research

My background in music performance and teaching has led me to investigate ways of using computers to support the creative arts, with an emphasis on the development of interactive virtual musical instruments for practicing musicians. In 2004 I commenced a PhD under Prof. Ernest Edmonds and Dr. Linda Candy at the UTS-based Creativity and Cognition Studios.

The basic idea behind these virtual instruments is that by playing with them a musician might:

• be stimulated to explore new ways of expressing themselves;
• use the virtual instrument as an extension of their acoustic instrument to create new sounds;
• discover something about their playing they were not aware of previously;
• have fun.

You could say that the approach I'm taking to the design of these instruments is 'art-driven'. Composer/trombonist Ben Marks, and I are creating interactive musical/visual works for live performance in which the musician's acoustic sound directs the sound and visuals produced by the computer-based virtual instrument. The process of creating these works allows us to explore the interactive possibilities between live performer and computer and to identify successful (and unsuccessful) strategies. The resulting artworks are a contribution to the repertoire, but also provide a practical and theoretical base from which to build and refine interactive instruments of this kind.

The following videos and pictures might help to illustrate the relationship between the creative work and instrument development.

	A Touching Dialogue Ben Marks (trombone) and I perform an improvisation at the Bon Marche Theatre, University of Technology Sydney, September 2009.
	Partial Reflections III An improvised performance by Diana Springford and Jason Noble (clarinets) at the Sound Lounge with software for Partial Reflections III, November 2007. Video by Kraig Grady.
	Partial Reflections - Ben Marks and Andrew Johnston A complete live performance of Partial Reflections at the Queensland Conservatorium on May 17, 2007. Sorry about the low light.
	Partial Reflections : Photo Gallery Some photographs of Ben Marks performing Partial Reflections (aka 'Spheres of Influence'), for solo trombone and interactive software.