PLOrk
Encyclopedia
The Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk) is a Princeton University
ensemble of computer based meta-instruments. It is the first ensemble of its kind in the history of computer music, both in scale and in approach.
research community at Princeton University
and elsewhere have been exploring ways in which the computer
can be integrated into conventional music-making contexts (chamber ensembles, jam sessions, etc...) while also radically transforming those contexts. This has involved developing new speaker systems that have a more instrument-like presence, human-computer interfacing (HCI
) designs that involve performers physically the way musical instruments do, and software to link the performers' bodies to sound. In the past, these ideas have been explored with small groups of people (2-3) whereas the Princeton Laptop Orchestra is the first to extend these ideas to larger groups (12-15) and using the “orchestra” (in a very general sense) as a model.
Each PLOrk “instrument” consists of a laptop, a multi-channel hemispherical speaker, and a variety of “control” devices (keyboards, graphics tablets, sensors, etc...). The members of this ensemble (including professors, students, and professional musicians) will act as performers, researchers, composers, and software developers. The challenges are many: what kinds of sounds can be created? How can the ensemble physically “control” these sounds? How are these sounds composed? There are also social questions with musical and technical ramifications: how to organize a dozen players in this context? With a conductor? Via a wireless network?
A number of composers from Princeton and elsewhere have been developing pieces for PLOrk that address these questions. PLOrk works closely with these composers on their pieces with the aim of developing them further and further exploring a new branch of computer music and new media musical composition and performance.
, with graduate students Scott Smallwood and Ge Wang
, and funding and support from many Princeton University
departments, organizations, and industrial affiliations. Composers and performers from Princeton and elsewhere developed new pieces for the ensemble, including Paul Lansky
(Professor of Music at Princeton), Brad Garton
(Director of the Columbia Computer Music Center), Pauline Oliveros
, PLOrk co-founders Dan Trueman and Perry Cook, Scott Smallwood, Ge Wang, and others. The new PLOrk gave its first performance on April 4th, 2006, in Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University. Grammy-winning tabla player Zakir Hussain
, renowned accordionist Pauline Oliveros
, and So Percussion
also performed with the group. PLOrk has since performed at Dartmouth College
, the Ear to the Earth festival (produced by the Electronic Music Foundation), ffmup and elsewhere. Several scholarly articles describing the motivations for establishing such an ensemble, the issues involved in composing for laptop orchestra, and pedagogical concerns, are currently in press. PLOrk was first presented academically at the 2006 International Computer Music Conference in New Orleans. The guest director of the PLOrk for 2007 was R. Luke DuBois
.
Since the beginning, PLOrk has made extensive use of ChucK
, a new music programming language created by Ge Wang and Perry Cook which allows the performers to develop new code both in preparation and in performance, and which serves as a primary teaching tool.
remotes, and infrared, light, pressure, and tilt sensors. Additional gears include sitting mats and pillows, laptop lapdesk, and gears for transportation.
The PLOrk ensemble uses a variety of commercial and open-source software. Two audio programming languages, ChucK
and Max/MSP are primarily used for pedagogy and performance.
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
ensemble of computer based meta-instruments. It is the first ensemble of its kind in the history of computer music, both in scale and in approach.
Background
Musical instruments have long been on the cutting edge of technology, often spurring new research and development. In recent years, the computer musicComputer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
research community at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and elsewhere have been exploring ways in which the computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
can be integrated into conventional music-making contexts (chamber ensembles, jam sessions, etc...) while also radically transforming those contexts. This has involved developing new speaker systems that have a more instrument-like presence, human-computer interfacing (HCI
HCI
HCI may refer to:- Computing :* Home Computer Initiative, a United Kingdom government programme designed to increase the use of computers in the home...
) designs that involve performers physically the way musical instruments do, and software to link the performers' bodies to sound. In the past, these ideas have been explored with small groups of people (2-3) whereas the Princeton Laptop Orchestra is the first to extend these ideas to larger groups (12-15) and using the “orchestra” (in a very general sense) as a model.
Each PLOrk “instrument” consists of a laptop, a multi-channel hemispherical speaker, and a variety of “control” devices (keyboards, graphics tablets, sensors, etc...). The members of this ensemble (including professors, students, and professional musicians) will act as performers, researchers, composers, and software developers. The challenges are many: what kinds of sounds can be created? How can the ensemble physically “control” these sounds? How are these sounds composed? There are also social questions with musical and technical ramifications: how to organize a dozen players in this context? With a conductor? Via a wireless network?
A number of composers from Princeton and elsewhere have been developing pieces for PLOrk that address these questions. PLOrk works closely with these composers on their pieces with the aim of developing them further and further exploring a new branch of computer music and new media musical composition and performance.
History
PLOrk was co-founded in 2005 by professors Perry Cook and Dan TruemanDan Trueman
Dan Trueman is a composer, improviser, new instrument creator and software designer. He plays the violin and the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle. Trueman studied physics at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, composition and theory at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in...
, with graduate students Scott Smallwood and Ge Wang
Ge Wang
Ge Wang is a Chinese American musician and computer scientist, known for developing the ChucK audio programming language as a graduate student advised by Perry Cook, and for being co-founder and chief technology officer of Smule, a company making iPhone and iPad music apps...
, and funding and support from many Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
departments, organizations, and industrial affiliations. Composers and performers from Princeton and elsewhere developed new pieces for the ensemble, including Paul Lansky
Paul Lansky
Paul Lansky is an American electronic-music or computer-music composer who has been producing works from the 1970s up to the present day .-Biography:...
(Professor of Music at Princeton), Brad Garton
Brad Garton
Brad Garton is an American composer and computer musician who is professor of music at Columbia University.He has written, or helped to write, a number of computer music applications, including Real-Time Cmix, music synthesis and signal processing language for real time composition. He received...
(Director of the Columbia Computer Music Center), Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros is an American accordionist and composer who is a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
, PLOrk co-founders Dan Trueman and Perry Cook, Scott Smallwood, Ge Wang, and others. The new PLOrk gave its first performance on April 4th, 2006, in Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University. Grammy-winning tabla player Zakir Hussain
Zakir Hussain (musician)
Zakir Hussain , , is an Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer.-Early life:Hussain was born in Mumbai, India to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. He attended St...
, renowned accordionist Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros is an American accordionist and composer who is a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
, and So Percussion
So Percussion
So Percussion is an American percussion quartet based in New York City.Composed of Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting, and Eric Beach, the group is well known for recording and touring internationally and for its work with composers such as Steve Reich, David Lang, Paul Lansky, Martin...
also performed with the group. PLOrk has since performed at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, the Ear to the Earth festival (produced by the Electronic Music Foundation), ffmup and elsewhere. Several scholarly articles describing the motivations for establishing such an ensemble, the issues involved in composing for laptop orchestra, and pedagogical concerns, are currently in press. PLOrk was first presented academically at the 2006 International Computer Music Conference in New Orleans. The guest director of the PLOrk for 2007 was R. Luke DuBois
R. Luke DuBois
Roger Luke DuBois is an American composer, performer, conceptual new media artist, programmer, record producer and pedagogue based in New York City.-Biography:...
.
Since the beginning, PLOrk has made extensive use of ChucK
ChucK
ChucK is a concurrent, strongly timed audio programming language for real-time synthesis, composition, and performance, which runs on Mac OS X, Linux, Microsoft Windows, and iPhone/iPad. It is designed to favor readability and flexibility for the programmer over other considerations such...
, a new music programming language created by Ge Wang and Perry Cook which allows the performers to develop new code both in preparation and in performance, and which serves as a primary teaching tool.
Technology
There are 15 PLOrk stations. Each station consists of a laptop with audio software; a rack containing an 8-channel audio amplifier, a power conditioner, and other electronic components; and a custom-made 6-channel hemispherical speaker. In April 2008, PLOrk began using a new hemispherical unit which combines the functionality of the old rack and speakers into one more portable device. The laptops are Apple 12" powerbooks, or more recently, 14" Macbooks. HCI devices include keyboard controllers, TriggerFinger interfaces, graphics tablets, Nintendo WiiWii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
remotes, and infrared, light, pressure, and tilt sensors. Additional gears include sitting mats and pillows, laptop lapdesk, and gears for transportation.
The PLOrk ensemble uses a variety of commercial and open-source software. Two audio programming languages, ChucK
ChucK
ChucK is a concurrent, strongly timed audio programming language for real-time synthesis, composition, and performance, which runs on Mac OS X, Linux, Microsoft Windows, and iPhone/iPad. It is designed to favor readability and flexibility for the programmer over other considerations such...
and Max/MSP are primarily used for pedagogy and performance.
Media Coverage and Relevant Writings
- Why A Laptop Orchestra in Organised Sound, 2007
- paper in the International Computer Music Conference Proceedings, 2006
- news article in Princeton Weekly Bulletin
- All Things Considered on NPR
- http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/programs/index_20060506.html#plork NPR Weekend America radio interview
- http://plork.cs.princeton.edu/listen/interviews/wprb_plork.m3u WPRB feature
- http://www.here-now.org/shows/2006/05/20060504.asp here and now radio feature
- http://plork.cs.princeton.edu/video/plork_foxnews.mov (video) PLOrk on Fox Evening News
- http://plork.cs.princeton.edu/video/plork_njn.mov (video) New Jersey Network feature
- http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1742693,00.html Guardian UK article
- http://www.technologyreview.com/InfoTech/wtr_16454,258,p1.html MIT technology review article
- http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/start.html?pg=6# Wired Magazine article
- http://plork.cs.princeton.edu/images/nyt-2006.4.30.gif New York Times article
- http://www.newmusicbox.org/article.nmbx?id=4638 New Music Box article
- http://plork.cs.princeton.edu/press/PhillyInquirerReview.pdf Philadelphia Enquirer review
- http://plork.cs.princeton.edu/images/span2006.pdf SPAN article
- PLORK Introducing The Princeton Laptop Orchestra
External links
- PLOrk homepage
- ChucK and Max/MSP
- Debut Concert sounds and images