Published in the 2017 edition of Noteworthy, the alumni and friends magazine for the UT School of Music.
El-ec-tro-a-cou-stic
/i lectrōə ko ostik/
Involving the direct conversion of electrical signal into acoustic energy or vice versa.
Birthed from a pairing of technology and acoustic instruments, UT’s Electroacoustic Ensemble has launched into the performance/art space with a unique opportunity for students from multiple areas of study. In March, the UT Electroacoustic Ensemble joined world-renowned musicians and artists at the Big Ears Festival, one of the country’s most eclectic music events.
“The Electroacoustic Ensemble provides a platform for students to develop and design instruments while using them in a multi-disciplinary performance setting,” said Jorge Variego, adjunct assistant professor of music theory and composition and founder of the ensemble. “The group combines visuals with electronic and acoustic instruments, searching for a path among the aesthetics of Evan Parker, FURT, and Anthony Braxton.”
“After years of being behind the scenes, Big Ears provided a collaborative space for my art to shine,” shared the ensemble’s visual artist, Elise Stephens, a senior studying media arts.
In addition to their Big Ears debut, the Electroacoustic Ensemble has recorded an album titled Vantablack and gave three performances of their First Row Series at local art galleries, among other venues.
“The First Row Series is something that I was bouncing around in my head all summer,” said Variego. “I thought, why not reflect on the social interaction between human beings, how we relate to each other now, and how close we are but isolated at the same time? I thought having a live performance that can only be heard with headphones creates a division in which you are around a lot of people that are not experiencing the same reality you are experiencing at that moment.”
“This is essentially a recording setup. We’re not actually recording, but it’s the same setup in which you hear everything that’s happening, and no one else hears it. In this case, the audience was hearing our performance through the headphones. Students need to know how to set up a recording session with headphone splitter boxes, how to manage what needs to be there, how to handle the mix, how to test it, and what things you need to have to make it work. So this setup combined an aesthetic need with the teaching of technology.”
The ensemble performed in New York and North Carolina during the 2016–17 academic year and kicked off the fall 2017 semester in Indianapolis at the Electro-Music Festival. They are currently in the process of recording a second CD, expected to be released in spring 2018.
Listen to Vantablack at soundcloud.com/utksom.