Electronic Music Midwest Festival (review)

During September 16–18 2004, Lewis University hosted the fourth Electronic Music Midwest Festival (EMMF). Previous to 2002, when the organizers officially formed a consortium to host the event, festivals were held in 2000 and 2001 at, respectively, Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) and Lewis University. Since 2002 the EMMF has been held at KCKCC (Spring 2002), Lewis University (Fall 2002), University of Missouri at Kansas City (2003), and Lewis University (2004).

This is the second EMMF I have attended and on both occasions I have been impressed by the dedication, care, and "labor of love" quality with which these events have been produced. Although regional in orientation, EMMF has achieved prominence nationally and internationally through its participants.

Each festival has invited a guest artist to work with students. Past guests have included Tom Lopez, James Mobberly, Mark Applebaum, Elizabeth McNutt, Mark Wingate, and this year offered Kevin Austin, from Concordia University in Montreal. The NeXT Ens was invited this year as guest performers. Formed in 2003 by a group of students from the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, the group's stated mission is to perform and support the creation of electroacoustic works. The festival opened with a Welcoming Concert/Presentation surrounding the theme of Globalization presented by Mr. Austin, and The NeXT Ens performed a concert the next day.

Among the many possible rationales for writing a conference review I have chosen two: to highlight the conference itself, and to mention works that seemed to stand out in the eyes/ears of this writer. For a blow-by-blow report of who did what, when, and with what, I would invite the reader to the EMMF Web site (www.electronicmusicmidwest.org). There one can also read additional information regarding the festival and its presenters.

Andrew Walters's Still Life and Landscape offered a subtle exploration of a polarity of close/distant objects. The multi-channel diffusion served to both dramatize and spatialize. Particularly poignant were sparkling "wake-ups" which peppered the piece. Derailed, by Michael A. Thompson, reflected his usual mastery of thoughtfully dramatizing the "connections" between diverse materials. Sounds and dramas are allowed to flourish in the absence of undue technological invasion.

Robert Griffin Morgan's Neophilia2 was a very well performed laptop improvisation combining loop manipulation with the actual "keyboard tapping" sounds resulting from the performer's real-time interaction. The result was informative rather than merely novel, and it suggested that loop manipulation doesn't always have to be tired, tedious, and overworked. A big plus was the relative brevity of the work, greater length not being asked to stretch the usability of the materials. Similarly championing the appreciation for appropriately short pieces was Gaia, by Kirsten Volness. The piece was a tasty, percussive morsel based on features of dynamic relationships within life systems.

One of the most delicious experiences of the festival was the "perceived reality" of Elainie Lillios's Backroads. The work is a beautiful trip through our psychology. It may suggest that we miss the richest, most flavorful utterances of life because they reside in a domain other than consciousness—a domain that day-in/day-out life may render less accessible than we would prefer. This piece seductively invites us to enter that world. Don Malone can always be counted on to deliver a unique DJ-ish performance where unlike materials redefine one another. Spin is no exception. Always artful as well as entertaining, Mr. Malone continues to hold rank as a guru of mixing the unmixable, in this case, Franz Schubert and Blood, Sweat and Tears. What a treat! Design, by Jeff Herriot, is a beautiful marriage of bass clarinet and electronics suggesting an "extended instrument." The piece enveloped the hall in enriched bass clarinet sound; it was "about" bass clarinet timbre and was superbly performed with Jeffrey Ouper, bass clarinet.

Jon Anderson performed splendidly as he sat in for his soprano who was unable to be present. His piece for voice and Max/MSP, Hybrid, draws from a New York Times article...