Contemporary Practices in the Performance and Sustainability of Computer Music Repertoire

An UnConference UnSession on Computer Music Performance was hosted on June 5, 2010 at the International Computer Music Conference in New York to initiate a dialog regarding the past practices, current state, challenges, and future opportunities for the field of computer music performance. Reflecting the inherently eclectic make-up of computer music, the unsession attracted a diverse group of performers, composers, researchers, computer scientists, sound engineers, and technicians. The event provided a rare and honest peek into what is on the minds of those who are focused on computer music performance, which, relative to computer music research and composition, is a largely undeveloped sub-discipline of computer music. What follows in the main text of this paper and main content of the corresponding poster presentation is a brief and organized list of takeaways from the unsession unconference along with appropriately summarized elaboration. The takeaways centered on recurring interdependent themes: effective notation of computer music, sustainability, the role and responsibility of the performer and performer-engineer, and ultimately, the rationale and final authority governing sustainability. Sustainability was the unifying theme that tied together most of the discussion. This paper will be of interest to computer musicians whose primary creative activity is live performance/interpretation/realization, performers who specialize in contemporary music, composers who want to facilitate effective communication and collaboration with performers, concert producers, virtual instrument designers, music technology educators, and musicologists. More specifically, this paper delves into the salient points regarding the preservation of computer music repertoire and discusses the best practices for the facilitation of repeated performances.