Between the Desert and the Deep Blue Sea: A Symphony for Perth was composed from October 2013 to February 2014 for Carolyn Kuan and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, on commission from the Perth International Arts Festival. The 25-minute work is a musical, sonic portrait of Perth and surrounding areas, and was created in collaboration …
Mulling Montaigne
From Tod Machover's Facebook page: Am thinking about Michel de Montaigne today, in preparation for a trip to Montréal tomorrow to discuss a project based on Montaigne's work. Montaigne invented the "essay" in the late 16th century, and his bold, undogmatic and unpretentious writings remain as fresh today as when they were first published. Can't find …
Sweden’s LOFT on A Toronto Symphony
The current issue of LOFT, the Scandinavian "bookazine" devoted to design, culture and creativity, features a lengthy interview and photographs documenting the "A Toronto Symphony" project. You can preview it here.
Rehearsing Festival City
From Tod Machover's Facebook page: Exciting first rehearsal yesterday with full orchestra of FESTIVAL CITY. Here's the Royal Scottish National Orchestra trying out the piece for the first time, in their rehearsal space in Glasgow. On my way back there now for more rehearsing. More pictures soon.
Repertoire Remix: Q&A
The MIT Media Lab has posted a terrific interview with Tod Machover and pianist Tae Kim that takes us deeper inside the collaborative process of creating "Festival City". In the interview, Tod also speaks about how the experience is changing him: For Festival City, I have taken a big risk by opening up the compositional process to …
Inside “Festival City” with Wired UK
Wired UK posted this excellent article today that provides an in-depth look at the Festival City project. Included are detailed descriptions of how the music apps work. We loved this: To compose Festival City, which Machover hopes will bring out the contrasts of the city, Machover first invited people to submit raw material that reminded of …
Repertoire Remix (VIDEO)
Last month, composer Tod Machover joined an online audience together with pianist Tae Kim in an experience that fused Web-based interaction with a live piano performance. This demo centered on the Cauldron app built at the Media Lab for the "Festival City" project commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival. The app is populated with the sounds of …
Things are heating up in Edinburgh!
Tod was in Edinburgh at the end of May to launch 'Cauldron', the latest app for his collaborative symphony orchestra project commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival. He met with hundreds of school kids, was serenaded by bagpipes (which he now professes a new fondness for), and explored the vast network of subterranean tunnels underneath …
Global TV documentary on “A Toronto Symphony”
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 …
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Hot off the press! “A Toronto Symphony”
Woo hoo! "A Toronto Symphony" is finished!! Here's the first page of the score. Tod worked non-stop orchestrating it over the past month, with a major push in the middle of the weekend blizzard to assemble the complete score. He received invaluable help from a hardy band of Media Lab students and producers who trekked through thigh-deep snow …
Opera of the Future 