates with photographers, filmmakers, and choreographers in a multidisciplinary effort to create a multimedia event.
The program officially premiered at the International Computer Music Conference in New York City last June.
Students who submitted compositions included Jacob Alford, Taylor Ashley, Mitch Curtis, Mary Beth Farmer, Daniel Griffing, Stephen Howden, Hayley McCamey, B.J. McGeever, Robert Payne, Grant Pittman, Clay Taylor, and Victor Villarreal.
This past May, a preview presentation of these compositions was included in the Viz-a-GoGo showcase of digital art by visualization studies and performance studies students in downtown Bryan using interactive surround sound installation.
The following students and their compositions have been selected for the project:
| Jacob Alford | One Minute Fast | This sketch was created as part of a larger project involving sounds recorded from a three-day long performance in which artist Paolo Piscitelli covered large objects with tape. |
| Taylor Ashley | Untitled | |
| Mitch Curtis | Spare Time | This piece reflects how little spare time I actually have. At first, it seems to be moving long well, but it soon gets hectic. In the middle, it becomes difficult to focus on just one thing. By the end, there is just a fleeting echo of what just passed. |
| Mary Beth Farmer | Water | This ternary composition is inspired by the blend of natural and synthetic sounds in Jean-Claude Risset’s work, Sud. |
| Daniel Griffing | Thingavore 3 | This short musical scene was originally composed for Thingavore, a project of the Texas Aggie Game Developers Club at Texas A&M University. Thingavore…eats things. |
| Stephen Howden | Twinkle Mensurate Experiment | |
| Hayley McCamey | Glitches | The title of this piece is a tribute to the many glitches I encountered in the process of making it. |
| B.J. McGeever | I’m Tired of Tradition | My point of view, though possibly sacrilegious, is that just because musical artists of the 18th and 19th centuries had a way of doing things doesn’t mean we have to do that now. Music is about creation and expression of emotions, not doing things the “right” way. |
| Robert Payne | Mutants on Hollywood | Two sides exchange attacks, but mutants inch their way onto enemy soil and conquer humanity. All that remains is the listener. |
| Grant Pittman | Untitled | This piece is a study in attention, an attempt to maintain the audience’s focus steadily throughout. |
| Clay Taylor | Variations of an Alien Drowning | This work is a study in heavily-processed sounds and how they can become expressive and full od character despite how simple the original sound may have been. |
| Victor Villarreal | Big Nurse | This work is a study in the use of volume and panning as primary modes of expression. |
