Blair Johnston, Matt Sorensen and Taana Rose, three talented students from the Music Technology department at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University previewed the Sonic Playground to a crowd in Queen Street Mall for the World Science Festival Brisbane today. 

Th trio performed ‘Opportunity’, a partially structured piece incorporating improvisation, as well as analogue and digital technologies. As a group performance - the agency of each performer was reduced, leading to an even greater exploration of the unexpected, both as audience and performer. Through the use of synthesis, sampling and live acoustic elements, a broad spectrum of sounds was created, mangled and rearranged, all coming together to make something new to preview the ideas for the Sonic Playground. 

The Queensland Conservatorium Music Technology department will create the  Sonic Playground on Saturday the 25th of March 10am–4pm. They will fill the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University with interactive sound installations and hands-on sonic experiments using new technologies. 

The Sonic Playground is part of 100 Ways to Listen, which is a new project exploring the art and science of sound and documenting a decade of innovative music-making at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU). Explore the program on our events page. 

​100 Ways to Listen at World Science Festival Brisbane is presented by Griffith University and the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre. 

Griffith University is proud to partner with the Queensland Museum for the World Science Festival Brisbane from 22-26 March 2017.

Held annually in New York since 2008 the World Science Festival is one of the most celebrated science festivals in the world, and now it’s returning to Brisbane.

​The Festival will take science out of the laboratory and into the streets, parks, museums, galleries and premier performing arts venues of Brisbane’s Cultural Precinct in South Bank.

A range of Griffith’s experts will join international leaders from across science and the arts for four action-packed days of public science at its best.
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There will be something for all ages – from hands on science activities by the Griffith Science On the Go! team for children to stimulating and thought provoking discussions.

Learn more about the Griffith University program here. Visit our events page to learn about the 100 Ways to Listen program for World Science Festival Brisbane. 

Date: Saturday 25 March and Sunday 26 March
Time: 10am-4pm
Venue: Cultural Forecourt, South Bank Parklands

100 Ways to Listen is a featured part of the Street Science program presented by Griffith University. The programs revolves around the theme of Science-on-the-GO! which features hands-on science exhibits, experiments, demonstrations, and games showcasing STEM-tastic activities. Griffith University will showcase the most incredible, cutting-edge ideas in science. The free 100 Ways to Listen program is hosted inside the Queensland Conservatorium exploring the art and science of sound with events including the Sonic Playground and 84 Pianos. The 100 Ways to Listen experiences stretch throughout South Bank with Augmented Reality Sound Walks that allow you to listen beneath the surface of global waterways and use GPS points along the Brisbane River to trigger audio based on location and movement. 

The South Bank Parklands will turn into a science playground with dozens of FREE immersive events for families to enjoy. Come along and participate in hands-on activities and explore the science behind robots, fossils, bubbles, slime, spiders, solar energy, drones, augmented reality, experiments and even explosions!

Festival Lab will also host free live experiments and interactive demonstrations during Street Science! Sessions are free with limited capacity tickets allocated on event days. View the free activities on offer at the Festival Lab here. Also at the Showcasing Science Stage, catch more free quick fire demonstrations. See the full list of shows here.

And don’t forget to visit Queensland Museum for more fun and FREE Street Science activities.
See the Street Science! map below:

Wednesday the 8th of March 2017, 1:00pm 
Ian Hanger Recital Hall, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University

The first 'Behind the Music' event for 2017 features Dr John Ferguson exploring new relations for the live musician. The Behind the Music series is curated by the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre and offers a rare glimpse into the processes involved in the preparation of creative works by leading musicians who share their perspectives on making music.

This event will explore some of the tensions that emerge when any form of technology is placed 'on-stage' in the vicinity of what one might, or might not, choose to recognise as a 'live musician'. Both commercial and bespoke electronic/post-digital instruments will be at the foreground of this event, with a number of short live works presented.

Head of Music Technology at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Dr John Ferguson, is a post-digital electronic musician and wizard with a hot glue gun. Prior to his appointment at Queensland Conservatorium, John was a visiting a visiting assistant professor at Brown University (USA) and lecturer at Kingston University (UK). John has performed at the Borealis Festival for Contemporary Music in Bergen, Open Studio at STEIM in Amsterdam and Club Transmediale in Berlin.

The Queensland Conservatorium will play host to a series of weird and wonderful sonic experiments as part of the World Science Festival this month.
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The series of free events are part of an exciting program called 100 Ways to Listen, which explores the crossroads where music meets science and celebrates the innovative music-making of the Conservatorium’s all-star faculty and students.

​The science of sound will be unpacked through performances, installations and sound walks. From a new composition played on 84 pianos across the Conservatorium simultaneously, to music inspired by quantum physics and a large scale interactive music technology installation, there is something for science nerds and music buffs alike.

These sonic experiments will culminate in a publication launched in July to coincide with World Listening Day.

Time Crystals
Associate Professor Vanessa Tomlinson and Dr Erik Griswold have teamed up to create a ‘choose-your-own musical adventure’, debuting a new piece that will be played by 84 pianists across the Conservatorium at the same time.

They will also perform Time Crystals, a composition inspired by the work of Nobel-winning physicist Frank Wilczek, who proposed the idea of perpetually moving, multi-dimensional structures. The piece transforms the principles of hard science into sound structures, performed on a prepared piano and a variety of percussion instruments.

“Much like scientists, we propose these experiments and try and find out what happens when we realise them,” Associate Professor Tomlinson said.
“The concept of a time crystal into sound is one experiment.

“Another experiment is what happens when we sound 84 pianos in the Conservatorium simultaneously.
“We are sonic investigators.”

Sonic Playground
Dr. John Ferguson has created a large scale music technology installation, Sonic Playground, which will take over the Queensland Conservatorium foyer during the World Science Festival.
“It’s going to be awesome,” he said.
“We’re using technology to ask questions about art and music, and what other forms of listening are there.”

Sonic Environments
Dr. Leah Barclay is running a series of interactive augmented reality sound walks across South Bank, as part of Sonic Environments, which allows people to listen to interactive soundscapes triggered by GPS.
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“These interactive experiences are a balance between art and science, and they are designed to inspire people to listen at a time when it’s particularly important to listen to the environment,” she said.

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100 Ways to Listen includes a program of Sonic Environments installation with immersive multi-channel speaker arrays. We are proud to be using AT Professional (Acoustic Technologies) Loudspeaker Systems in the Music Technology department at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. 

Acoustic Technologies' Founding Director Harry Lloyd-Williams started the company in 1974 with a fierce determination to design and manufacture high quality professional audio products. At that time professional audio was in its infancy. High quality equipment was invariably imported, expensive and out of reach for the average Australian musician. 

Acoustic Technologies has changed that by developing a range of products which in every way equals or betters the imported equivalent. The company meets the changing and challenging demands of the audio community and ensures that music technology researchers have access to appropriate technologies for cutting edge research in immersive sound art.