Longplayer & Shortplayer in Pittsburgh

Wood Street Galleries in Pittsburgh hosts a Longplayer listening post, from the 1st October until the 31st December 2010.
In addition, the opening night saw the world premiere performance of “Shortplayer”, the first of a new series of compositions by Jem Finer based on the principles of Longplayer.

An interview can be found here and an article from the Pittsburgh Post here.

Shortplayer
The method of Longplayer’s composition can be regarded as an algorithm whose variables may be changed to create a large number of new compositions. In this sense Longplayer is itself just one instance of these possible compositions, its title alluding directly to the extreme duration.

Conversely, there exist a group of possible compositions in which the variables are changed so that a composition lasts for a very short time. An hour for instance. Again, there are numerous possibilities as to how these rules can work and their resultant duration, as there are for the notation and instrumentation of the source music.

Shortplayer is a generic name covering all possible instances of these compositions, which can be made for any group or combination of instruments and/or voices. They can be made for different numbers of players and durations. As the scores will be of a graphic nature, and can be made for any instruments, they can be written for performers of all abilities.

The first ever performance of a Shortplayer composition, Shortplayer #1, took place on the 1st October 2010, at Wood Street Galleries, an hour long composition for 7 brass and reed players :

Roger Day (tuba)
Roger Dannenberg (trumpet)
Jem Finer (trumpet)
Mark Fromm (baritone sax)
Brandon Masterman (soprano sax)
Ben Opie (alto sax)
Lou Stellute (tenor sax)

David Bernabo (musical director)

With thanks to
Justin Hopper (without whom Longplayer may never have gone to Pittsburgh)
& Murray Horne and everyone at Wood Street Galleries.