Graduate Composition Workshop No. 1 – 2013

- PatchWork Graphical Language PWGL: a Software for Computer Assisted Composition -

by Mika Kuuskankare

organized in collaboration between the NYU Department of Music and Columbia University’s Computer Music Center (CMC)

FRI 11/22, 3-6pm @ NYU General Presentation of PWGL
Present & future; the basics of the patch language, and ENP; Small patch/score assignments illustrating the interplay between them; review of the most important tutorial patches.
SAT 11/23,10-1pm @ NYU Hands-on Workshop of PWGL
Hands-on workshop with exercises of various compositional algorithms.
SAT 11/23, 3-6pm @ CMC Sessions with advanced users: Constraints
SUN 11/24, 3-6pm @ CMC Sessions with advanced users

NYU – Dept. of Music: 24 Waverly Pl., Rm 220, NY 10003
CMC – Columbia Univ.: Dodge Hall, Rm. 620, 2960 Broadway, NY 10027

PWGL is a free cross-platform visual language based on Common Lisp, CLOS, and OpenGL specialized in computer aided composition and sound synthesis. PWGL is one of the three major computer-assisted composition environments, along with IRCAM’s Open-Music (OM), and Stanford’s Common Music (CM). PWGL and OM, rely on visual programming and contain many visualization aids,such as music notation, which are an integral part of the system.

One of the main advantages of PWGL is that it offers a flexible music notation tool called Expressive Notation Package (ENP). ENP has a graphical user interface, a large set of musical primitives and an extended concept of expression markings, and it allows for algorithmic control over scores. PWGL is publicly available since 2006 and is distributed as freeware for OS X and Windows.

To register for the workshop, or to ask questions, write to both:
Jaime Oliver () AND Jean-Baptiste Barrière ()

Mika Kuuskankare (Finland 1970) studied composition at Sibelius Academy receiving a Master’s degree in Composition in 1999. During the past 20 years, Kuuskankare has worked as a researcher and has participated in several research projects funded by the Academy of Finland in close collaboration with the Acoustics Laboratory of Helsinki University of Technology. During the years 2003-2006, Kuuskankare conducted his doctoral studies at the Department of Doctoral Studies in Musical Performance and Research and also participated as an associated student in the Pythagoras Graduate School of Music and Sound Research funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and the Academy of Finland. In 2006 Kuuskankare received his doctorate with the distinction “pass with merit”. The topic of the thesis was the computer-assisted, music notation software Expressive Notation Package (ENP). His opponent was Roger Dannenberg from the School of Computer Science and the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University. The most prominent result of this research is a visual music programming environment called PWGL, which started about 10 years ago by DMus Mikael Laurson and Kuuskankare. The present PWGL team also includes MMus V. Norilo, currently conducting doctoral studies at Sibelius Academy, and Diplom-Komponist K. Sprotte.

More info at: www.siba.fi/PWGL

Announcement in PDF format.