BUGS

A guided improvisation for 2 – 6 players

BUGS is a commission from the NOW Orchestra in Vancouver, Canada with a premiere in November 2014.

Guy de Bievre and I will be working together on the version for two players at Q02.

I will create a work where each player will be given a small board that has 5 lights configured in a pattern on it. An Arduino and a Max patch wirelessly control the light boards. Each pattern of the lights will be a specific improvisation cue. Players will receive individual cues throughout the piece. All players will have a button on their light board that they can press when they would like to vote to move on to a new section.

I will process the instruments live using the Kyma System. At Q02 I will be developing and testing the new Max and Kyma patches to insure that they are robust enough to endure the hardships of international touring.

BUGS is about:

– The insect that buzzes around us

– The bacteria or virus that makes us sick

– The microphone used for surveillance that makes us nervous

– The error in a computer program or system that plagues us

– The act of bothering someone