Junior soloist strings together violin, science; to perform Oct. 21At age 2, when most kids are learning how to speak and walk, Serenus Hua started playing the violin. An MIT junior now, the 19-year-old has worked his way up in the classical music world, winning numerous competitions and playing everywhere from Juilliard to Jordan Hall, where his performance at age 15 was broadcast as part of the public radio program "From the Top."This year he won the 2005 MIT Symphony Concerto Competition, which earned him a chance to perform with the MIT Symphony Orchestra in Kresge Auditorium this Friday (Oct. 21). He will be the featured soloist in Pablo de Sarasate's "Carmen Fantasy." Originally from New Jersey, Hua began studying violin formally at age 7. He went on to enroll in The Juilliard School in New York City and admits that playing music at Julliard is very different from playing at MIT."At Juilliard, it was very technical, very showy," he said. "Everyone was trying to show off. At MIT, most people are going into engineering and science, so it's not a question of who's going to be the best soloist. I have more time to learn the pieces, rather than the techniques."The piece he will be performing is different from the one in the original opera "Carmen," Hua said. "It has the same basic theme, but this composer has added a lot of tricks and flourishes."He puts it in the genre of a "show piece," one of his favorite types of music. "It's what I'm better at," he said. "They're fun to play, fun to listen to. One of my teachers likens it to dessert. You have your main course, with your standards, Bach and Brahms. For dessert, you come back to the show pieces."Over the years, Hua has found a way to combine music and community service. In high school Hua founded a volunteer group called "Music in Action" that performed at senior homes, day-care centers and school events. At MIT, he is involved with the MIT Arts Scholars, whose members range from film students to classical musicians like himself. The group is trying to organize a benefit for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A chemical biological engineering major, Hua is very interested in science. While he is also majoring in music, he doesn't see himself performing for a living. "It's too late for me to be a chamber musician," he said. "I'm not in a conservatory, and the market is pretty low these days."At MIT he plays as much as he can, although it can be difficult to find time. "MIT has kept me busy," he said. "It's always been a balance for me. I practice in between classes, whenever I can. I'll bring my violin to class."Although he had not yet rehearsed with the MIT Symphony, Hua seemed confident. "I'm used to performing with an orchestra after one or two rehearsals. For this, it will be about four."Humbly, he added, "It's a better deal than I'm used to."

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 19, 2005 (download PDF).

Senegal trip adds rhythm to RambaxFor 11 members of MIT's African drumming ensemble, "Rambax," the West African nation of Senegal was more than a vacation destination. This past spring, the MIT student musicians spent three weeks playing, studying and absorbing Senegalese culture during the group's first summer study tour.On Sept. 14, Rambax co-founder and director Patricia Tang and some of the group members spoke about their extraordinary trip during the first Arts Colloquium of the semester. The presentation, attended by faculty, students, members of the Council for the Arts and Council Scholars in the Arts, was hosted by Associate Provost for the Arts Alan Brody. Tang organized and led the trip to give the group a chance to study and perform the traditional art of sabar drumming within its cultural context -- among and for the Wolof people of Senegal."We did not want to arrive there with this idea that we would show the Senegalese how to play their own music," said Tang, associate professor in the Music and Theater Arts Section and a specialist in Senegalese music. "We wanted to show them that we cared so much for Senegalese culture that we wanted to learn their art."Students lived and practiced with the family of Lamine Tour̩, co-founder of Rambax and a native traditional Senegalese drummer. Tour̩ is an MIT lecturer in music and theater arts.Sabar drummers use one hand and one stick to create either a dance rhythm or a "bakk," a musical phrase that is composed by musicians, "griots," and is passed down through the generations. "Mbalax" is the basic accompaniment beat played on the smallest drum, and "tulli" and "talmbat" are the two bass drum accompaniments. Together they create the basis by which the lead drummer carries the main beat. There is no sheet music and the resulting sound is a chaotic, frenzied beat that starts at your foot and works its way up to your bobbing head until you cannot help but dance. It is beautiful and wild and harmonic at the same time.The students not only strengthened their drumming abilities, but also held a poster exhibit and social hour with students from Universit̩ Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal. Students from both continents shared ideas and scientific, mathematic and musical projects.Students also performed. One night they set up two street festivals, one for children and one for adults. The next night they performed at the Soiree Senegalese, a nightclub that features pop music along with traditional drumming. "We got a great reception from the people there," said Sasha Devore, a graduate student at the Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology, who has been drumming for four years. "It was absolutely amazing. We did so much and everyone was so excited to show us their culture and their way of drumming and to learn our way and to really share in the experience. I would definitely go back." Rambax was created in 2001 after Tang had spent several years studying Senegalese music. She lived in Dakar, Senegal, from 1997 to 1998, and the experience was unforgettable, she said. She felt her students needed context to fully understand the art of sabar drumming."We used to say, 'wouldn't it be fun to go to Senegal,'" said Tang. "But within the last year, we realized that we had several of our students graduating, and that it was now or never. Students even went so far as to buy their plane tickets before we had received funding from the school for the trip."Prior to traveling, Tang put her students through a cultural orientation. Students were taught the importance of eating with their right hands and sharing a communal food bowl as they do in Senegal. Although there were many health and cultural concerns, the students were more than prepared upon arrival and even learned enough of the Wolof language to offer thanks and compliments to their hosts and townspeople. "We showed the people of Senegal how culturally diverse our MIT group was," said Tang. "We have students from Brazilian, Vietnamese, Hispanic backgrounds ��� all different nationalities who come together for the love of drumming." At the presentation, Tang showed videos of Rambax's performances in Senegal. In each video, the drummers smiled with exuberance as they felt the rush of what Devore called, "losing themselves inside the music while remaining focused on your surroundings." "Our drumming has changed since we came back," said Devore. "We learned the cultural rhythm. We have context now. When we play, we can feel the ocean; we can smell the smells and feel the dust. We drummed ourselves to exhaustion and simply lost ourselves in the music. Our drumming has definitely changed since our trip."The tour was funded in part by the Council for the Arts at MIT, the offices of the Chancellor, Dean for Undergraduate Education and Dean for Graduate Students, and the Music and Theater Arts Section.For more information on Rambax, visit their web site at web.mit.edu/Rambax.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 5, 2005 (download PDF).

Researchers want to know what's music to your earsIs one man's Mozart another man's migraine? It might be, if culture plays the dominant role in music perception, as has been alleged by many 20th century composers. Thus far, such matters have been the province of armchair debates, but now two MIT students have designed an experiment to measure just how different--or similar--perceptions of music are across cultures.The students are conducting a web-based Music Universals Study to measure the perception of music in people all over the world, and they're inviting the public to participate. Mary Farbood, a Ph.D. student at the MIT Media Lab, and Josh McDermott, a Ph.D. student in MIT's Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, have been at work for the past year on a study designed to measure the degree to which perceptions of music vary from culture to culture.To do this they created a psychology experiment designed to measure how people from different cultures hear music. Their goal is to collect data from thousands of people all over the world in order to better understand how different aspects of music perception vary with culture, age, musical training and other factors.Farbood and McDermott's study grew out of questions about music perception that have puzzled scientists and philosophers for thousands of years. "Despite its central role in human culture, the origins and adaptive function of music remain a complete mystery," McDermott said. "As a cognitive scientist, I was fascinated by the question of which aspects of music perception and appreciation are universal-and hence probably innate-and which vary with cultural and musical exposure."Historically such studies have been difficult to conduct because of geographical limitations. But thanks to the Internet, Farbood and McDermott have already collected data from hundreds of people around the world and all walks of life, and they want to hear from thousands more.The success of the study depends on the extent and diversity of participation, so the pair is hoping to attract many visitors to the website, particularly from far corners of the globe. The Music Universals Study measures the way users respond to different sounds by asking questions about musical preferences, the perception of emotion in music, and the perception of tension and resolution.For example, participants are asked to listen to two different sounds and to rate which of the two is preferable. They are also asked to choose a graphical representation or written description that best illustrates a particular short musical clip. In all cases Farbood and McDermott are interested in how consistent the responses prove to be within a country, and how different they are in different parts of the world.The duration of the study will depend in part on how quickly the researchers amass data from different parts of the world, but Farbood and McDermott hope to have answered some of the most significant study questions within the year.To participate, visit http://music.media.mit.edu/.

Tech Night to premiere Machover workThe Boston Pops Orchestra will perform "Jeux Deux," a new concerto for HyperPiano and orchestra composed by Media Lab Professor Tod Machover at Boston Pops concerts on Wednesday, June 22, and Thursday, June 23.The Pops Orchestra presented the premiere of "Jeux Deux" at Tech Night 2005 on Thursday, June 2 in Symphony Hall, conducted by Keith Lockhart.Machover is a world-renowned composer of innovative music that synthesizes acoustic and electronic sound. "Jeux Deux" was commissioned by the Pops to celebrate MIT's 108th Tech Night with the Pops this year. The title is a playful reference to Debussy's "Jeux" and a near translation from the French for "two-person game." Machover's concerto features pianist Michael Chertock, who plays a Yamaha Disklavier grand instead of a traditional piano, and it includes live images projected onto a large screen above the Pops orchestra. Media Lab graduate student Marc Downie produced the images using video close-ups of Chertock's fingers and hands that morph into colorful, abstract forms or recognizable human shapes depending on changes in the music. The result is a real-time illustration of the dialogue between piano and orchestra and between soloist and "hyperized" piano. Lynn Heinemann of the Office of the Arts talked to Machover about his latest composition.Q. How did the Pops commission come about?A. The Pops contacted me out of the blue for this commission. They were interested in having something exciting and fun, that used interesting new technology, that was about 15 minutes long and that would not be too hard to rehearse. I decided on a concerto because this allows for extra rehearsal with a soloist, who can then easily fit into the orchestra. I decided on piano so I could use one of Yamaha's new generation Disklavier 9-foot concert grands, which are magnificent instruments with computer playback and recording built in. I wanted the piece to be purely acoustic--but also wanted to use next-generation hyperinstrument technology to add to the soloist's virtuosity.Q. How will the Disklavier become a "hyperpiano"?A. Yamaha--a longtime sponsor and collaborator--is providing the Disklavier piano from their New York studio. The "hyper" part is ours. Mike Fabio (SB '04, and poised to become a Media Arts and Sciences master's student) has designed a hyperinstrument software system that analyzes what the pianist is playing and transforms and enhances various parts--sometimes monumentally so--according to the pianist's interpretation. So, we added a Mac Mini computer to the Yamaha Disklavier that does all the software processing, and a parallel visual system that translates the music and the performer's movements into image.Q. Does the music have regular notation?A. The piece is notated fairly traditionally, which is essential if one wants to have efficient orchestral rehearsals. There are several "Mini-Cadenzas" and "Textures" where the piano soloist has a certain amount of latitude and where I use freer notation. Besides the Disklavier, there is a second small two-octave keyboard on the piano, easily accessible to the pianist's left hand. The pianist plays silent notes on this keyboard at specific moments of the piece in order to change the state of the hyperinstrument software. This allows the whole technical aspect of the piece to be completely controlled by the soloist, using music keyboards instead of alphanumeric ones.Q. Describe the visual component of the piece.A. Marc's visuals are based on video taken from the pianist playing sections of this piece and turned into a repertoire of colors, lines and shapes that can morph in and out of representation much as the music mutates in and out of textural focus. As with Marc's recent collaborations with prominent choreographers such as Merce Cunningham, Bill T. Jones and Trisha Brown, the "image choreography" always suggests and relates to what is being performed live, but often in subtle and mysterious ways.Q. Will "Jeux Deux" have a life after its Pops performances?A. Just as I wanted "Jeux Deux" to be relatively easy to rehearse and to work equally well on Pops and non-Pops concerts, I also wanted it to be as simple as possible technically while still pushing the sophistication of our hyperinstruments to the next level. This should make it extremely easy to bring the piece to other venues, and there is already significant interest in performing the piece both here and abroad.Tech Night at Pops sold out to a crowd of 2005 graduates and alumni returning to campus for reunions and Tech Week. Machover's "Jeux Deux" will be performed at Boston Pops concerts on Wednesday, June 22, and Thursday, June 23.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 1, 2005 (download PDF).

MIT harpsichordist wins Prague competitionMary Farbood, graduate student in media arts and sciences, was awarded top honors for her harpsichord performance at the 57th Prague Spring International Music Competition, earning cash prizes, professional engagements and the chance to make a studio recording. Farbood outperformed 37 young artists from Korea, Japan, China, the United States and every country in Europe. In addition to winning first prize in the overall harpsichord competition, Farbood also won the Bohuslav Martin Foundation Prize for the best performance of Bohuslav Martinu's Concerto for Harpsichord and Small Orchestra, which all finalists had to perform in the final of three rounds of competition. Formerly affiliated with the MIT Music and Theater Arts Section, Boston-area harpsichordist, fortepianist, conductor and author Mark Kroll has taught Farbood for more than two years. As one of the international panel of judges at the competition, Krull recused himself during Farbood's performances, but admitted, "my enthusiasm for Mary's playing was probably obvious--and I hope contagious."Kroll, who had been working to arrange concerts for Farbood, says the victory will open a lot of doors of her. "She already has an offer to play a concerto this August in the Czech Republic, and she will play for the Prague Spring Festival in June of 2006," he said.The prize was presented in a ceremony on Sunday, May 15.The following day, MIT's Music and Theater Arts Section held its own annual award ceremony. Professor Marcus Thompson presented Farbood (in absentia) with an Emerson Music Scholarship Certificate of Appreciation. "This just proves that we know what we're talking about since we selected her before this happened," Thompson said.In an e-mail sent to Thompson from Prague, Farbood thanked him for his support, especially through the Music Section's Advanced Music Performance (AMP) program. "There's no way I would have been able to progress consistently and prepare myself to enter this competition without being in AMP," she wrote.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 18, 2005 (download PDF).

Galak Tika presents pre-tour concert May 19To tune up for its upcoming tour to Bali, MIT's Gamelan Galak Tika will close its 12th season with a program combining new and traditional works for Balinese gamelan and dancers on Thursday, May 19, at 8 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. The concert will feature the final U.S. appearance of two of the foremost figures in Balinese music and dance--I Nyoman Catra and Desak Made Suarti Laksmi--and will include new works by composer Dewa Ketut Alit as well as new American works for Balinese gamelan by current Galak Tika members. The concert features the Boston premiere of "Gringsing," the latest composition by artist-in-residence Alit, co-founder and music director of Gamelan ̽udamani, a professional ensemble based in the village of Pengsekan, Ubud, Bali. Alit's work "Semara Wisaya," choreographed by Nyoman Catra, will be performed by Suarti Laksmi and Cynthia Laksawana.The concert marks the final U.S. performances by Catra and Laksmi, who return to Bali after a four-year residence at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. Galak Tika will also present four innovative pieces by current company members Sean Mannion, Dan Schmidt, Christine Southworth (S.M. 2002) and Rebecca Zook. And, to showcase the crosscultural spirit that has been the ensemble's hallmark, the concert will feature "Sabar Gong," a new work composed by Artistic Director Evan Ziporyn and Wolof master drummer Lamine Tour̩ for the inauguration of President Susan Hockfield.Admission to the concert is $10; $5 for non-MIT students and seniors; free for MIT students, faculty and children under 12.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 18, 2005 (download PDF).