BLOrk: Boulder Laptop Orchestra

The Boulder Laptop Orchestra began as a result of an encounter between Professor John Gunther and doctoral student, Charles Dietrich. Musicians and artists produce music using a laptop, a hemispherical speaker, and numerous controls, including video game accessories. The general concept has been adapted from Princeton's Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk), which began in 2006 and creates a music ensemble for both music and non-music majors. BLOrk is funded, in part, through John Gunther's Chancellor's Award for Excellence in STEM Education. For more information about BLOrk, please read the full article about the recent concert featured on the CU-Boulder website.

Boulder Laptop Orchestra Event, March 2nd!
The Boulder Laptop Orchestra (BLOrk) will have a performance on March 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the ATLAS theatre. The event is open to the public, and audiences are advised to arrive 15 minutes early. Seating is first-come, first-served. BLOrk will perform works by John Cage, Ornette Coleman, and Pauline Oliveros, as well as original works by ensemble members. The concert will also incorporate research from CU-Boulder doctoral students, Charles Dietrich (Computer Science) and Chris Chronopoulos (Astrophysics). Experience data that was originally emitted from the sun and then recorded, cleaned, raised to an octave and tonality that humans can easily hear and turned into sounds that can be played on a keyboard. Chris Chronopoulos made this portion of the concert possible. A 3D camera will track the movement of the hands and fingers of Charles Dietrich. Using Intel technology, the frequency and volume of sound will changes with a wiggle and wave of his fingers, creating a new musical instrument.

BLOrk partners with leading artists in the fields of music, visual arts, and technology to showcase creative innovations in both art and technology. Among the tools that BLOrk uses in its shows: traditional acoustic instruments, iPads, laptops, software and hemispherical speakers that project sound in a way similar to that of acoustic instruments. BLOrk is the ensemble-in-residence of the ATLAS Institute’s Center for Media, Art and Performance and is led by College of Music faculty, John Gunther and John Drumheller. This concert is made possible in part by funding from the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in STEM Education. For directions to the ATLAS building see here and here.