PLOrk : Princeton Laptop Orchestra
I just watched a special on this on NJN this past week. A group of students get together & create sound in a live setting using networked laptops & custom audio software called, “Chuck” (free download!). While the, “music” wound up sounding more like ambient noise most of the time (which I enjoy, but others may not), the concept behind PLOrk is what stands out. Very cool.
From the PLOrk Website:
“The Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk) is a newly established ensemble of computer-based musical meta-instruments. Each instrument consists of a laptop, a multi-channel hemispherical speaker, and a variety of control devices (keyboards, graphics tablets, sensors, etc…). The students who make up the ensemble act as performers, researchers, composers, and software developers. The challenges are many: what kinds of sounds can we create? how can we physically control these sounds? how do we compose with these sounds? There are also social questions with musical and technical ramifications: how do we organize a dozen players in this context? with a conductor? via a wireless network?”
More links:
Wired Magazine
Philadelphia Inquirer
The Guardian
