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USC School of Music
COMPOSITION PROGRAM

xMUSE

The Experimental Music Studio at the University of South Carolina

Dr. Reginald Bain, director

Music Building, R039
Web site: www.music.sc.edu/ea/comp/xmuse/
Phone: 803-777-5408

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Mission | Concerts | Research Projects | Courses | Contact

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Saxophonist Matt Younglove performing at the 2008 USC Computer Music Concert

News

Undergraduate composer Alex Wroten has been named a 2008-09 Magellan Scholar. His reserach project, entitled "Music, Performance, and Interactive Parallel Computing Networks," will focus on the development of live-interactive control and communication interfaces for laptop ensemble.

USC's Experimental Music Studio

The Experimental Music Studio (xMUSE) was established in 2004 to support the creation of new music and related research that exploits the resources of cutting-edge technology. It is a place where composers, performers, technical specialists and other creative artists come together to design musical experiences that require the interaction of humans and machines. It is also an advanced laboratory for computer music research in fields such as algorithmic composition, digital signal processing, interactive composition and performance, musical sonification and synthesis. USC offers a variety of courses and research opportunities to students at all levels of study.

 

Abby McKee, flute, performing Kaija Saariaho's Noa Noa.

Mission Statement

1. To promote the creation of new music and related research that exploits the resources of cutting-edge technology and establish our students and faculty as leaders within the community, region and nation;
2. To work in collaboration with the Composition Program, Recording Arts program, Southern Exposure, and other units within the university to host concerts, residencies and master classes by world class artists;
3. To provide students with opportunities to study algorithmic composition, digital signal processing, interactive composition and performance, musical sonification, synthesis, and related fields;
4. To educate students in the theory and history of electroacoustic music;
5. To increase the knowledge and creative potential of each student through a balanced program of creative and scientific research.

Guest artist Susan Fancher, tenor saxophone, performing Edmund
Campion's Corail.

Concerts and Presentations

The creative products of xMUSE are regularly featured at campus concerts such as the USC Computer Music Concert and Southern Exposure new music series, as well as at special events like USC's Discovery Day and the Mediafest Student Arts Festival.

Research Projects

Sounding Number. Reginald Bain, principle investigator. Funded by a USC Research and Productive Scholarship Category III Grant.

Music, Performance, and Interactive Parallel Computing Networks. Alex Wroten, principle investigator. Funded by a Magellan Scholar undergraduate reserach grant.

Interactive Real-Time Audio Applications for String Quartet. Nick Isganitis, principle investigator. Funded by a a South Carolina Honors College (SCHC) Senior Thesis Grant.

Sonifications of Gold Nanorods. Alex Wroten, principle investigator. For more information, see "Biology, poetry, and nanorod marimbas" in the Winter 2008 issue of USC's Research and Health Sciences Breakthrough (pdf). Funded by the USC Nanocenter.

Musical Applications of Cellular Automata. Drew Allen, principle investigator. Funded by Magellan Scholar undergraduate reserach grant.

Musical Sonification. Reginald Bain, principle investigator. Funded by a USC Research and Productive Scholarship Category II Grant.

Text-to-Speech Synthesis. Logan Young, principle investigator. Funded by a SCHC Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

Bik Lee performing her interactive composition Still (left)
USC's Graduate Saxophone Quartet performing Jacob Ter Veldhuis' Pitch Black (middle)
Oboist Petrea Warneck performing guest composer Scott Lindroth's Terza Rima (right)

Courses and Research Opportunities

MUSC 336 Introduction to Computer Music
Techniques of computer-generated music production including aspects of MIDI, digital synthesis, and music programming. Open to students in any discipline.

MUSC 540 Projects in Computer Music
Directed study in computer music composition or research. {Prerequisite: MUSC 336}

MUSC 737 Advanced Projects in Computer Music
Directed study in advanced computer music composition or research.

Undergraduate Research at USC

South Carolina Honors College Senior Thesis

Contact

Questions about our research programs and facilities should be directed to Dr. Reginald Bain, Director of the Experimental Music Studio, rbain@mozart.sc.edu or (803) 777-8183.

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Updated: 9/19/2008 by RB