“Among bird fanciers the word record is used to signify the first essays of a bird in singing.”

Sir John Hawkins, in A General History of the Science and Practice of Music, 1776

“an event, message, or data structure transmitted between computational processes”

Wikipedia, Definition of: Signal, 2009

Signal-based processing. Interactive improvisation environments. Real-time image to audio synthesizers. Recorder player Terri Hron walks the tightrope of new developments in computer-assisted composition and improvisation.

Over the last three years, Terri experimented with 6 composers to put together a program of works which dropped the recorder into different corners of the ever-growing realm of electroacoustic music. She remains intensely fascinated by the variable degree of interactivity between musician and machine and by the direction of the signal: who is controlling who?

Each composer presented Terri with a different challenge and approach. These were rounded out by one of her own works, which highlights her instrument’s historical connection with birds.

Bird on a Wire 2008

Jim Altieri – Postcards from New Amsterdam

Ronald Boersen – Don’t Say a Word

Peter Hannan – Brule

Terri Hron – a little bird told me

Juan Parra Cancino – GeoAves for Terri

Laurie Radford – A Florus Exchange II

Peter Swendsen – Before Frozen Fog

The première and tour of Bird on a Wire took place in the fall of 2008. Terri was joined by composer/performer/all-round great guy, Juan Parra Cancino and they flitted all across North America presenting these exciting new works.

October 22, 2008 – Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff (pre-première)

October 27, 2008 – University of Alberta, Edmonton (première)

October 29, 2008 – Meridian Gallery, San Francisco

November 1, 2008 – The Western Front, Vancouver

November 2, 2008 – The Music Gallery, Toronto

November 3, 2008 – Oberlin College, Oberlin

November 6, 2008 – SUNY Stonybrook, Stonybrook

November 8, 2008 – Harvestworks, New York City

thanks to Femke van Delft for the tour pics

Terri writes:

The tour was a wonderful experience, and Juan and I had a really wonderful time. All of the presenters were very supportive and accommodating, and the audiences were very warm. One of the highlights for me was reading a student review from Oberlin which said “it was simply beautiful music and the closest thing to musical poetry I have heard in a while.” It means a lot to me to be able to reach people with what can sometimes be perceived as a complex form, because in the end, that’s what it’s about.

After the tour, Terri recorded the works in Banff with the wonderful Daniel Porter. They had three fun days in the studio followed by a couple of marathon days mixing. The result was the album Bird on a Wire which will be available (hopefully) in May 2009. More on this very soon!

Terri is very grateful to the following organizations without whose help this project would not have been possible: