School of Music Visiting Artist
John Bischoff will present a Powerpoint presentation featuring his work with the computer network band, The Hub, as well as a detailed discussion of two recent solos—"Visibility Study" and "Bitplicity." Both solos feature homemade analog circuits in performance with software synthesis elements generated by a laptop.
The solos share the following software structures, although they sound quite different:
- circuit tones sound at the loudspeakers and also trigger digital synthesis responses via the laptop
- the most prominent circuit events are analyzed for spectral content and elapsed time between events
- the pitch and timing of subsequent digital synthesis is driven by this performance-acquired data—no pre-performance data is employed
John Bischoff (b. 1949, San Francisco) is an early pioneer of live computer music. He is known for his solo constructions in real-time synthesis as well as the development of computer network music. His recent performances combine hands-on analog circuitry and digital synthesis in open dialog. Sonic attributes in one domain inform music unfolding in the other. The ebb and flow of discontinuity in these systems spontaneously generates form. He has been active in the experimental music scene in the Bay Area for over 40 years as a composer, performer, and teacher. He is a founding member of the League of Automatic Music Composers, the world's first computer network band, and co-authored an article on the League's music that appeared in "Foundations of Computer Music" (MIT Press 1985). Recordings of his work are available on Artifact Recordings, Lovely Music, Tzadik, 23Five, Centaur, and New World Records. He was on faculty for many years in the legendary Music Department at Mills College.
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