In String Spells, the performer wears a gametrack device, originally invented for video games, that captures the arms movements and gestures while performing. This device uses strings attached to the body and the instrument to capture these gestures. The information from the gametrack is used to control the live electronics for the piece.

A polymer (Polímero, in Spanish) is a macromolecule formed by the repetition of smaller structural units called monomers. These monomers join together through covalent chemical bonds to form long, complex chains. The word “polymer” comes from two Greek terms: “poly,” meaning “many,” and “meros,” meaning “parts” or “segments.” The versatility of polymers is due to their ability to vary their physical and chemical properties by manipulating the structure of the monomers and the way they are arranged in the polymer chains. This adaptability makes them essential in numerous industries and contributes to their importance in modern technology and materials science. The essential nature of polymers is the repetition of many simpler units to form complex structures. This last strong idea is what gives rise to this work for string orchestra, where the pitch material, based on some of the simplest scales proposed by Nicolas Slominsky in his book Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns, from 1947, is seen constantly transformed, through rotations, into increasingly complex melodic structures. As the work progresses, different parts and components of this “sound polymer” are revealed to the listener.

In String Spells, the performer wears a gametrack device, originally invented for video games, that captures the arms movements and gestures while performing. This device uses strings attached to the body and the instrument to capture these gestures. The information from the gametrack is used to control the live electronics for the piece.

An ambigram (ambigrama in Spanish) is a special form of graphic or typographic art in which a word, phrase, or image is designed in such a way that it can be read or interpreted in multiple ways, usually by rotating or inverting the image. In other words, an ambigram can be read or viewed legibly from more than one perspective or direction. Ambigrams are often creative examples of typographic and visual design. They can be symmetrical, so that the word or phrase looks the same when rotated 180 degrees, or asymmetrical, where the shape transforms into a different word or graphic representation when turned. In this work, the musical material has been reorganized in a similar manner as done in an ambigram. The original pitch material of the piece is constantly presented from different perspectives, revealing to the listener new aural interpretations, further colored by the characteristic sound of the guitar.

Performance: Pablo Soto, guitar, XXII Contemporary Music Festival, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

The Latin word clausum typically means closed or enclosed. It is the past participle of the verb claudere, which means to close or to shut. Depending on the context, clausum can refer to something that has been closed, sealed, or enclosed. This work explores the emotional resonances associated with closure, taking inspiration from the human experience of separation, confinement, and introspection. The sound elements have been carefully selected and presented in the musical discourse to invite the listener to reflect on personal experiences of closure and the impact it has on the human mind.

Rodrigo F. Cádiz

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Performances:
10-2023: Festival Ecos Urbanos, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, México

Caleidoscopio is a composition for orchestra that is inspired by the concept of a kaleidoscope, where a myriad of colorful fragments merge to form patterns of a different nature and constantly changing. This musical journey invites listeners to immerse themselves in a world of diverse musical materials, intertwining and changing in a kaleidoscopic dance of sounds.

Like the spin of a kaleidoscope, the music begins to twist and evolve, revealing new combinations of melodies, harmonies, and rhythms, creating a captivating interplay of textures and colors.

Throughout the composition, the music transitions seamlessly between contrasting moods and styles, reflecting the constant transformation of a kaleidoscope. Soft, lyrical passages give way to powerful, rhythmic sections, and intricate contrapuntal lines intertwine with lush harmonic progressions. The orchestra becomes a kaleidoscope of sound, with each instrument adding its own unique timbre to the changing musical fabric.

Caleidoscopio celebrates the beauty of musical diversity, embracing the idea that different musical materials can come together to form a whole. The composition encourages listeners to embrace the ever-changing nature of the musical journey, letting the kaleidoscope of sounds envelop them and inspire their imagination.

“Vox Populi” is an acousmatic multi-channel musical work inspired by the sounds of the social uprising in Chile, specifically those that I was able to capture while simply leaving my office and walk out to different places in Santiago during the times of the social revolt in late 2019. The sounds of marches, demonstrations, cacerolazos, pot-bangings, shouts, dances, street vendors, vehicles, drums, and honking horns become the protagonists of this work that seeks to reflect the anger, discontent, confusion, and struggle of the Chilean people, whose silence had been accumulating since the times of the military dictatorship in the 1970s.

The work is structured in a series of soundscapes that seek to recreate the atmosphere of the streets of Santiago during the social uprising. It was impressive for me to listen to a Chile that I had never heard with such force in my entire life. Through an elaborate montage of binaurally recorded sounds, I seek to generate an immersive acousmatic experience that allows the listener to dive into this chaotic and visceral environment and experience sonorously what it was like to go out into the streets in those times, without heavily elaborated effects or processing. The work aims to generate a reflection on the importance of sound in our perception of reality, as well as on the role of music and art in moments of social crisis.

“Vox Populi” invites the listener to listen beyond the obvious, to delve into the rich sound textures that I was able to capture, and to reflect on the meaning of the sounds that surround us. Through this work, the aim is to preserve the sound memory of those who went out to protest freely during the social uprising in Chile, and in turn, to inspire future generations to continue fighting for their ideals and for a better future for all.

Rodrigo F. Cádiz

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Iterum Revocare is a Latin phrase that means “to call back” or “to remember.” This concept of calling back is particularly relevant in the world of music, where we often see composers revisiting and reinterpreting musical ideas from the past. This work is a suite for string trio (violin and two violas da gamba), a three-movement rereading of the 1735 suite “Concert instrumental sous le titre d`Apothéose de Monsieur de Lully” by François Couperan. The composition process preserved the entire rhythmic structure of the original piece, changing all its harmonic aspects.

Ars Suita (the art of the suite) is an acousmatic work that revisits the panegyric trio suite “Concert instrumental sous le titre d`Apothéose de Monsieur de Lully”, composed by François Couperin (1668-1733) and published in Paris in 1735. This suite serves as an homage to the French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, who was one of the most important composers of the French Baroque era. As the music director of the royal court of France, Lully’s compositions had a significant impact on French musical style.
Couperin’s “Apotheosis” is a suite of pieces that includes a prelude, several dances, and a final chaconne. The suite showcases Couperin’s skill in composing for a variety of instrumental combinations, including strings, winds, and continuo. Its graceful melodies, refined harmonies, and intricate counterpoint are all characteristic of the French Baroque style.
Ars Suita is structured in nine movements that follow the same structure as the original piece by Couperin. The material for each of the movements is derived from an audio recording of the original “Apotheosis” with early musical instruments. Each movement uses a different sound processing technique, creating a particular sonic character for each part of this acousmatic suite.
Like many Baroque composers, Couperin paid tribute to his predecessors and contemporaries through his music. In the same spirit, Ars Suita is a small homage to Couperin, and indirectly to Lully.

Iterum Vivere is a work dedicated to the UC Early Music Study (EMA), thanks to a UC CCA project. The title, coming from Latin, can be translated as revive or live again. The idea of ​​the piece is to give new life to the work “Concert instrumental sous le titre d`Apotheose de Monsieur de Lully” by François Couperin, a series of three trio sonatas dedicated to Jean-Baptiste Lully. The aim is to revive this work through a procedure that preserves intact the entire rhythmic structure of the work, and completely alters the pitches and harmonies. Thus, the original work is revived in a contemporary format, also accompanied by electronic music made from a recording made by the EMA of the original work.

Performances:

Estudio MusicAntigua
Sergio Candia – Recorder and conducting
Juan Fundas – Baroque oboe
Gonzalo Beltrán – Baroque violin
Gina Allende – Soprano Viola da gamba
Florencia Bardavid – Bass Viola da gamba
Eduardo Figueroa – Archlute
Camilo Brandi – Harpsichord
Rodrigo F. Cádiz – Electronics

Contracción IV is a work for solo electric bass and string orchestra. The contraction material, like the works Contracción I for string quartet and live electronics and Contracción II for vibraphone, and Contracción III for double bass and orchestra, is a rereading based on material from the works Tensiones and Extensiones by the same author. The basic procedure for these works is the infinite series proposed by the composer Per Nørgård in the 1960s.

Contracción III is a work for solo double bass and string orchestra. The contraction material, like the works Contracción I for string quartet and live electronics and Contracción II for vibraphone, and Contracción IV for electric bass and orchestra, is a rereading based on material from the works Tensiones and Extensiones by the same author. The basic procedure for these works is the infinite series proposed by the composer Per Nørgård in the 1960s.

Contracción III obtained the third prize in the VIII Composition Competition of Fundación Orquesta Marga Marga.
Performance: Italo Huerta, contrabass, Orquesta Marga Marga, Luis José Recart, conductor.

“Intumus” is a Latin word that is the superlative form of the adverb “intus”, which means “inside”. “Intumus” can be understood as something interior, deep, intimate, or secret. The idea of the piece is to explore this aspect of the contrabass, an instrument full of possibilities but which is rarely used as a solo instrument compared to its string family peers. “Intumus” was written for Carlos Arenas during the pandemic times between 2020 and 2021, times that were very special and when one had to take refuge within the depths of oneself.

Performance: Carlos Arenas, contrabass, XXX Festival de Música Contemporánea UC.

Kara is a greek word that could be translated as head. In Kara I, the musicians wear brain-computer interfaces (BCI) in order to capture their EEG waves while performing. The information from these waves is sent to a computer, where it is processed in order to generate a real-time score, computer generated sounds and a visual display of the data. A closed-loop is formed between the musician’s mental activity and the music they generate. As they interpret the real-time score generated by their EEG waves, more mental activity is generated, which in turn generates the next portion of the score, and so on. This loop continues for the whole piece, although the score generation algorithms vary along different sections of the musical discourse.

Oct. 2019: Rodrigo F. Cádiz, brain-computer interface, Festival Ai-maako, Centro Cultural de España, Santiago, Chile

Ellipsis is a piece for Arcontinuo and live computer music. The Arcontinuo is an electronic musical instrument that was conceived with the intention of overcoming some of the difficulties of other instruments that have failed in getting a consistent place in the musical scene. Its creation was based on a model founded in concepts of interaction design research and narrative identity. This need for a radical innovation in the way electronic musical instruments are designed and conceived has been the motivation to develop our research, consolidating a multidisciplinary team of designers, engineers and musicians who over the last seven years has been working on this new electronic musical controller/instrument. It is important to note that our research and development process has been guided by an epistemological disciplinary approach and methodology, focused in the subject-object interaction, in order to understand meanings as useful drivers to define both the shape and the technology of the product.
Ellipsis is derived from Orbitae, a piece for Arcontinuo and Laptop Orchestra.

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Sibila is a Latin word that could be translated as whistling. The sound material is based on physical models of whistles and bowls synthesized in the Faust language and sequenced and controlled in real time via MaxMSP. The musical performance of this piece is done through a GameTrack device, a popular interface in laptop orchestras.

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Hapsis is a word in latin from Greek origin that means orbits, curve, arch, bow, hoop. Everything round. This piece explores the spaces between orbital/cyclical motion.

Caeli Venti is a work that proposes a complex musical dialogue that explores the relationship between the wind and human expression. The title evokes the idea of ​​the strength and fluidity of air in constant movement. This composition is a concerto for trombone and orchestra that highlights the versatility and expressive capacity of the trombone, an instrument that becomes the guiding thread of this sound conversation. The work immerses itself in the deep interaction between the trombonist and the orchestra, where pitches, rhythms and textures dance in a constant flow of sounds, just as the wind does when it interacts with the physical world we inhabit. Caeli Venti is characterized by a rich sound palette that ranges from serene and melodic moments to passages full of energy and virtuosity. The piece presents technical challenges for the soloist, who, through his performance, becomes the narrator of a unique musical story.
The composer seeks to explore how the wind, in its unpredictable and changing nature, can be a metaphor for life itself, with its ups and downs, unexpected turns and moments of calm and storm. As the work progresses, trombone and orchestra weave an intricate web of sounds that evoke a wide range of human emotions and experiences.
Caeli Venti invites listeners to immerse themselves in this sonic journey, where the wind, through the trombone, becomes the protagonist that guides us through a world of music full of passion and expression. Caeli Venti is a work dedicated to and specially written for Scott Kinmont.

Orbitae is a word in latin that means orbits. This is a piece in a “concerto” style, with the arcontinuo playing the role of a soloist while the laptop orchestra counterpoints the material the soloist proposes and transforms.  The soloist explores different sound worlds that he then passes on to the orchestra.  As the performance advances, sometimes the focus is on only one sound while in others the control is done over a group of them. As time progresses, each performer of the orchestra explores different zones of a two dimensional sound orbit, in a sinusoidal matter. This piece explores the spaces between orbital/sinusoidal motion, score-following/improvisation and soloist/ensemble.  

The composition of Orbitae was made possible thanks to the support of Programa IBERMÚSICAS and Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, Government of Chile.

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Stridit is a word in latin that means whistles. This piece is
structured in three sections, in a traditional A-B-A’ scheme. In each
section, performers try to follow or get away from the movements of
several agents in a swarm, controlled in real-time by the arcontinuo.
If the performers match the swarm perfectly, the whole orchestra
behaves as a sonic swarm and “whistles” of different frequencies will
emerge from the ensemble. When the performers do not follow the swarm
accurately, the whistles are transformed into bright sound “errors”.
The swarm, independently from the orchestra, produces a very
low-frequency sound that contrasts with the bright soundscape from the
orchestra. In summary, this piece explores the space between the
opposites dark/bright, low/high, obedience/disobedience,
score-following/improvisation and soloist/ensemble.

The composition of Stridit was made possible thanks to the support of
Programa IBERMÚSICAS and Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes,
Government of Chile.

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Contracción I is a work for string quartet and live electronics. The musical material, like Contracción II for vibraphone, Contracción III for double bass and string orchestra, and Contracción IV for electric bass and orchestra, is a rereading based on material from my works Tensiones and Extensiones. The basic procedure for these works is the infinite series proposed by the composer Per Nørgård in the 1960s.

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Pedesis refers to the random motion of particles in a liquid or gas, also known as Brownian motion. All the materials used in the piece were composed using Brownian motion algorithms, palindromes and rotations.

The Tower of Hanoi is a mathematical game, consisting on several rods and disks of different sizes that can be put on any rod following some simple instructions. The smallest rods should be at the top, forming conical shapes on each tower. As the number of added disks increases, the graph representation of the game will resemble a fractal figure, the Sierpiński triangle.

Música computacional, 8 canales

Abril 2017: Tercer Festival de Música Electroacústica UC. Auditorio IMUC, Campus Oriente UC.

War of the Currents is an acousmatic eight channel work inspired on the actual war of the same name that took place in the late 1880s, where George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison became adversaries due to Edison’s promotion of direct current (DC) for electric power distribution against alternating current (AC), invented by Nikola Tesla. This work revolves around the idea of the encounter of two of the probably most attractive geniuses of all times: Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. The piece is structured in four movements. The first one provides a sonic interpretation of Tesla’s creation of AC, which was backed by Westinghouse Electric Company. The second presents the invention of Edison’s DC, developed by Edison Electric Light Company, later known as General Electric. The third movement refers to the practice of “Westing-housing”, brutal attempts by Edison’s side to question the safety of AC by electrocuting animals such and dogs and horses. Finally, the fourth movement refers to the fact that, in May 1892, Westinghouse Electric managed to underbid General Electric on a contract to build an AC station, by electrifying the World’s Columbian Exposition in the city of Chicago, where it was demonstrated that AC was a superior alternative to DC for power stations and electricity distribution.

The movements of the piece are:

I. Tesla
II. Edison
III.Westing-housing
IV. Chicago

Abril 2015: Primer Festival de Música Electroacústica UC. Auditorio IMUC, Campus Oriente UC.

Kara is a greek word that could be translated as head. In Kara II, the musician wears a brain-computer interfaces (BCI) in order to capture their EEG waves while performing. The information from these waves is sent to a computer, where it is processed in order to generate a real-time score, computer generated sounds and a visual display of the data. A closed-loop is formed between the musician’s mental activity and the music they generate. As they interpret the real-time score generated by their EEG waves, more mental activity is generated, which in turn generates the next portion of the score, and so on. This loop continues for the whole piece, although the score generation algorithms vary along different sections of the musical discourse.

Septiembre 2014:. Katrin Zenz, flauta. International Computer Music Conference, Atenas, Grecia.

Mayo 2014: Patricio de la Cuadra, flauta. XIII concierto GEMA, Sala Isidora Zegers, Universidad de Chile

Kara is a greek word that could be translated as head. In Kara I, the musicians wear brain-computer interfaces (BCI) in order to capture their EEG waves while performing. The information from these waves is sent to a computer, where it is processed in order to generate a real-time score, computer generated sounds and a visual display of the data. A closed-loop is formed between the musician’s mental activity and the music they generate. As they interpret the real-time score generated by their EEG waves, more mental activity is generated, which in turn generates the next portion of the score, and so on. This loop continues for the whole piece, although the score generation algorithms vary along different sections of the musical discourse.

Kara I was premiered on November 2013 at the 23rd Festival de Música Contemporánea Chilena UC, using two NeuroSky’s MindWave BCI. All audio and score processing was done in MaxMSP. The visuals were done in Processing, based on Elliot Larson’s Fractal Batons code, released under Creative Commons.

Kara I was composed in collaboration with Patricio de la Cuadra, flutist, and María Gabriela Olivares, violoncello, thanks to research grants from Vicerrectoría de Investigación, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, Government of Chile.

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Surrogata is a latin word that could be translated as surrogacy or substitution. In the field of electroacoustic music, composer Denis Smalley coined the term surrogacy in the context of hearing sound objects, as that characteristic of the auditory system that tries to assign source to every sound, even if substitute or imagined, especially when the original source is not recognizable. In some sense, this is an opposite way of listening to Schaeffer’s reduced listening. As the degree of surrogacy increases, the more imagined or abstract are the sources. In Surrogata, this way of listening by substitution is deliberately sought and emphasized by the usage of solely pure synthetic sounds in the whole composition. As there are no recorded or natural sounds in the piece, surrogacy appears as the only possible listening strategy.

Septiembre 2013. Congreso Internacional de Ciencia y Tecnología Musical, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Contracción II is a work for vibraphone and live electronics. The musical material, like Contracción I for string quartet and live electronics, Contracción III for double bass and string orchestra, and Contracción IV for electric bass and orchestra, is a rereading based on material from my works Tensiones and Extensiones. The basic procedure for these works is the infinite series proposed by the composer Per Nørgård in the 1960s.

Performances:

Nov. 2012: Gerardo Salazar, Festival Música Ahora, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile.

Jun. 2023: Scott Deal, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Sheen Center, New York, USA

Composed especially for the robot orchestra Man and Machine Robot Orchestra of the Logos Foundation, on the occasion of the 2012 version of the World Music Days festival, in Belgium. This orchestra consists of more than 50 robots that have been designed and implemented by Godfried-Willem Raes, Belgian composer and inventor, who has more than 25 years dedicated to the manufacture of these automated musical instruments. The work is based on the concept of Circadian Rhythm, which is any biological process that shows an endogenous oscillation of approximately 24 hours. In this work the robots experience various rhythmic cyclic patterns similar to circadian rhythms
experienced by human beings. The term circadian comes from the Latin language of words circa and diem, which mean approximately and day, respectively. These rhythms They are synchronized by a central clock and have been widely observed in plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and humans. Although circadian rhythms are endogenous, they They adjust to the local environment through external cues of which the most common is daylight. Both the sleep cycle and circadian rhythms can be modeled using networks of coupled oscillators. In this work a model of coupled oscillating shoals is used to generate and control the dynamic behavior of musical material for the orchestra robots in real time. This model was designed by me, in collaboration with the physicist Cristian Huepe and the sound engineer Marco Colasso, thanks to the research funded by the Fondecyt initiation project that I had from 2009 to 2012.

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Imber is an 8-channel acousmatic piece that explores several characteristics and possibilities of water as a sound source. Imber is a Latin word that can be translated as rain, precipitation or storm. I invite you to get wet!

Octubre 2013: XII Festival Internacional de Música Electroacústica de Santiago, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile.

Septiembre 2012: International Computer Music Conference, Ljubljana. Eslovenia.

Octubre 2011: XI Festival Internacional de Música Electroacústica de Santiago, Sala 1, Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, Santiago, Chile.

Noviembre 2010: XX Festival de Música Contemporánea Chilena, Sala 1, Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, Santiago, Chile.

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Octubre 2009: IX Festival de Internacional de Música Electracústica de Santiago Ai-maako, Centro Cultural Matucana 100, Santiago, Chile 

Septiembre 2009: Concierto Ciclo Electroacústico Cech, Sala SCD, Santiago, Chile

Noviembre 2008: XVIII Festival de Música Contemporánea Chilena,  Salón Fresno, Centro de Extensión UC, Santiago, Chile.

Mutaciones was composed from a source musical material that was modified using several filtering procedures in order to generate versions or “mutations”. Part of the material is altered by each transparency and the rest remains unmodified. The filtering takes place in all aspects of the music: pitches, durations, dynamics, articulations and timbre. This source material was also used in my 2002 piece TransParenCias, for chamber ensamble.

CD .CL

eRecorder is an interactive work for contrabass Paetzold recorder, a gesture sensor system and computer. It was composed thanks to the support of the Fondo de Fomento de la Música Nacional. eRecorder belongs to a series of pieces of mine where an acoustic instrument is augmented in terms of its sonic possibilities through digital technology, in parallel to other human activities and concepts that have been drastically altered by technology, such as the eMail or eCommerce. Other works of this series include ePiano, eHarpsichord, eQuena and eChant. eRecorder was especially composed for Paola Muñoz.

Digitally recorded by Rodrigo Cádiz in October 2008, at the Auditorium of the Music Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Octubre 2010: X Festival de Internacional de Música Electracústica de Santiago Ai-maako, Sala Fundación Telefónica, Santiago, Chile

Octubre 2010: X Festival de Internacional de Música Electracústica de Santiago Ai-maako, Teatro Municipal Lord Cochrane, Valdivia, Chile

Julio 2010: International Computer Music Conference, Stony Brook, New York, USA

Noviembre 2009: XIX Festival de Música Contemporánea Chilena, Salón Fresno, Centro de Extensión UC, Santiago, Chile

CD Unisono

eChant is an interactive work for tenor voice, a gesture sensor system and computer. It was composed thanks to the support of the Fondo de Fomento de la Música Nacional. eChant belongs to a series of pieces of mine where an acoustic instrument is augmented in terms of its sonic possibilities through digital technology, in parallel to other human activities and concepts that have been drastically altered by technology, such as the eMail or eCommerce. Other works of this series include ePiano, eHarpsichord, eQuena and eRecorder. eChant was especially composed for José Quilapi.

Digitally recorded by Rodrigo Cádiz in October 2008, at the Auditorium of the Music Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Abril 2016: Segundo Festival de Música Electroacústica UC. Auditorio IMUC, Campus Oriente UC.

Octubre 2009: IX Festival de Internacional de Música Electracústica de Santiago Ai-maako,  Centro Cultural Matucana 100, Santiago, Chile.

Octubre 2009: Concierto GEMA, Sala Isidora Zegers, Facultad de Artes, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile CD Unisono

eQuena is an interactive work for quena, gesture sensor system and computer. It was composed thanks to an artistic grant from the Vicerrectoría Adjunta de Investigación y Doctorado, of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. eQuena belongs to a series of pieces of mine where an acoustic instrument is augmented in terms of its sonic possibilities through digital technology, in parallel to other human activities and concepts that have been drastically altered by technology, such as the eMail or eCommerce. Other works of this series include ePiano, eHarpsichord, eRecorder and eChant. eQuena was especially composed for Patricio de la Cuadra, who premiered it on October 2008 at the VIII Ai-maako International Electroacoustic Music Festival of Santiago.

Digitally recorded by Rodrigo Cádiz in October 2008, at the Auditorium of the Music Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Octubre 2008: VIII Festival Internacional de Música Electroacústica de Santiago, Ai-maako, Centro Cultural de España, Chile. CD Unisono

iCons is an interactive multi-channel music piece for live computer and a gesture sensor system. It is based on a single source of sound, a coin, that resonates and interacts with different medium. The exhaustive exploration of a single sound source is a common trend in many of my electroacoustic compositions. The sounds produced by the coins are presented, transformed and spatialized live via several signal processing algorithms controlled by a gesture sensor system designed by the composer. The sensor system consists of three ultrasound distance sensors, and several triggers connected to the computer. Such system allows a much more musical approach to controlling sound than the keyboard or mouse. Using only movements of the hands it is possible to control most aspects of the sound, such as its shape in time, space positioning, or create very rich spectral densities. In certain aspects, this device works very similar to a theremin, with the difference that the sound production is totally separated from the control system. iCons is originally a 4-channel piece, but its design allows for 8-channels or a stereo presentation as well. It can be performed live on stage using the sensor system or it can be presented as an acousmatic piece. iCons was composed at the facilities of the Center for Research in Audio Technologies at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and premiered at the VII Ai-maako International Electroacoustic Music Festival of Santiago de Chile, in October 2007. It was also presented at Silencio 08, Reunión de Compositores, in Santa Fe, Argentina, in May 2008.

Digitally recorded by Rodrigo Cádiz in February 2008, at the Center for Research in Audio Technologies of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Octubre 2010: X Festival de Internacional de Música Electracústica de Santiago Ai-maako, Teatro Municipal Lord Cochrane, Valdivia, Chile

Junio 2010: Sesiones Piso 3, Santiago, Chile

Julio 2009: Sound and Music Computing Conference, Casa da Música, Porto, Portugal

Octubre 2008: Concierto Electroacústica con vista al Mar. VIII Festival Internacional de Música Electroacústica de Santiago, Ai-maako, Plaza Sotomayor, Valparaíso, Chile. Mayo 2008: Silencio, Santa Fe, Argentina.

Abril 2008:  Concierto Electrónica Viva, Instituto de Música, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Octubre 2007:  Centro Cultural de España, VII Festival Internacional de Música Electroacústica, Ai-maako, Comunidad Electroacústica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. CD Unisono

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Octubre 2006: Centro Cultural de España, VI Festival Internacional de Música Electroacústica Ai-maako, Comunidad Electroacústica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. DVD Time Exposure

eHarpsichord is a real-time interactive work originally written for harpsichord, gesture system and computer. eHarpsichord is part of a series of works by the composer where a solo acoustic instrument sees its sonic possibilities significantly extended through digital technology, making a parallel with other human activities and concepts that have been drastically altered by technology such as eMail, or eCommerce. Other existing works in this series are ePiano, eRecorder, eQuena and eChant. In this piece, the sensors allow the performer to do things that are impossible in this instrument, such as interpreting with dynamics and pitch changes in real-time. eHarpsichord was composed especially for Leanne Regehr and was performed by her at Northwestern University in May 2005. A version of this work was adapted for piano in conjunction with pianist Fernanda Ortega and was performed by her in the Aimaako Festival in Valdivia, Chile, in 2010.

Octubre 2010: X Festival de Internacional de Música Electracústica de Santiago Ai-maako, Teatro Municipal Lord Cochrane, Valdivia, Chile

Mayo 2005: Exposure New Music, Norris University Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.

This work takes only a few piano samples at its starting material. These samples are transformed by several means including re-sampling, filtering processes and granular synthesis in order to propose new audible dimensions to the sonic world of the piano. The listener will always keep the traditional acoustic world of the piano as a reference, but he will experience the material on a new and unpredictable ways. This piece is part of a more ambitious project of mine that considers putting all of the usual traditional instrument sounds under new sonic perspectives by means of computer technology. Other works of this series are eQuena, eRecorder, eChant and eHarpsichord. ePiano was selected and premiered at the 2004 June in Buffalo Music Festival, at the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, USA. It was also presented at the IV International Electroacoustic Music Festival of Santiago, Ai-maako, in October 2004, at the Eightht Electronic Music Midwest Festival in Kansas City, USA, in October 2006, and at Silencio 08, in Santa Fe, Argentina, in May 2008. ePiano was included in the CD “50 años de Música Electroacústica en Chile”.

Junio 2008:  Concierto de celebración premio Qwartz, disco 50 años de música electroacústica en Chile. Universidad Arcis, Santiago, Chile.

Mayo 2008: Silencio, Santa Fe, Argentina. Octubre 2006: Eight Annual Festival Electronic Music Midwest, Lewis University, Romeoville, IL, USA. 

Noviembre 2004: Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. 

Octubre 2004:  IV Festival Internacional de Música Electroacústica Ai-maako, Comunidad Electroacústica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Junio 2004: Festival Internacional June in Buffalo, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA. CD Unisono, CD 50 años de Música Electroacústica en Chile 

Erupciones was commissioned by Schlagquartett Köln, a percussion quartet based in Cologne, Germany. This piece is divided in nine sections, and each one explores the possibilities of different subsets of the chosen restricted set of instruments, most of them non-pitched. Erupciones was premiered on January 2004 by Schlagquartett Köln, in the “Pulsos del Sur” concert, organized by the Chilean composer Ramón Gorigoitía. I was able to attend the premiere of Erupciones thanks to a grant from the Wyatt Fund for student composers of the School of Music of Northwestern University. This piece also received the first prize in the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation composition competition in 2004, together with TransParenCias. Erupciones received its Chilean premiere in November 2007 by Cuarteto de Percusiones UC at the XVII Chilean Contemporary Music Festival.

Recorded live on January 2004 at the “Pulsos del Sur” concert in Cologne, Germany.

Percussion quartet

Schlagquartett Köln. Dirk Rothbrust, Achim Seyler, Thomas Meixner, Boris Müller, percussions.

Noviembre 2007: XVII Festival de Música Contemporánea Chilena, Salón Fresno, Centro de Extensión UC, Santiago, Chile.

2005: Primer premio (división de postgrado), Annual Music Composition Competition, Union League Civic and Arts Foundation, Chicago, IL, USA.

Enero 2004: Concierto Pulsos del Sur, Schlagquartett Koln, Sala Alte Feuerwache, Colonia, Alemania. CD Unisono

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2003: Segundo premio, concurso de composición Jorge Peña Hen, Fundación de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Chile.

Particles is an interactive work for trombone, computer and optional digital video. The work is constructed through the idea of sound particles that interact in different ways creating the materials and form of the piece. The musical interactions that happen are inspired in certain phenomenon of quantum physics. The acoustic signal of the trombone is captured and processed in real-time through a computer program developed by me that reacts to the musical gestures of the performer both sonically and visually. Particles was especially composed for the Australian trombonist Scott Kinmont, who premiered it on May 2003 at Pick Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois, USA. Particles was also selected and performed at the Sonorities Festival of The Queen’s University in Belfast, North Ireland, with occasion of the International Computer Music Conference, in August 2008. It was composed through a grant from Studio 22, a student-run film production company at Northwestern University. This piece also received the first prize in the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation composition competition in 2005.

Recorded live in May 2005, at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall of the School of Music of Northwestern University.

Ago 2008: Sonorities Festival, Irlanda. Mayo 2003: New Music Northwestern, Pick Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.

2005: Primer premio (división de postgrado), Annual Music Composition Competition, Union League Civic and Arts Foundation, Chicago, IL, USA.

CD Unisono

TransParenCias was composed from a source musical material that was modified using several filtering procedures in order to generate five versions or “transparencies”. Part of the material is altered by each transparency and the rest remains unmodified. The filtering takes place in all aspects of the music: pitches, durations, dynamics, articulations and timbre. This source material was also used in my 2008 piece Mutaciones, for Paetzold recorder and guitar. TransParenCias was commissioned in 2002 by Taller de Música Contemporánea UC, conducted by Pablo Aranda. In 2004, TransParenCias obtained the first composition prize at the Annual Music Composition Competition of the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, together with Erupciones.

Recorded live by José Oplustil (Radio Beethoven) in November 2006, at the XVI Chilean Contemporary Music Festival, organized by the Music Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile at the Salón Fresno of the Centro de Extensión UC.

Noviembre 2006: XVI Festival de Música Contemporánea Chilena, Salón Fresno, Centro de Extensión UC, Santiago, Chile.

Noviembre 2006: Músicahora 2006, Sala de Conciertos MECESUP, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile.

2004: Primer premio (división de postgrado), Annual Music Composition Competition, Union League Civic and Arts Foundation, Chicago, IL, USA.

CD Unisono

Túneles is inspired by a quantum mechanics effect called “quantum tunneling”, consisting on the ability of a particle to cross (or tunnel through) a potential energy barrier where classical physics would conclude that the particle did not have enough energy to do so. This is due to the wave nature of particles at the quantum level: there will always be a finite probability of finding the particle on the other side of the barrier unless this is infinitely high or wide. Musically, in Túneles, certain events with “higher” energy (in terms of loudness, pitch or other properties) than the average events just happen from nowhere, with no preparation or anticipation, similarly to the quantum tunneling effect, and this constitutes the driving force of the piece. As the piece progresses, these events dominate, creating a “higher” overall energy level towards the end. Thus, the macro-form of the piece could be described as a shift from one energy level to another, produced by different “musical tunnels” that happen in the music. Túneles was premiered by Masahito Sugihara on May 2005 at the Block Museum of Art, at the Northwestern University New Music Marathon contemporary music festival, in Evanston, Illinois, USA.

Digitally recorded by Rodrigo Cádiz in May 2005, at the Summit Protools Studio of the School of Music of Northwestern University.

Mayo 2005: NU New Music Marathon,  Block Museum of Art Print Room, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.

Temptur was originally composed for trumpet in 2002, and later re-arranged for flute in 2008. Temptur explores new sonorities and possibilities of the instrument, and contains sections of high instrumental virtuosity. The initial rhythmic gestures are developed and expanded through the piece, giving birth to several variations where extended techniques are used as the main articulation material of the music. 

Digitally recorded by Rodrigo Cádiz in October 2008, at the Auditorium of the Music Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Arquesting explores a traditional instrumental configuration, the string quartet, from a new perspective. The typical predominant role of the first violin is negated by the equal treatment of the four integrants of the quartet. In Arquesting, no instrument is more important than the other and each one participates in the structural discourse of the piece. Arquesting explores the relation of two different modes of articulation, the bowed and plucked string, by integrating both into the driving force of the piece. Arquesting was premiered by the Contemporary Music Ensemble of Northwestern University in October, 2002 at the Regenstein Concert Hall in Evanston, Illinois, USA. The Chilean premiere took place on the occasion of the VII International Contemporary Music Festival of the University of Chile, in January 2007.

Recorded live by the Music Department of the University of Chile in January 2007, at the VII International Contemporary Music Festival, organized by the Arts School of the University of Chile at the Isidora Zegers concert hall.

PERFORMANCES:
2007-01: VII Festival Internacional de Música Contemporánea, Sala Isidora Zegers, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
2002-10:  Regenstein Recital Hall, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. CD Unisono

YUGA was specially composed for Jyoti Argadé, researcher, dancer, and choreographer. YUGA in its original form is a collaborative work for dancers, video, and music. YUGA loosely translates from Sanskrit as an “age” or “epoch” and is discussed in the Vishnu Puranas as a cyclical concept often associated with evolution or the progression of time. Brahma, the creator and the first embodied being who awoke in the cosmic egg of Prakriti or Creation, emerges between the moment of creation and destruction to renew the repeated cycles of Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga, the ages of Light, Sacrifice, Worship and Darkness. Kali Yuga, or the age of iron, is our present temporal location. YUGA premiered on its original conception in March 2002 at the Hal & Martha Hyer Wallis Theater of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA. As a standalone music piece was premiered in June 2004 at the Synthèse Festival in Bourges, France.

PERFORMANCES:
2004-06: Festival Synthese 2004, Maison de la Culture, Bourges, France.
2002-03: Hal & Martha Hyer Wallis Theater, Northwestern University, USA.

G-3 was commissioned by Trío del Sur, integrated by guitarists Luis Castro, Diego Castro and Edel Muñoz. Besides the guitar trio, pre-recorded and computer processed guitar sounds were used in this composition. The piece is based on sequences of prime numbers and explores different kinds of guitar noises as sound materials. In “G-3”, the acoustic sounds of the three guitars interact with both pre-recorded guitar sounds and processed ones as well in some cases. This work uses what it could be catalogued as instrumental “noises” and not notes in the normal sense. The audible context has nothing to do with what is traditionally expected from a guitar trio. The overall idea of this work is to unfold the diverse elements through a gradual interchange between the acoustic instruments and the digital recording. This piece was released on the CD “Poliedro” in 2001.

Digitally recorded by Cristian Moya in January 2001, at the Auditorium of the Music Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Octubre 2010: X Festival de Internacional de Música Electracústica de Santiago Ai-maako, Sala Fundación Telefónica, Santiago, Chile

Junio 2010: Aksak Tacet Ensamble, Sesiones Piso 3, Santiago, Chile

Octubre 2009: Aksak Tacet Ensamble, Festival Tsonami, Terraza Consejo de la Cultura, Plaza Sotomayor, Valparaíso, Chile

Octubre 2009: Aksak Tacet Ensamble, Festival Entrecuerdas, Centro Cultural de España, Santiago, Chile CD Unisono, CD Poliedro

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Julio 2010: FILE Festival, Hipersonica Screening, Sao Paulo, Brasil.

Mayo 2008: Silencio, Santa Fe, Argentina. Abril 2006: SEAMUS National Conference, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA. 

Noviembre 2004: International Computer Music Conference, Gusman Concert Hall, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. Septiembre 2004: Festival Musica Viva, Lisboa, Portugal.

Finalista, Concurso Luis Advis 2009, Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes.

Diciembre 2009: Orquesta de Cámara de Chile, Sala América, Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago, Chile.

Mayo 2001: Leída por la Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile

This work was composed using electric guitar sampled sounds, played by myself. These sounds are not processed by computational means, bur rather juxtaposed in a discourse that shares very little ground with the normal one, that would be rock or popular music. The main idea of this work is to present the widely known electric guitar sounds interacting between them on a very different context. In this respect, these sounds are put on a totally unusual and situation, where the listener recognizes the guitar sounds, but experiments a sonically novel and somewhat unpredictable behavior. Transposiciones was premiered on November of 2000 at the Goethe Institut of Santiago, with occasion of the First German and Chilean electronic and electroacoustic music meeting, organized by the University of Chile.

Noviembre 2000: I Encuentro Chileno-Alemán de Música Electroacústica para el Nuevo Milenio, Sala Goethe Institut, Santiago, Chile. CD Unisono

Diciembre 1999: Concierto Apología de la Música Contemporánea, Sala FECH, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Enero 2009: (A)DIOS,  IX Festival Internacional de Música Contemporánea, Sala Isidora Zegers, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

2002: Primer premio (compartido con otros dos trabajos), 18avo concurso de composición, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Septiembre 1999: Concierto Jóvenes Intérpretes de Música Chilena, Sala La Capilla, Santiago, Chile.

Octubre 2001:  Goethe Institut, Santiago, Chile. 

Octubre 1998: VIII Festival de Música Chilena Contemporánea, Goethe Institut, Santiago, Chile. CD Cantos de la Ciudad Sitiada

Atracciones was especially written for the musicians Carmen Troncoso and Luis Castro (Duo Divertimento), who premiered it on October 1998 at the Multisala Arena in Santiago, Chile. Its title describes the overall spirit of the piece. All musical events of one instrument influence the behavior of the other in different ways, creating zones of attraction and others of rejection. The materials of the recorder and the guitar are quite different, but they mutually interact and complement each other as the piece progresses. This work also includes a controlled improvisation section, a technique that I have not used much in my artistic output.

Digitally recorded by Rodrigo Cádiz in October 2008, at the Auditorium of the Music Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Mayo 2010: Festival de Guitarra UC, EspaciOriente, Santiago, Chile.

Octubre 1998: Concierto Música en la Arena, Multisala Arena, Santiago, Chile.

CD Unisono, CD .CL

Trío is one of the first pieces I composed. It is divided in three parts. The first part uses only six notes, which are assigned in pairs to the three string instruments. An initial minor third motive gives birth to the material of the whole section. The second part starts with a violin solo that begins with a note that does not belong to the first group of six. After the solo, chords of sul ponticello string are presented, giving birth to the harmonic material of the third part. The last section uses pizzicati as its main articulative discourse and harmonically uses the complementary six-note set. The piece ends with the same density and motivic materials as the beginning of the piece, but with a transposed harmony. Trio was premiered on November of 1997 at the VII Chilean Contemporary Music Festival, organized by the Music Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, in Santiago, Chile.

Recorded live in November 2006, at the VII Chilean Contemporary Music Festival, organized by the Music Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile at the Aula Magna of the Centro de Extensión UC.

Febrero 2004: Regenstein Recital Hall, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.

Noviembre 1997: VII Festival de Música Contemporánea Chilena, Aula Magna del Centro de Extensión UC, Santiago, Chile CD Unisono

Septiembre 2000:  Auditorio del Instituto de Música, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.