Production Advice posted this great write-up: TEDx Aldeburgh – a rough guide. The post was written by Ian Shepherd, the founder of Production Advice, a professional producer and senior mastering engineer at leading independent mastering facility SRT (Sound Recording Technology), based just outside Cambridge in the UK. The blog covers the entire event, which included talks by such industry luminaries as Thomas Dolby (who hosted and curated the event) and composer and record producer William Orbit.
Shepherd writes:
“But the standout moment of the day for me was Tod Machaver’s [sic] presentation on his astonishing work over the years…
What impressed me most about Tod’s presentation was not so much the way he used complex technical wizardry, but that it was always focused on being inclusive and enabling – for example installations allowing anyone to make music, whether they have just walked in off the street or have a challenging condition like cerebral palsy like Dan Ellsey, who appears in this amazing video.
All of which was perfectly brought together by Peter Gregson’s stunning performance immediately afterwards, playing cello with one Tod’s hyper-bows, and allowing the sound of the instrument to envelop us in ambisonic surround-sound. Any scepticism I had about the implementation of the hyperbow were put to rest talking to Peter later – he assured me that the way it responds to his playing is very consistent and intuitive, and certainly hearing the piece felt very much like listening to a living, breathing performance, rather than simply someone playing with a backing track. This was an excerpt from a longer piece, “Spheres and Splinters”, which premieres next Friday in Snape, and on Saturday in London.”
There was also some nice Twitter feedback: BigBud73: Was lucky enough to catch the stunning Spheres & Splinters Tod Machover collaboration with Peter Gregson tonight at Kings Place.
Additional links of interest:
SOS – TEDx Aldeburgh Music – a success! “Overall, this premier TEDx Aldeburgh Music day-long event could be summarised as a diverse and fascinating exploration of the best of contemporary music.”
Opera of the Future 