iMOderate

iMOderate (2004)
trombone and computer

iMOderate was composed for Kevin Moehringer at the Hiller Computer Music Studio on the campus of SUNY at Buffalo. The piece incorporates the software Max/MSP for real-time analysis and processing with a 4-channel playback system. It is comprised of two contrasting sections. The first section is notated in a traditional manner with material that exploits the dynamic range of the instrument and it’s ability to glissando between a large range of pitches. While the performer is playing through this section certain phrases and notes are sampled and stored in the computer’s memory for playback. Some of the samples are altered via playback speed while others undergo a process of granulation. The second section is a guide for improvisation laid out in graphic notation. The performer is given a musical phrase to start the section. One of the notes is captured, via an infinite reverberator and processed through a modulating filter bank, as the foundation for the improvisation. The performer is free to improvise over the harmonic textures as they drift in pitch, dynamics, and spatialization. The graphic score indicates other notes for the performer to use in order to re-trigger the note capture and retune the sonic cloud.

These excerpts are from a performance in 2004 in the Center for the Arts on the campus of SUNY at Buffalo, performed by Kevin Moehringer.