Public Performances
Blending In
Live Performance, Feb 2023
Crystal Bridges Museum
A collaboration with Flyover Dance Collective. Music composed and performed by Cameron Summers. All sounds are generated live in real-time - nothing pre-recorded.
Movement I: "Observe" (00:00)
Movement II: "Process" (07:55)
Movement III: "Sing" (12:55)
Program Notes:
Technologies such as artificial intelligence (A.I.) are increasingly impacting every aspect of our lives - including the arts. Though we are wary of disruption caused by great change, innovation also brings us forward. Drawing on my background in A.I., signal processing, and music, my artistic practice closely integrates creating music and building innovative technology, focusing the arts as a driver for understanding new technology and its effects.
“Blending In” is an outcome of this practice in response to Loring Taoka’s ± at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. It features solo trumpet, voice, and a live interactive electronic performance system designed and created by Cameron Summers. In the first of three sections, live sounds from the performers are transformed into a patterned rhythmic soundscape, alluding to themes of identity and the visual patterns in the artwork. Increasing tempo and density burst into silence at the beginning of the second section: a meditation on the artwork not as individual patterns, but as a single piece. In this section, live trumpet sounds are transformed into a peaceful, droning accompaniment. Careful listening reveals characteristics from the trumpet in the electronically generated sounds. In the final section, sweet-sounding harmonies are generated live with the trumpet, reflecting the color palette in the artwork. These harmonies are recorded and looped with improvisational trumpet melodies overlaid, a process representing the daily negotiations of our identity relative to the people around us.
AutoOrchestrator™ Demos: A Harmonizer on Steroids
The videos below are live performances of my arrangements with the AutoOrchestrator. Taking real-time pitch shifting to the next level, the AutoOchestrator allows me and the algorithms to interact more like a human-A.I. duet.
"Amazing Grace" Arr. by Cameron Summers
Listen for the jazzy re-harmonization on the second verse.
"Silent Night" Arr. by Cameron Summers & A.I.
Listen for the A.I. re-harmonization on the second verse and live-looping counterpoint toward the end.
"Over the Rainbow" Arr. by Cameron Summers
Listen for the algorithm to handle the high notes toward the end.
Other Tech
"Digital Winds" by Cameron Summers
A short piece that uses A.I. to transform my breath and whistle into a sort of digital wind
chime.
"Little Windows" by Cameron Summers
"Little Windows" an improvised piece exploring the interplay between harmonic and rhythmic dissonance.
"What is Jazz?" by Cameron Summers
In "What is Jazz?" a series of improvisations in the Bebop language describes
an idiomatic jazz chord progression and is met with a live dynamic
realization of the harmonies beneath. Traditionally in collaboration with
human counterparts, the lone trumpet calls are increasingly fraught.
"Between" by Cameron Summers
An improvisatory piece over both uncommon and Just Intonation harmonies.
"Waves" by Cameron Summers
A minimalistic improvisatory piece based on the harmonies in the jazz standard, Cherokee.
An A.I. also programs minimalistic drum samples in real-time to accompany the trumpet using deep
learning.