SOLO

VALVE TROMBONE & ORGAN PEDALS

This period of exploration began in January 2014 when experimenting with ways to play a second musical voice with my feet I built a MIDI controller from an organ pedalboard. From there I built new hardware including sensors attached to my trombone and programmed computer software to explore new compositional directions. With each new piece, I look for new techniques to combine trombone and computer, make interesting sounds and tell an engaging musical story.

more videos on Christian's YouTube channel

Processed Trombone

Processed Valve Trombone (processing controlled by buttons and accelerometer)

Modifications of the Mind incorporates improvisation into a fixed compositional structure. The 6 parts (after the introduction) are performed in real-time based on loosely organized instructions and durations. It is performed on electric valve trombone, a valve trombone outfitted with buttons and sensors to provide control over a computer program developed with MAX/MSP which alters the sound of the trombone in unique and surprising ways.

Modifications of the Mind represents the Yoga Ashtanga outlined by the ancient sage Patanjali. These practices from the Yoga Sutras have become the basis for many branches of modern Yogic philosophy and can be seen as a guidebook for living a peaceful and contented life.