Upcoming Music Futures Workshop! : Rethinking Audio-Performer Interactions with Active Reverberation Technologies

Simulating different acoustic environments at PEARL

UCL PEARL (Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory) and the Royal College of Music (RCM) Performance Laboratory are collaborating on a UCL Music Futures funded project "Rethinking Audience-Performer Interactions with Active Reverberation Technologies".

The recent advancement of active reverberation technologies is liberating musical performances from their traditional spatial constraints. To explore the new performance opportunities active reverberation might enable, PEARL and RCM will be running an experimental R&D workshop on the 18 June concerning the impact of reverberation on audience-performer interactions. This is an all-day workshop divided into 2 parts:

Morning session: RCM Performance Laboratory

The first half of the day will involve an experimental live musical performance by RCM musicians under different acoustic conditions as simulated by the Performance Laboratory. We will observe how the changes in acoustics might impact on the performance and on the interaction between the audience and the performers. A musician and a volunteer audience member will be fitted with EEG and Fitbits to understand changes in their neurological and physiological responses. Following the performance, all audience members will have the opportunity to share insights of their experience through group discussion.

Afternoon session: UCL PEARL

The second half of the day will involve a series of demonstrations at PEARL exploring an even wider range of acoustic environments. We will explore together how this might inform the future design of performance spaces.

Workshop details:

Date: Wednesday 18 June

Place: Morning session : Royal College of Music Performance Laboratory, SW7 2BS

Afternoon session : UCL PEARL, Yew Tree Avenue, Dagenham, RM10 7FN

Schedule:

10am: Experiment about the audience-performer interactions at RCM, including live performance

12.15pm: Transport provided for participants to travel from the RCM to PEARL, including lunch

2pm: Demonstration of a variety of different reverb spaces and discussion at PEARL.

4pm: close

Due to the structure of the day, you may attend one or both sessions. Places are limited so please register your interest at the following link soon! Sound, performance or architecture students and professionals are encouraged to apply.

Note: This is not a paid event