GAffiE

THEORV

A note about the Mad Scientist Machine
The Mad Scientist Machine is a culmination of many years of
thinking about improvised music. Often one of the most difficult
things to achieve in an improvised musical setting is structure. This
is partirnlarly true of an ensemble of more than 5 players. The Mad
Scientist Machine is a system that helps bring structure to an improvisation while also bringing an awareness of direction and content
as a foundation from which improvisation can spring forth.
1t is an experiment in creating a balance between freedom and
structure and at the same time it also creates a window for the
audience into the process of improvisation in music. Transforming a
composer's ideas into specific light cues for an ensemble of players,
the Mad Scientist Machine is a combination of a game structure and
compositional system.
At the heart is a software/hardware system allowing a user
(conductor/composer) to organize a group of players in a structured
improvised performance. A local or remote user can utilize the
software to control an LED light that is placed in front of each
performer. Each colour indicates a different performance instruction. For instance, white light signals long tones, whereas green
light indicates to play textures.

A note about Coat Cooke's Game Pieces
lmprovisor Else is a text based game piece in which players are
directed to play or say the composition's text in rhythmic unison at
cued intervals and are then free to improvise with the text and the
rhythm of the words freely creating one's own patterns and meanings, relating at will to fellow improvisors contributions.
BoB explores the pitches B and A transposed from a pattern in
the music alphabet in relation to the Roman alphabet and their
neighbouring flat, double flat and sharp and double sharp pitches.
Gamers are encouraged to pick their own tempo or rubato approach,
pitches, number of repetitions, and octave. Almost anything goes
here, so look out!
Scales suggests that participants move around the fishes scales
playing A or Ab and variations in the notes that are 1/8 or 1/4 pitch

Long

TonesSilence
Mad Scientist Machine Score
sharp or flat with rules allowing one to do this in various octaves
of your range, utilizing full dynamics, silence.
Shift has a score that centres around an eighth note pulse that
has accents in various time signatures (from 1/8 to 7 /8) exploring a
melodic contour around four pitches. Many layering possibilities
can occur during propulsive forays.
Wave Culture is a diamond shape from one to nine inviting the
improvisor to play any of those numbers at any tempo, frequency
or dynamic until the piece is done.
This is a very exciting project as this intimate ensemble has two
evenings to explore this playful program designed for the daring
improvisor. l'm delighted to have such esteemed conductors and
such a gifted ensemble of creative improvisors. l give warm thanks
to all of them. Finally, a special thanks to Stefan Smulovitz for his
creation, and his considerable behind the scenes work to help make
this an evocative and exciting show.
Coat Cooke - Artistic Director
Special thanks to SFU Contemporart Arts,Viviane Houle, AllysonMcGrane and
everyone at Left Right Minds

Coat Cooke: is a long time Vancouver resident celebrating his 40th year as an improvising artist this year. He has been associated with the NOW since 1978 and hopes to
live to see our planet be able to sustain human life for many years beyond his life.
Stefan Smulovitz: Award-winning composer, collaborator, violist and laptop artist
Stefan Smulovitz has created more than 50 live scores for films and performs with
leading improvisors around the world. Kenaxis -- Stefan's game-changing software -- is
used by musicians around the world, and his numerous collaborative creations have
been developed for theatre, dance, and art installations.
Todd Reynolds, violinist, composer, conductor and Soundpainter, is known as an
innovator in the arts and one of the most active and versatile proponents of what he calls
'present music'. The first person to whom Walter Thomson gave his Soundpaintingrn
language and a longtime violinist for Bang On A Can and the Steve Reich Ensemble,
he's played as soloist with Yo-Yo Ma, toured with John Cale, Joe Jackson and Todd
Rundgren, continues to play with Kenny Werner and Betty Buckley. He has just
released his double CD set, Outerborough on Innova Recordings.
Lisle Ellis is a Canadian born, New York based, composer and instrumentalist whose
35+ year career has included work with legendary musicians in both acoustic and
electronic contexts and as a leader of his own ensembles. His current focus is toward
the book form publication of a collection of his life's work of music scores, visual
creations (paintings & drawings,) and essays on creative process and life observations.
Born and raised in Italy, Giorgio Magnanensi lives on the Sunshine Coast of BC. His
diverse artistic practice includes composition, conducting, improvisation, circuit
bending and video art. He is artistic director of Vancouver New Music and Laboratorio.
Paul Cram is an award-winning bandleader, arranger, film and concert music
composer, Canadian tenor saxophonist, clarinetist and jazz iconoclast. From Vancouver
to Toronto to Halifax he has forged a mature and unique voice that cuts across jazz,
classical, world and beyond genres to capture a metaphorical "middle kingdom"
between Europe, Asia, and America.
Sarah Weaver is a New York-based composer, conductor, researcher, technologist,
and producer working internationally as a specialist in telematic music. Recent
telematic projects include "ResoNations 2010: An International Telematic Music
Concert for Peace", at United Nations Headquarters in New York, China, Korea, United
Arab Emirates. Weaver is Music and Technology Advisor for Arts for Peace of
UN-NGO WAFUNIF, on the advisory board of International Society for Improvised
Music, and pursuing graduate work at New York University. www.sarahweaver.org