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Personum 03: Homage to Chris Rolfe
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Chris Rolfe was a Vancouver sound engineer and software developer specializing in sound design, audio analysis and synthesis, and multichannel diffusion. The founder of Third Monk Software, a Vancouver software and media company since 1996, Chris Rolfe was educated at Princeton (BA Politics, 1992) and Simon Fraser University (MFA Electroacoustic Music, 1996), and worked as a composer, programmer and sound engineer.
Third Monk’s projects included speech programming for a best-selling video game, theatrical sound design software (ABControl) with funding from the National Research Council, real-time granular synthesis software (MacPOD, 1999 Mention, Bourges Software Competition), and numerous other software instruments, workshops, talks, concerts and sound installations utilizing multichannel diffusion software developed by Third Monk.
Chris’ exceptional and fluent familiarity with and of computer engineering, sound, silence and space (not just as parameters or objects, but as living forms of pure and beautiful sonic energy), has always been and will continue to be an inspiration to colleagues, musicians, composers and audiences. His sound works and research speak of his marvellous musicianship, if we think music also as a form of being, a beautiful behaviour, and not only or just as an aesthetic or a privilege for self-expression: music, …after sound. His musicianship was a poetic metaphor of loving ways of living together, spaces we can embody and share, dreams we can bring to exist, diffuse and resonate within. These events are a homage to Chris, to his loving and creative spirit, to all his inspiring work and our everlasting friendship.
Monday, July 17, 2023 | 1-3:30pm
Exhibition Hall, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
Registration for this workshop is now closed.
This free workshop offers an introduction to, and a space to experiment with, audio diffusion and spatialization on an eight-channel setup made of 8 Sitka Spruce resonators. Facilitated by Giorgio Magnanensi, participants will have the opportunity to think about and listen to sound in spatial configurations, and consider how expanding audio sources can influence thinking sound in more engaging and visceral ways. This workshop will also showcase Chris Rolfe’s custom diffusion software, and offer participants an opportunity to experiment with its features.
Participants who wish to experiment with the audio diffusion setup may bring short stereo audio files (WAV or AIFF, 44.100 kHz format, not mp3) on a USB memory stick.
An overview of some of Chris Rolfe’s work in multi-channel sound diffusion can be found in “A Practical Guide to Diffusion“, available online at: https://econtact.ca/2_4/pracdiff.htm
July 17–19, 2023 | 4-7pm
Exhibition Hall, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
Sonified Shed (2013)
Octophonic Installation on 8 square foam boards
TDU/CR (2023)
Octophonic Installatnion on 8 Sitka spruce resonators
Sonified Shed (2013)
Octophonic Installation on 8 square foam boards
The Sounds
The sound material here has been collected over the past two years or so, during a number of experiments, recording projects and performances. Some instrumental parts exist thanks to the creativity of various musicians and friends: Simon Phillips (piano), Terry Hron (recorder) and Giorgio Magnanensi (elephant bells, strings, koto). Other voices, footfalls, whispers and sundry sounds could have come from almost any of my friends and family. These sounds fill my life, so it’s nice to use them here.
The more obviously alien bleeps and pseudo-environmental sounds are all derived from MaxMSP software written by me. The computer sounds are mostly granular textures, sines, FM/modulation and synthetic environmental sounds. Approx. 6 hours of source material are looped indefinitely across 8 channels hidden (or not) in the space.
DIY
Through over 20 years of working with surround sound systems, I’ve lugged, hauled, transported, heaved, slung and flown speakers. 8, 16, 24 or 32 speakers, each weighing 40-60 kg. Driven nearly mad by schlepping speakers, for this project I constructed an ultra-lightweight 8-channel flat-panel speaker rig by mounting inexpensive sound exciters onto 2′ square pieces of gatorboard, each weighing less than 1kg. All the parts were available online for under $200 and total weight is under 10 kg.
Roberts Creek Arts Festival
Many thanks to the Roberts Creek Arts Festival and to my friends, Stefan and Viviane, for inviting me to participate in this beautiful weekend.
– Chris Rolfe’s original notes written in occasion of his presentation (summer 2013)
TDU / CR (2023)
Octophonic Installation on 8 Sitka Spruce Resonators
All sound materials of this installation are from Chris Rolfe’s repository and were created with custom made software instruments written and coded by Chris Rolfe in MaxMSP. Among the many applications and patches that Chris created and developed, we will also implement a few of his sound engines (Grain Composer, MacPOD and others), capable of wonderful sonic and sculptural soundscapes.
– Giorgio Magnanensi
July 18 & 19, 2023 | 7PM
Exhibition Hall, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
This concert offers a performance and presentation of original octophonic works by Chris Rolfe, and live electronic improvisations by Giorgio Magnanensi and David Murphy, using Chris’ audio diffusion software and original sound engines.
Program:
Bronze Wound, 1992 (16’40”)
Pulsing to Grain Water, 2009 (7’55”)
Shepards, 2018 (28’15”)
Ambient Series #11 (4’11”)
World Listening Day – Presented by The Roundhouse
Tuesday, July 18, 2023 | 8pm
Meet at Roundhouse Exhibition Hall
FREE – registration advised. Register at Eventbrite
Take an evening stroll through the city drawing your attention to Vancouver’s ever changing soundscape, with sound artist Helena Krobath. World Listening Day is hosted by the World Listening Project in honour of late Canadian composer, music educator, and author, R. Murray Schafer, who was born on July 18, 1933.
This walk follows the Personum 03 – Homage to Chris Rolfe Concert at the Roundhouse.
A Vancouver Park Board residency at Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews: https://www.roundhouse.ca/events/
