COPA REMOTE

summer festival

August 2-7, 2020

6-day Distributed creativity intensive

tuition-free
workshops &
presentationS

Networked music
Digital storytelling
socially engaged artistry

schedule & info

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welcome packet


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festival

The College of Performing Arts launches its inaugural virtual summer festival, a weeklong series of workshops and performances that explore the possibilities of remote sound and music collaboration. Students will learn from leading artists at the forefront of networked performance, a practice that has been developed for over a decade and has unbounded creative potential as a medium for virtual expression.

From internet-based music ensembles and 3D concert environments to creative podcasting and sound collaging, learn how to leverage technology and the internet to create art in a post-pandemic world. Numerous workshops, ensembles, and one-on-one sessions with faculty will be available to all participants. Build or sharpen your audio production skillset, jam online in real-time with other students, get a head start on meeting your classmates and future collaborators, polish your digital portfolio and showcase your work. 

Public events

also happening this week:

Pathways: Art & Technology Sunday, August 2, 2:00-3:30PM ET Join bespoken and the International Contemporary Ensemble for a free workshop focusing on the intersection of technology and art. Each session will have different speakers discussing their artistry and practice across four disciplines – moving image, audio engineering, live-sound, and video – and how their work intersects within each area. Click here to register.

faculty

Lisa E. Harris

Interdisciplinary Artist, Vocalist, Performer, Composer, Filmmaker

Rebekah Heller

Bassoonist, Improvisor, Conversation Partner

Tanya Kalmanovitch

Violist, Ethnomusicologist, Author

Ross Karre

Percussionist, Videographer, Arts Administrator

Levy Lorenzo

Percussionist, Sound Engineer, Electronic Artist

Joshua Rubin

Clarinetist, ICEensemble Artistic Director Emeritus

workshops

registration required – free to register and participate
open to incoming and continuing college of performing arts students

7/24: no more seats available, please register for the waitlist below

We have a stellar cast of faculty from the International Contemporary Ensemble, each of whom will lead a multiday workshop that spans the course of the week. These are small group Zoom meetings that explore the software and practices of remote collaboration through the lens of five artists at the forefront of digital sound and media practices.  

There will be ample opportunities to meet fellow students from across the college, to work independently and in ensemble, and to present your progress on the final day of the festival.

Participants select one of the five workshop paths below and will meet with their workshop faculty member on August 3, 4, 6, and 7 for 3 – 4 hours a day. A mix of synchronous Zoom meetings and asynchronous independent study will be scheduled throughout the day.

Li Harris: How to Access your Authentic Voice

Performers and non-performers, singers and non-singers, verbal and non-verbal individuals, we all have a voice. Guided by Li, we will gain broader understandings of the inner voice, the outer voice, and the instrumental body. We will learn how to listen deeply, not only to ourselves and to others, but also to context. Li will introduce “Ten Miniatures”, a daily compositional practice that gets the creative juices flowing across disciplines. Through the application of these practices, we will create opportunities for free expression and collaboration, and expand our abilities to respond authentically. 

Tanya Kalmanovitch: Why Music Matters

In this course we ask two questions: “What is the sound that only I can make?” and “What is the sound that is necessary?” In some ways, these are opposites. The first requires digging into the core of the self. The second requires that we empathize deeply with others and our environment. Both require imagination, courage, and psychological stamina. We will practice these skills dynamically through generative prompts for improvisation, open-form composition, and reflection. We will connect our musical choices to the broader social, political, and economic forces that shape our lives—developing clear, resonant responses to a third question, “Why does music matter?”

Levy Lorenzo: digital Swim lessons

The current situation has called for performing artists to turn to technology to continue to create in the remote/online space. While there are a multitude of available tools, it can be confusing, and even intimidating, to decide where to start for those who have primarily worked in the acoustic realm. This crash course is intended for CoPA students that are interested in taking the plunge into the world of creative technology, and begin to use these tools to extend their expressive voice into the digital domain. Assuming a starting point of zero experience, this pathway will provide a low pressure, playful environment to gain exposure to the fundamentals, in preparation for confidently exploring more advanced remote collaboration methods. 

Rebekah Heller: Finding your path

This course asks, what steps can I take to build my own career in a way that feels artistically robust and satisfying? Guided by Rebekah Heller, we’ll work with performer-composer Nicole Mitchell on an exploration of her piece Inescapable Spiral. Within the confines of a musical score, we’ll examine how we might subconsciously be limiting ourselves or others, and look for ways of freeing our imaginations, and therefore our futures — both individually and collectively. We’ll explore how to invest in our artistic communities, listen to our inner voices, and leave behind harmful teachings we might have internalized in order to create a more satisfying and holistic career.

Josh Rubin: Collaborative Sound

We are in the unprecedented situation of having to make art and music in isolation, not by choice but by circumstance. This path explores the technologies and philosophies of making music with others, from a distance. Focusing on free software tools for music production, telematics, and online collaborative spaces, we’ll discuss setting up and using these platforms, the advantages and limitations of them, and we’ll use these limitations to actually make music together. Trailblazers in the field of telematic performance Nicole Mitchell, Sarah Weaver, and Michael Dessen will also share their experience of making music together while apart.

Register for the waitlist

Schedule

Aug 2
Aug 2

Day 0: Faculty and Participant Orientation

Mostly asynchronous

Aug 3
Aug 3

Day 1: PROGRAM DAY (Sample Schedule)

9:00 AM: Intro Session

9:30 AM: Workshops (Breakout into 5 Workshop Paths)

11:00 AM: Public Event with Guest Speaker

12:00 PM: Lunch Break

1:00 PM: Core Skills Workshop

2:00 – 5:00 PM: Workshops with Breaks (Breakout into 5 Workshop Paths)

Aug 4
Aug 4

Day 2: Program day

Similar Schedule to Day 1

Aug 5
Aug 5

Day 3: Independent study day

Participants continue progress on projects independently or with colleagues. A faculty member will be available for consultation.

Aug 6
Aug 6

Day 4: Program day

Similar Schedule to Day 1

Aug 7
Aug 7

Day 5: Office Hours and Presentations

Morning office hours and afternoon participant presentations.

how to apply

Workshops:

Registration is open to admitted students and continuing students at the College of Performing Arts. Admitted students include those who have received an offer of acceptance, whether or not you have deposited.

There is no fee to register, nor is there a fee to participate.

Note: Although the program is primarily sound and music-based, learning paths will be offered for Drama and Arts Management and Entrepreneurship students. 

Public Event Series:

No registration required. Events will be accessible via livestream at the Mannes College Facebook Page.

Receiving credit for participation

At the culmination of the festival, students who wish to receive credit can register at no charge for a short experience in early Fall, where they will be asked to create a portfolio of the work created during the week to be graded. Students who successfully submit the work product receive 1 credit of performance or general elective credit to count towards their requirement.

register for the waitlist