On April 5, 6 and 7, 2013, a quartet of internationally renowned composer-improvisers – Mark Dresser, Nicole Mitchell, Myra Melford and Michael Dessen – performed an unprecedented “virtual tour” of new music conceived for world-class improvisers performing together in different geographical locations via Internet2. Taking advantage of high bandwidth networks available only at research and educational institutions, these concerts featured virtuoso performers performing together across thousands of miles with lifelike, uncompressed audio and minimal time delays and HD video, setting a new standard for music making on the telematic stage.

As one of three performances in “Virtual Tour: A Reduced-Carbon Footprint Concert Series”, the music for the April 6 performance consisted of five world premieres by Mark Dresser, Nicole Mitchell, Gerry Hemingway and Matthias Ziegler, all composed specifically for the telematic medium.

Gerry Hamingway: 3 Stories
Nicole Mitchell: Between Walls
Mark Dresser: SubTeleToning
Matthias Ziegler: Buffered Fragments

Performance on April 6, 2013 at the following locations:

San Diego: Mark Dresser, bass, composition; Michael Dessen, trombone, composition; Myra Melford, piano; Nicole Mitchell, flute, composition

Technologists: Trevor Henthorn, technical director; Josef Kucera, technical consultant; Antonio Estrada and Andrew Johnson, local audio; Isaac Garcia-Muñoz, network audio; Michael Ricca, audio recording; Daniel Ross, assistant recording; Yeung-ping Chen, network video; Kyle Johnson and Ash Smith, documentation video; Jessica C. Flores, production manager

Zurich: Gerry Hemingway, percussion, composition; Matthias Ziegler, flutes, composition

Technologists: network director, Johannes Schütt; video direction-Joel Di Giovanni and Benjamin Burger

A DVD of the performances can be purchased at pfMENTUM.