Two MIT undergrads, Chantine Akiyama and Sue Liang, did this interview with Tod Machover about his SYMPHONY IN D project. It's fun and refreshing, and conveys their perspective on the project. Tod speaks about the main goals for the project. They include: First, the music that emerges as the Symphony must be a piece that can stand …
WDET helping to collect sounds of Detroit
Exciting news that Detroit's NPR station, WDET, is partnering with Detroit ad firm Doner to help collect sounds of the Motor City for our SYMPHONY IN D project. Get all the info here. Maybe the call of your coney dog order or the roar of a Mustang engine, what sounds are uniquely Detroit? Share your ideas with …
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Detroit Notes
The Opera of the Future crew spent the Memorial Day weekend in Detroit, doing activities for the SYMPHONY IN D project. The 3 days were packed and each activity was an adventure: from driving in (and recording audio from) a Grand Prix race car, to visiting the Movement techno music festival with young DJ students, …
Lucerne youth dig into Hyperscore
Wonderful new (short) video about the Hyperscore workshops we are doing in Lucerne as part of the EINE SINFONIE FUER LUZERN project that premieres at this summer's LUCERNE FESTIVAL. Amazing young people from around the city are working on original compositions that reflect aspects of Lucerne. These will be transcribed for instruments (some transcriptions by …
Interview: “Model D”
Tod Machover writes: Great new interview about the SYMPHONY IN D project for Detroit, by Walter Wasacz in "Model D." Walter says I am "friendly, down to earth, even" - gee, I HOPE so:) - and I'm thrilled that my dear friend and brilliant musician/writer Wesley Strick also got mentioned in the article; his name …
Fensadense workshop
From Tod Machover's Facebook page: Finished a great rehearsal period for FENSADENSE in Lucerne today with a fun and imaginative video shoot by Oliver T. Becker for a video trailer for the project. These 10 fabulous players from the Alumni Ensemble of the LUCERNE FESTIVAL Academy were a great pleasure to work with, and I …
Light in Lucerne (photos)
Tod Machover is in Lucerne this week, working with musicians on a new work to premiere this summer at the Lucerne Festival. He seems very taken by the quality of light in the city. From Tod's Facebook: Surprising and intense light everywhere in Lucerne, where we are in a fun work week in preparation for …
Lucerne Festival: Fasnacht Adventure
Check out Tod Machover's post on the official Symphony for Lucerne blog about his recent Fasnacht adventure, during the annual carnival festival that overtakes the usually calm Swiss city. Here's an excerpt. Read the entire breathtaking story here. I had been prepared for the spectacle and the wild masks, but was totally blown away by the …
Sneak peak at Symphony in D
Here's a fun piece on Detroit's WDIV TV on #symphonyind. Hear a bass trombone sound like a car's accelerator, hear Henry Ford's first engine, and hear the TV announcer speculate on what the sound of a DRIVER might be on landing in one of Detroit's ubiquitous potholes! Watch the video here. How you can collaborate …
Plunging into “Fensadense”
From Tod Machover's Facebook page: Straight off the plane yesterday from Dubai into an intensive rehearsal at the LUCERNE FESTIVAL for our new FENSADENSE project. What a pleasure to explore the relationships of improvisation-to-composition and acoustics-to-electronics with 10 amazing young musicians from around the world. Bach is already being transmuted into something new and surprising, …
Opera of the Future 