the variable theremin collaborative page
This page includes project description, performance information of the recent past and present, and some other stuff.
The Variable Theremin Collaborative
Possible Events: Live performances, classroom demonstrations/technology workshop of interactive instruments, visiting lectures, residencies.
Key Participants
Aram Shumavon, video, percussion, and computer
(Mohada Fasta, San Francisco, CA)
Joe Adamik, drums, percussion, electronics
(Califone, Interkosmos, Chicago, IL)
Marina Peterson, cello
(Ohio University associate professor of Performance Studies, School of Interdisciplinary Arts;
Ensemble Noamnesia)
Jesse Peterson, violin
(Charter Oak, Jamie Hodge, New York, NY)
Project Overview
Collaborations between live musicians and video are increasingly found in performances of classical, pop, and experimental music. Chicago-based musician Joe Adamik (Califone) has developed a partnership with artist Aram Shumavon and performers Marina and Jesse Peterson using live video and audio processing that responds to tempi and volume such that the video projected on the screen and audio that responds to it are also performed live. Past projects have involved bringing additional elements such as dancers to the collaboration where body positions on stage translate to the volume and pitch inputs of a theremin.
The Variable Theremin Collaborative is a multidisciplinary performance that coordinates performance between participants by means of audible and visual feedback derived from each performer. The feedback takes the form of collaborative instruments, which require the performance of two participants to function. There are two primary feedback vehicles: a software based theremin and video processor. The musicians – Joe Adamik (drums, percussion, electronics), Aram Shumavon (percussion, noise, electronics) and Marina Peterson (cello) – improvise, providing multiple potential inputs for the theremin (which can be changed from piece to piece) as well as a context for music that is not the theremin itself.
The theremin is a musical instrument that relies on two inputs to produce a single synthesized tone. The first input controls the frequency of the audible output, the second input controls volume. The result of the combination of the inputs is a monophonic, highly variable linearly controlled musical instrument. In a traditional theremin both inputs are controlled by a single player. The Variable Theremin Collaborative expands on the traditional theremin by allowing elements of individual participants' performances to be mapped to inputs on a virtual theremin. The quintessential example of this is mapping a dancer's position relative to the front or back of the stage to be mapped to the volume of theremin. In one example the physical proximity of the performer to the audience is replicated in the instrument by volume, though mapping can be less obvious as well.
The video processor also functions as a feedback mechanism in the Variable Theremin Collaborative by allowing inputs from performers or the theremin to drive visual elements, potentially including both content and effects run over content. It is noteworthy that each feedback device is capable of driving the other as well, so that, for example, the frequency of the theremin can drive the color of the video screen.
Images and examples of the performances are available here.