Abstract
This knowledge exchange places composer / sound artist Rob Godman within Stapleford Granary Arts Centre, working with CEO / clarinettist Dr Kate Romano. Together, they will decipher, analyse and interpret a body of little-known, unpublished music for clarinet and electronics composed in the pre-digital 1970-80s by American pioneer William O Smith (1929 - 2000). We seek to create and disseminate new performance materials for Smith’s obsolete music, opening up a ‘dead spot’ in the repertoire. We will bring this neglected repertoire into historical performance discourse, whilst asking the question: to what extent is it possible to ‘future-proof’ music?
We aim to:
1. decipher, analyse and interpret the hand-written scores and annotations of a body of unpublished music for clarinet and electronics by Wiliam O Smith, an American pioneer in jazz, performance and composition
2. address the challenges of the (now obsolete) technology used in the music, adapting this for current tools and practices (eg creating customisable software replications of obsolete hardware)
3. create high quality professional recordings / films of the new performances and make these widely available to the interested general public
4. disseminate new performing materials amongst professional / emerging clarinet players via our networks (UK music conservatoires) and provide mentoring for emerging creative partnerships
Our working group comprises close friends and performers of Smith’s music and a highly experienced technical, recording and marketing team. Please see schedule for details
Once the project is complete, we plan to engage with key stakeholders and end-users to disseminate this work. These are:
● BBC Radio 3 and new music press
● Established & emerging musicians ( all instruments) who seek information on how to play this repertoire and other similar music from the period which uses obsolete technology
● Festivals of new music (UK and abroad)
We aim to:
1. decipher, analyse and interpret the hand-written scores and annotations of a body of unpublished music for clarinet and electronics by Wiliam O Smith, an American pioneer in jazz, performance and composition
2. address the challenges of the (now obsolete) technology used in the music, adapting this for current tools and practices (eg creating customisable software replications of obsolete hardware)
3. create high quality professional recordings / films of the new performances and make these widely available to the interested general public
4. disseminate new performing materials amongst professional / emerging clarinet players via our networks (UK music conservatoires) and provide mentoring for emerging creative partnerships
Our working group comprises close friends and performers of Smith’s music and a highly experienced technical, recording and marketing team. Please see schedule for details
Once the project is complete, we plan to engage with key stakeholders and end-users to disseminate this work. These are:
● BBC Radio 3 and new music press
● Established & emerging musicians ( all instruments) who seek information on how to play this repertoire and other similar music from the period which uses obsolete technology
● Festivals of new music (UK and abroad)
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | In preparation - 1 May 2025 |
| Event | Concert given by Rob Godman and Kate Romano: Works by O Smith and Rob Godman - Stapleford Granary, Cambridge, United Kingdom Duration: 15 Oct 2023 → 15 Oct 2023 |