Corollary: In Search of a Venue

While Frederick Bianchi's groundbreaking work with the Virtual Orchestra is gaining national and international attention, it is not the only such interdisciplinary work under way at WPI. William Michalson and Richard Campbell, faculty members in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, are also devoting time to research and student project work that marries the technological with the musical.

Bianchi is the newcomer in this group, having joined the WPI faculty in 1994. Michalson arrived at WPI in 1990; Campbell has served as an adjunct professor since the early 1980s (see "Good Vibrations," WPI Journal, Spring 1995). But it was Bianchi's arrival that seemed to nudge the music technology group toward its current critical mass.

---

A new music technology laboratory would shine the spotlight on the diverse work being done in this field by students and faculty members at WPI, Bianchi says.

---

"This type of work, not just VO, but music and acoustics and such, is really starting to come together at WPI," Bianchi says. "Both Dick and Bill are doing projects in similar veins to what I do, and the level of student interest has been quite amazing." Michalson echoes Bianchi's assessment: "We're an eclectic group - quite versatile and capable. And we're all working in areas that are motivational and interesting for many WPI students."

But whether the projects involve computer music with Bianchi, acoustics with Campbell, improvements to music electronics hardware with Michalson, or some hybrid of all of these, all three faculty members agree that key to taking this type of work further at WPI is the establishment of a dedicated laboratory that can accommodate the technology required for interdisciplinary projects in these fields, and serve as a nerve center for activity in music technology.

Bianchi, Campbell and Michalson say they are already seeking out space and funding for the lab. They have received a grant from Eastern Acoustic Works, a manufacturer of professional sound systems, and a number of other companies (including Korg, a maker of electronic musical instruments) have expressed an interest in the project.

Michalson says he has a clear view of the purpose of the proposed lab: "This would not be a practice room, nor a graduate research center, but a laboratory for undergraduate project work." Bianchi says the lab would also be a way to enhance the positive qualities of WPI's nascent music technology program. One of those qualities is that it isn't a formal program, as such. "We're not looking to create a new major," he stresses, "but a focal point to bring all of the possibilities of music technology to light, as well as enhance the quality of the individual projects going on."

The projects, in the form of Sufficiencies, Interactive Qualifying Projects and Major Qualifying Projects, have thus far encompassed everything from sound design and virtual orchestration, to the development of techniques for measuring loudspeaker characteristics, to the automated control of sound and lights for theatrical productions. An MQP currently being completed is developing a method for "tracking" a ballet dancer - allowing the dancer's movements to influence the music during a performance. This extremely complex problem would draw heavily on Bianchi's orchestration work and Michalson's specialty of digital tracking and positioning.

Project topics like these point out just how significantly sound technology research is impacting many industries today, Campbell says. "We have experienced major breakthroughs in research in the past few years. This is partly due to the work of researchers around the world who collaborate in assembling pieces of the puzzle. For example, high-speed computers and digital signal processing have brought us to the point where it is possible to hear a convincing simulation of the acoustic environment of an auditorium before it is built. The direction in which the industry is heading is quite exciting and full of opportunity."

These opportunities may help explain an explosion of student interest in computer music (Bianchi's two computer music courses are oversubscribed every time they are offered). This has coincided with a boom in home recording studios and associated technology. As a result, Michalson says, career opportunities for those who understand music and musical technology are excellent. "Equipment manufacturers can't make product fast enough to keep up with demand," he says. "With all this growth, there are any number of companies that are now looking for engineers with a musical background. There's a definite need out there."

- RB