|
|
brief biography:
Benito Crawford was born in 1979 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but grew up in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
He attended Duke University for undergraduate study (B.A. Music, B.A. Mathematics from Trinity College
’02). As a James B. Duke fellow, he returned to Duke for his graduate degree in music composition
(Ph.D.’11).
musical interests:
- The intersection and interaction of the Western concert music tradition with
popular musics, particularly rock, jazz, hip hop, and the polyrhythmic practices
of Latin America and West Africa.
- “Postmodern” approaches to formal organization, focusing especially
on indeterminate formal structures are realized with input from the audience.
general interests:
- Political organizing and the relationship between arts/media and political formations.
- Cinema, especially the consumption and critique of contemporary popular film.
- Social implications of the internet and new media.
nonlinear / interactive music:
- SuperConductors Beta (2010)
for nine instruments and audience—(video overview)
- Rules (2009)
or, “We live by the rules, we die by the rules. Read your rule book;
there‘s a rule for every possible situation. Guard the key to our entry and your rule
book as you would guard your own lives. Most important, remember: our rules supersede
those of the outside world.”, for chamber ensemble and
audience—(video)
- A Cookbook for Life (2009)
for quartet and audience—(video overview)
- Checkmate (2008)
or, “It’s like in chess: first, you strategically position your pieces,
and when the timing is right you strike. They’re using this signal to synchronize their
efforts and in five hours the countdown will be over.” “And then what?”
“Checkmate.”, for three audience conductors and string
trio—(video overview)
- Mambo Relacional (2008)
for Max/MSP-based electronics and WiiMotes—(video overview)
- VocalGraffiti (2008)
for Max/MSP-based electronics, WiiMotes, and cell phones—in collaboration
with Alex Kotch (video overview)
- “You don’t understand—these boys killed my dog.” (2007)
for clarinet, two electric guitars, electronics, and
audience—(video overview)
- Morals (2007)
or, “If it’s controlled by moral people, then it’ll be moral.”
“Oh, I know I’m not moral. As a matter of fact, I should be arrested for the thoughts
I have now.”—(video overview)
- SuperConductors Alpha (2007)
for two conductors and two pianists
linear music:
- Wrightsville Ricercare on a Wrightsville Reel (2011)
for flute and cello—for Dan Ruccia & Sarah Griffin
- REEEEEEEEEEEMIX: “Cut-Time: Shout!” could be the name of a Hollywood
slasher/thriller. (2010)
for chamber ensemble: flute, tenor sax, horn, violin, viola, cello, banjo,
and two pianos—for the Duke New Music Ensemble in homage to Stephen Jaffe
- That’s a Fragment of a Complex Molecule (2007)
for rock band (electric guitar, bass, drums, alto sax) and
electronics—(audio)
- Not a Wave Shall Trouble Thee (2007)
for soprano, baritone, and organ—for Imali Sirisena and Parker Kitterman
- A Joyful Fanfare (2007)
for trumpet and organ (2007)—for Ashleigh and Josh Sekoski
- Adali, which means justice (2007)
for saxophone quartet—(audio)
- Most people talk a lot. Few are up for the moment. Welcome to Anarchy 99.
(2005-6)
for piano solo—(audio)
- Cello Sonata (2004)
for cello and piano—(video)
- Incantation, Part I: Bound in the Shape of an L (2004)
for flute and piano—(audio)
- Themo Davo (2004)
for organ, synthesizer, and percussion (2004)—for David Crawford
sound toys: web-based pieces
(click the title to try them out!)
projects:
dissertation
SuperConductors: Handbook for a New Democratic Music is a project that
consists of a series of pieces that investigate possibilities for creating democratic musical spaces
through audience participation.
code:
Beads
Beads is an open-source software library written in Java for realtime audio. It is my favorite
Java-based library because it is stable and affords quick development. Since it is Java-based, you can
run sound applications in a browser as well as develop stand-alone applications. It’s also available in a (slightly) simplified
Processing-ready library. I've used it in several projects, including the web-based pieces listed above.
Beads was initiated by Ollie Bown; I’ve contributed code since 2009.
FlaxMash
FlaxMash is an extensible Java-based server that I developed which accepts and manages persistant TCP connections from
Adobe Flash Player clients, and forwards data to other applications via UDP (and vice versa). I originally developed it
for A Cookbook for Life (see above), to allow for communication between Flash and Max/MSP. (Establishing cross-domain TCP connections
with Flash is a pain, because of their security model—a good thing of course, but a pain.) The code isn’t ready for publication yet, though if you’re interested in seeing it, drop me a line…
press:
artists:
raleigh-durham links:
funniness:
|
