The Jacobs School of Music will offer virtual music- and art-themed events for students, faculty and the Bloomington community as the pandemic forces in-person activities to take new forms.
IUMusicLive!, a live and on-demand streaming service from the music school, has videos of past events, including operas, orchestras, small ensemble performances and symposiums.
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IUMusicLive! also offers live recitals and educational talks.
The Computer Music and Video Recital will premiere 8 p.m. Jan. 21. Directed by professors of electronic and computer music John Gibson and Chi Wang, the concert will feature music composed and performed by students in the advanced electronic music course taught by Wang in fall 2020.
“The featured piece is for an ensemble of electronic instruments, each of which consists of some kind of gestural controller — a Wacom drawing tablet, a Wii Remote or GameCube control device — and sound-design software and hardware,” Gibson said. “The piece was composed by professor Wang with sound-design contributions from the student performers.”
Though a typical computer music recital would feature a circular array of speakers to surround the audience in a spatial environment, Gibson said he is still excited about the virtual presentation.
“Our virtual concert video does allow you to get up close and see what the performers are doing,” Gibson said.
“Meet the Authors,” livestreaming 4 p.m. Jan. 29, will give audience members the chance to converse with IU art history professors Bret Rothstein and Giles Knox and musicology professor Ayana O. Smith about their work. Faculty will present their research to colleagues, graduate students and the occasional undergraduate student, Rothstein said.
Rothstein’s work focuses on the history of art and visual culture, including how graphic expressions assert regional identity, how the use of certain objects can advertise religious dedication and about how puzzles can form tight-knit communities.
“I’m mainly interested in how people use objects to play with each other,” Rothstein said. “My definition of play is pretty elastic, extending from common games to certain kinds of political conflict.”
“Meet Me at the Metz” is a weekly concert series starting at noon Feb. 13. Lynnli Wang, associate instructor of carillon at the Jacobs School of Music, will livestream herself playing the bells.
The Arthur-Metz Grand Carillon, located in the middle of the IU Cox Arboretum, is actually a 91-foot tall instrument comprised of 65 swinging bells.
“I play everything from original carillon compositions to pop and rock songs — really anything that you can think of — and I’m also always happy to take requests from the community,” Wang said.
