PLOrk
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The Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk) is a Princeton University ensemble of computer based meta-instruments.
Background
Musical instruments have long been on the cutting edge of technology, often spurring new research and development. In recent years, the computer music 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 performer’s 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 by Professors Perry Cook and Dan Trueman in 2005, with funding and support from many Princeton University departments and organizations and industrial affiliations. The inaugural ensemble was offered as a university course in Fall 2005, consisting of 14 freshmen and instructed by Dan Trueman, Perry Cook, Scott Smallwood, and Ge Wang. The debut performance [listen] took place on January 22nd, 2006, in Taplin Auditorium, Princeton University.In 2006, this ensemble was further developed in a course consisting of upper-level undergraduates and graduate students. Composers and performers from Princeton and elsewhere developed new pieces for this unprecedented 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, and several graduate students. The new PLOrk gave its first performance on April 4th, 2006, in Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University, Grammy-winning tabla player Zakir Hussain, renowned accodionist Pauline Oliveros, and So Percussion also performed with the group.
Since the beginning, PLOrk has made extensive use of a new music programming language created by Ge Wang and Perry Cook, called ChucK, which allows the performers to develop new code both in preparation and in performance.
Technology
There are 15 PLOrk stations, each station consists of laptop + rack + hemispherical speaker + software. The laptops are Apple 12" powerbooks. Each rack contains 8-channel audio interface, a power conditioner, amplifiers. Each speaker is a custom-made 6-channel hemispherical loudspeaker. HCI devices include keyboard controllers, TriggerFinger interfaces, graphics tablets, and infared, 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, Max/MSP and ChucK are primarily used for pedagogy and performance.
External links
- [PLOrk] homepage
- [Max/MSP] and [ChucK] homepage
- [Debut Concert] sounds and images
- [news article] in Princeton Weekly Bulletin
- [PLORK] Introducing The Princeton Laptop Orchestra
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