Submissions for scores and applications for guest artists are open on our website! Click here if you have a score you'd like us to play for our New Music Festival on October 15th-16th, 2022, and click here if you're interested in performing a 30-minute set on one of the concerts. The Festival will feature three concerts in downtown Eugene, from the Park Blocks to the First Christian Church and the New Zone Gallery. The Light and Art show in the Park Blocks will draw on the energy of ArtCity's BEAM, with amplified music and an interactive light exhibit for audience members. Our audience participation concert draws trained and untrained musicians alike into a collective sound-making space at the First Christian Church, and our concert at New Zone will set pieces for the ensemble in an inviting visual atmosphere. The Call for Scores closes June 1st, and the Guest Artist Application closes July 1st.
GREAT BEAM PIANO
Our Great BEAM Piano Project transformed an acoustic instrument into a wondrously detuned, prepared light-up piano. We premiered it as an interactive installation at BEAM 2022, soon followed by a subsequent showing at the first concert of our New Music Festival.
The piano works by fixing two copper rings to the bottom of each key and the pads that they rest on when pressed. When someone presses one down, the contacts meet and send an electrical signal to one of several video game controllers, reprogrammed to trigger a small burst of light on the front and a random change to the lights in the back. Planning, construction, and programming were spearheaded by JP Lempke and Chad Scarborough, with additional help from Christian Li.
