Mike Schutz performing ground loops at PASIC '09

My 2005 piece, ground loops: for solo percussion and internet feedback, got a really good performance by percussionist, Mike Schutz, at the PASIC 2009 Focus Day. After a few hitches during the sound check the night before, everything went fine during the performance and I was very happy with the way the piece turned out. The last half of the piece can vary significantly depending on the sounds contributed in the first half of the piece. The ‘tail’ of this performance was one of the better ones. Listen here to the unofficial recording (made with an Edirol R-09):

Photo courtesy of Dan Addison / UVA Public Affairs

Brendan Fitgerald, a writer for Charlottesville’s weekly Arts/News/Events magazine, wrote a review of Solera for their Nov. 3 – 9 issue. You can read it online at their website:
C-Ville: Feedback Column – Peter Traub’s sound sculpture is something to shout about.

Solera is now down. It ran very well (minus a few bugs that have since been worked out). I’m now on to other projects using the same gear, but am planning to install Solera again in the not-too-distant future, and hopefully in a very public space. I will likely make some changes for the next install based on what I learned from this one – primarily in how Solera encourages participation from the public.

Solera

I had a few problems starting the piece due to some software issues, but hopefully it will run smoothly from here on out. It looks nice hanging in the lobby, as the speakers and suspension system blend in to Ruffin Hall’s open industrial ceiling quite naturally.

Solera is a new installation (and part of my dissertation) that I will premiere in the main lobby space of Ruffin Hall at the University of Virginia on October 26, 2009 – it will run there for two weeks, 24 hours a day. Solera will spend each day accumulating and playing back the sonic activities and characteristics of the installation space – people passing through, conversations, machines, and music. Over the two weeks of the installation, the incidental sounds of each day and the acoustic resonances of the space will be layered upon each other, creating an aural memory of the space that will grow and change over time. Multiple visits to the piece are suggested.

I will give a free gallery talk on the piece on Monday, November 2nd at 5pm in the main lobby of Ruffin Hall. As the talk will take place in the space of the installation, it will also become part of the piece.

ground loops

listen to Mike Schutz perform the premiere of ground loops in 2005.