Christian Pincock - Soundpainter


Soundpainting Workshop and Concert

CCA Center for Contemporary Arts

Santa Fe, New Mexico


WORKSHOP: Soundpainting –
the Art of Live Composition
12noon – 6:00pm

CONCERT: Christian Pincock –
"Rumours Overheard" for computer and valve trombone / Soundpainting Workshop Ensemble
8:00pm

1050 Old Pecos Trail Santa Fe, NM 87505
505.982.1338

www.ccasantafe.org/

Composer and experimental musician CHRISTIAN PINCOCK introduces an exciting way of making music called Soundpainting. Soundpainting is a live-composition sign language which breaks music down into its raw elements, each associated with a physical gesture. With a trained group, a Soundpainter conducts and composes music live – with nothing written in advance.

The Workshop introduces basic Soundpainting gestures; no previous Soundpainting experience is necessary and all instruments are welcome. Workshop participants will perform with Christian live in the evening concert.

The Concert presents Christian’s performance of “Rumors Overheard,” a solo electro-acoustic composition for laptop computer. First performed in Berlin, with subsequent performances in New York and Albuquerque, the piece is a sonic kaleidoscope leading the listener through a variety of sounds expressing the secret lives of hidden conversation, human and otherwise. Following this, Christian will also conduct the Soundpainting performance with workshop participants.



Soundpainting

Soundpainting is an international sign language for creating live compositions. A typical Soundpainting performance might look like a classical ensemble involving a group of performers and a conductor except for one thing–in a Soundpainting performance, the conductor is also composing the piece as it is being performed.  The composer/conductor signs gestures to the ensemble indicating the type of music to play and the members of the ensemble respond and interact creatively within the guidelines of each gesture.  In this way, the Soundpainter and the ensemble inform each other’s musical choices in a dialogue of gesture and response.


Soundpainting in education

Soundpainting fosters personal creativity, builds community, and impacts student development in the arts.  While performing in a Soundpainting ensemble, students explore their own individuality and creativity by improvising within the guidelines of each gesture.  When students compose their own improvised compositions by conducting an ensemble with Soundpainting, they are able to ‘play’ the group like an instrument and are encouraged to explore the possibilities of dynamics, tempo, texture, form, and color in musical composition.  By experiencing Soundpainting as both a member of the ensemble and as a composer/conductor, students learn to relate to each other in different social roles.  Soundpainting broadens students’ conception of musicianship by relating key aspects of sound to movement and by allowing them to experiment with music in ways that they may not have been previously aware of.


An international language

Soundpainting is used in performance and educational settings around the world.  Originally created in the 1970’s by Walter Thompson as a way to bring more structure to free-form musical improvisation, the Soundpainting language has grown into an all-inclusive tool for composing live musical and multi-disciplinary performances.  It now contains over 800 signs and continues to develop through its vibrant community of musicians, actors, dancers, visual artists, and educators.


More at: soundpainting.com

Christian Pincock

Christian Pincock has performed with numerous Soundpainting performances around the world with groups including the New York Soundpainting Orchestra, The Walter Thompson Orchestra, ZAHA, and the 10th, 11th and 12th international Soundpainting Think-tanks in Woodstock, NY, Höganas, Sweden, and Tours, FR respectively.  He has a Bachelors degree in Jazz Performance from New England Conservatory and a Masters Degree in Jazz performance from Manhattan School of Music.  He has directed the Brooklyn Soundpainting Orchestra, taught at the Long Island Conservatory, and performs regularly on trombone and laptop computer.


Christian currently lives in Albuquerque, NM where he teaches private trumpet, trombone, and piano, and leads workshops on improvisation. In addition to Soundpainting, he plays trombone and valve trombone, and composes experimental electro-acoustic music which can be found at www.christianpincock.net



Audio / Video Clips