George Lewis: RNCM PRiSM Artist in Residence

RNCM PRiSM Artist in Residence, Professor George Lewis, shares his vision and experience of working on the project 'Forager', a machine-learning enhanced version of his earlier development 'Voyager - the interactive pianist' that is able to recognise musical gestures and therefore make improvisatory decisions accordingly.
Produced by: Dr Zakiya Leeming (RNCM PRiSM Artist & Producer in Residence)
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Further info:
Professor George Lewis (RNCM PRiSM Artist in Residence & Edwin H. Case Professor of American Music, Composition & Historical Musicology, Columbia University) is known internationally as one of the pioneers in the field of computer-driven, interactive compositions and performance practice.
He first developed the Voyager system between 1985 and 1987 at the Studio for Elektro-Instrumemtale Muziek (STEIM) in Amsterdam, building on the earlier Rainbow Family system he developed and premiered at IRCAM (Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) in Paris between 1982 and 1984.
Widely referred to as the ‘virtual improvising pianist’, the Voyager system analyses aspects of the musical environment in real time, using that analysis to guide an automatic ‘improvisation’ program that generates both complex responses to input and independent behaviour that arises from its own internal processes. It is one of Lewis’ most frequently presented works, and a secondary scientific, musicological, and even philosophical literature has sprung up around it over the years.
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Forager Project Team:
Professor George Lewis (composer & lead researcher)
Professor Emily Howard (director PRiSM & project supervisor)
Professor David De Roure (computer scientist & research software engineer)
Dr Christopher Melen (research software engineer)
Dr Damon Holzborn (research software engineer)
Dr Bofan Ma (research assistant & project manager)
Performers from the RNCM:
Leah Wing (flute)
Robyn Saunders (clarinet)
Cameron Chin-See (trumpet, for Research & Development workshops in early 2022)
Andrew Farrow (trumpet, for the world premiere in November 2022)
Ross McDonnell (trombone)
Jack Adler-McKean (tuba)
With additional thanks to:
Research England
Royal Northern College of Music
Yamaha UK
Edition Peters
Forsyths Ltd
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Acknowledgement:
This artistic residency, along with its resulting work Forager, is supported by PRiSM, the Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music at the Royal Northern College of Music, funded by the Research England fund Expanding Excellence in England (E3).
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Copyright info:
George Lewis (2022): Forager
EP 68838
© 2022 by C. F. Peters Corporation, New York
Licensed courtesy of Peters Edition Limited, London.
All rights reserved.
For non-commercial use for PRiSM only.