Opera of the Future

Tod Machover to speak at University of Toronto

BlogMeister — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:13:05 +0000

Tod Machover will be back in Toronto on Thursday, May 9, to give a talk at the Jackman Humanities Institute of the University of Toronto at 5pm. He will be speaking about A TORONTO SYMPHONY, related projects, and the future (!). If you’re in town that day, go and check it out!

For details, see Mediated Music: Robotic Operas, Guitar Hero, Collaborative Symphonies and Beyond

Tod Machover to speak on “Democratic Excellence”

BlogMeister — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:13:39 +0000

David Rittenhouse, who served as president of the American Philosophical Society until 1796.

MIT Media Lab professor and composer Tod Machover will be delivering a public lecture on Saturday, April 27th, at the American Philosophical Society’s meeting in Philadelphia. Scheduled for the morning session, chaired by Linda Greenhouse, the talk is titled “Democratic Excellence: New Models of Musical Collaboration.” For the full program, click here.

Remaining true to the American Philosophical Society’s founder Benjamin Franklin’s intention of “promoting useful knowledge,” the papers and symposia at the meeting are “diverse in content and address both the theoretical and practical in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. …This eclectic mix produces a spirited dialogue among the participants, often without regard to academic discipline or professional affiliation. Informal discussions continue at meals.”

Society Meetings are open to the public and attract participants from the academic communities as well as the professions. Seating is limited and preregistration is required. Inquiries regarding attendance should be directed towestcott@amphilsoc.org.

Global TV documentary on “A Toronto Symphony”

BlogMeister — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:11 +0000

The Global TV documentary on A Toronto Symphony aired last week. It shows many pivotal behind-the-scenes moments in the creation of the piece. We hear Tod is working on a video compilation that will include more music. In the meantime, you can watch this documentary by clicking here. (Correction: We have replaced the incorrect link in our original post with the correct link).

The Other Festival at the MIT Media Lab – April 20, 2013

BlogMeister — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:47:04 +0000

Coming next Saturday at the MIT Media Lab! Open to the community. Download the flyer here: The Other Festival.

Interview on BBC Scotland (AUDIO)

BlogMeister — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:25:11 +0000

From Tod Machover’s Facebook page:

Did a fun live interview today on BBC Radio Scotland about my new Edinburgh “Festival City” collaborative symphony project. It was for a brand new show – The Culture Studio with Janice Forsyth – that premiered…today! My segment starts at 1:34:00 and runs to the end of the show http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rlrmh. There is also a fantastic interview with David Hendy (at 1:21:00), a UK media historian, who talks about the role of noise in human history (and even plays a soundscape from an imagined early 19th century Edinburgh. Plus a superb interview with Annie Lennox (at 0:04:21). Enjoy the lot of it!!

Listen to The Culture Studio with Janice Forsyth here, with guests Annie Lennox, Kristin Scott Thomas, David Hendy and Tod Machover.

Chamber Music America Keynote (VIDEO)

BlogMeister — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:00:53 +0000

Tod Machover’s keynote lecture from the annual Chamber Music America Conference (January 18, 2013) has just been posted online. Among other things, he discusses chamber music as an ideal context to imagine and create a subtle, intimate, human-scaled future for technology, in the arts and beyond.

Festival City blog

BlogMeister — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:38:44 +0000

The official blog for Tod Machover’s newest project, “Festival City”, has just been launched. Please visit and sign up for updates! “Festival City” is an orchestral work commissioned by the 2013 Edinburgh International Festival. It will receive its world premiere on August 27, 2013, by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

The Daily Planet discovers “A Toronto Symphony”

BlogMeister — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:28:18 +0000

The Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet program visits Toronto for an inside look at “A Toronto Symphony”.

Watch the video here (between 3:00-6:00, roughly)!

Edinburgh Festival announces new Machover commission

BlogMeister — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:00:52 +0000

No rest for the weary! This just in from the Edinburgh Festival:

A crowd sourced orchestral work by boundary breaker Tod Machover is just one of the many highlights of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival programme. Set over three weeks this August, the EIF’s line-up includes an homage to Allen Ginsberg with Philip Glass and Patti Smith; a new commission from experimental artist Laurie Anderson; a tribute to Frank Zappa; and a return to the festival for the Wooster Group with the company’s inspired (re)take of Hamlet, complete with Richard Burton film footage.

Read all about it at the Edinburgh Festival Guide. Sounds like an exciting line-up!! Programme for the Edinburgh International Festival 2013 puts artists and technology centre-stage

David Almond on BBC’s Desert Island Discs

BlogMeister — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:07:05 +0000

Check out this wonderful interview with David Almond on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs series. David discusses children’s literature and the music he’d want if he were a castaway. Thirty minutes into the interview he talks about the opera version of Skellig, on which he collaborated with composer Tod Machover. Here’s what BBC program says about David:

Most of his work is for children but the adults who populate the juries of heavyweight literary prizes really like it too. The accolades began with his first novel Skellig published in 1998 when he was 47; it won the mighty “Whitbread Children’s” award and then many others besides.

Ever since, he’s been acclaimed for his ability to craft complex, philosophical narratives with strikingly down to earth characterisations.

Listen to the interview here: BBC Desert Island Discs with author David Almond.

David Almond (from the BBC)