045

Authors:

 Collins, Nicolas.

Title:

 "Power and Responsibility: Politics, Identity and Technology in Music"

Keywords:

 music, technology, identity, responsibility.

Abstract:

 In our contemporary saviness, we no longer think of music as the creation of solitary genius scribbling in a garret. We are far more likely to see it as a collaboration between individual ambitions and socio-economic constraints and inspirations. Composers themselves are likely to parse the responsibility for musical decisions out among numerous parties: a composer, pseudo-autonomous hardware and software, improvising musicians, variables of architectural space, or the interaction of an audience.

These issues converge on questions of identity and power politics: is the
orchestra necessarily fascistic? Does electronic technology have an
inherent sexual identity (is it all "boy's toys")? What is the difference
between a Japanese composer writing for the piano and a German composer writing for the koto? Do composers in "young countries" (Australia) necessarily have less cultural baggage than those in older ones (Italy)? Are the virtues of democracy the same as those of music? And how does one deal with technological oligarchies such as Microsoft?

In this paper I will examine how contemporary composers define their role
within a network of shared responsibility. How do they allocate power and
justify its use? How do they define their musical and social communities,
and how do they position themselves within these communities? I will draw on 25 years of personal experience as a composer and performer, as well as my work as Editor-in-Chief of the Leonardo Music Journal, through which I maintain contact with a large and diverse group of musical practitioners (issue #9 of the journal, to be published in December 1999, is focused on the same theme as this paper).
Collins, Nicolas. TallmanCollins@compuserve.com Composer; Editor-in-Chief, Leonardo Music Journal Nicolas Collins was born in New York City in 1954 (American father, Chilean mother). He studied composition with Alvin Lucier at Wesleyan University, where he received his B.A. and M.A. He has performed as a composer and presented audio installations throughout the United States, Europe, SouthAmerica and Japan. His work is represented on many recordings and has beenbroadcast on radio and television around the world. Collins is also prominent as a curator of performance and installation art, and has been a board member, curator and policy advisor for numerous cultural organizations, including PS1, The Clocktower, Roulette and The Kitchen (New York City), the Relache ensemble (Philadelphia), De IJsbreker (Amsterdam), Podewil (Berlin) and the Luzern Festwochen. In 1992 he relocated from New York to Amsterdam, where he was for three years Visiting Artistic Director of Stichting STEIM. In 1996-97 he was a DAAD artist-in-residence in Berlin. Since 1997 he has been Editor-In-Chief of the Leonardo Music Journal. He lives in Berlin with his wife, writer Susan Tallman, and their son and daughter.

I should add a one proviso and two comments:

1) I do not have an academic position, and have no direct access to travel funds. Therefore my participation in the conference is contingent on my obtaining financial assistance from an outside source.

2) The theme of Leonardo Music Journal #10, for publication in December 2000, is: "Southern Cones -- Music Out of Africa and South America"

For the end of the millennium we want to shift the focus away from technological music's traditionally Eurocentric domain and concentrate instead on contributions to modern music coming out of Africa and South America. Access and attitudes towards technology shift radically with geography, causing both predictable and unexpected effects on the arts. We encourage writing by residents of these continents who work with technology and music (composers of "serious" and "pop" music, recording engineers and producers, studio musicians, concert promoters, musicologists, etc.), as well as persons of any citizenship for whom Southern cultures have been musically significant.

***I would hope that through your conference I could make contact with many potential contributors who might otherwise be unfamiliar to me. 3) I do not know if you intend to program any performances in the conference, but I would be happy to present a small concert in addition to
(or instead of) a paper.

Many thanks for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.