Window Gallery Reception: Orchestra Obscura

Center for New Music

An exhibit by students from the College of San Mateo Electronic Music Program, under the direction of Krys Bobrowski

Orchestra Obscura is a collection of works that incorporates sensors, microcontrollers, and electronics to explore new ways of using movement and gesture in creating live electronic music. Sometimes the physical actions of the performer clearly map to the resulting sounds one hears, sometimes the connections are completely hidden, but more often they are partially obscured, leaving the listener to make their own connections and adding another level of artistic interpretation.While all the works involve sound and electronics in some way, the end products are as diverse as the students and their interests. Many combine the inherent elements of other practices and hobbies with music making, such as RC car racing, martial arts, storytelling, costume design, and skateboarding. Others dive into new analog and MIDI instrument design, beyond the piano keyboard and drum pads. Others repurpose and modify electronic toys, injecting a playful quality. And still others go inwards, into the human body finding more subtlety changing movements to control sound. Likewise, the resulting music covers a wide range, from experimental to EDM, ambient to hip-hop, with each artist bringing their own musical experience and interests to their project.Justin Alley – ALLOPHONESheena Chand - Whack - A – MelodyMichel Conrad and Laura Cox-Conrad – SeaCapeJ &amp; Addams – DragonsongQuinn Manely and Zohar Aguilar Noriega - RC VibesLouise Morin – Ruby SoundscapeSandy Napkin – SynthescrimaShawn Westmoreland and Arash Moradi - Möbinix and T-MidiTom Yaniv - Mix ThrasherAlex Zharchuk – Bioelectric Sound Experiment 01