CompositionPerformance ScheduleVideoPressEnsemble RobotGroups and Projects

EDUCATION

Brown University Master of Arts in Music, 2006

thesis: Music and Robots: Designing Robotic Musical Instruments and Writing Music for Robots in conjunction with Human Performers

Bang on a Can Summer Institute of Music, composition fellow - July 2002

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a minor in Music 2002

thesis: a statistical analysis of tunings and acoustical beating rates used in Balinese gamelans

Boston University Institute of Television, Radio, and Film Production - 1994

AWARDS & HONORS

 

Explorers Club commission - May 2009

Bang on a Can People's Commissioning Fund commission - April 2009

Meet the Composer Creative Connections grant - March 2009

LEF Foundation award of $15,000 for further development of Ensemble Robot - January 2008

LEF Foundation award of $12,000 for further development of Ensemble Robot - January 2007

LEF Foundation award of $10,000 for further development of Ensemble Robot - January 2006

Boston Museum of Science Composer in Residence - 2005-07

NEFA / Meet the Composer grant - October 2005

For commission and performance of new work at the Boston Museum of Science in 2006.

LEF Foundation award of $10,000 for development of Ensemble Robot - December 2003

American Composers Forum award to Play Me - February 2003

Reading by the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, conducted by Charles Peltz, at Jordan Hall on February 27, 2003.

Peter J. Eloranta Summer Research Fellowship - 2001

Awarded a $6000 grant through MIT to study music in Bali, Indonesia and to compose new music during the summer of 2001.

WAR - independent video - 1994

Video was used in a film course at Northwestern University and in 1995 was shown in a museum at the University of Technology in Munich, Germany, as an example of combined technology and art.

WORK EXPERIENCE

A House in Bali 2009 coproducer

Website Design 1995 – present.

Design and development of websites, primarily for artists and musicians. Portfolio available at http://www.kotekan.com/websites.shtml.

Freelance Computer Work & Teaching 1990-present

Freelance computer work (desktop publishing, graphic design, and web site development) and teaching (computer literacy) to people in Harvard and surrounding towns, including a six week Harvard Adult Education course in desktop publishing. Currently teach website design to children and adults in Boston and Cambridge. Also teach about Balinese music to private students, was hired by Harvard Professor Kay Shelemay as an expert on Balinese music for the second addition of her world usic textbook entitled “Soundscapes,” and have taught several MIT professors about making music on computers.

Edited and mixed two records with Evan Ziporyn: Shadowbang (Cantaloupe, 2002) and No Return / The Whole Salmon (2003)

Graphic design and embossed copper folder production for two projects:

Via Valverde restaurant including design and manufacture of embossed copper menus (2003)
Evan Ziporyn: No Return / The Whole Salmon – design and manufacture of embossed copper score covers (2003)

Wine Consultant, The Wine Bottega 2000-present

HarvardNet Network Administrator, Primary Web Developer, Marketing & Sales 1994-1996

HarvardNet’s Network Administrator and Primary Web Developer. Responsible for maintaining and updating two DNS servers, sixteen web servers and two mail servers (BSDI Unix/Apache/POP Mail). File domain registrations and set up DNS entries. Set up virtual hosts and FTP sites. Handle accounts for CopleyNet (Copley Marriott, Westin, Sheraton, and Hynes Convention Center), Staples Corporation, the Atlantic Monthly magazine, McDougall Advertising, Cross Internet Communications (who in turn handles Business Week magazine and AT&T among others), the Advocate-Daily Newspapers and Community Newspapers (Fidelity), SAG Electronics, Seagate Software, Lycos (Boston office) and many other smaller companies. Develop Java applets for web sites. Also work in sales and marketing at HarvardNet, and teach seminars for customers including internet training sessions for the staff of Boston Marriott and Westin Hotels. Also key developer of PC WEEK’s online marketing section, media kit, and ad campaign. Worked with magazine’s managing editor, Jeff Frentzen. This job included writing HTML and doing graphic design.

MUSIC: Compositions

Volcano (2009) for string quartet and piano/percussion/sampler/voice

Mars Rover / Snow White (2008) for gamelan, rock band, and computer voices

Honey Flyers (2007) for string quartet and Ensemble Robot's Bot(i)Cello

  • Commissioned by the Carlsbad Music Festival and the Calder Quartet; premiered at the 2007 Carlsbad Music Festival

Robot Organic (2007) for Ensemble Robot, pipe organ, and bass clarinet

  • Commissioned by Technology Review Magazine; premiered at the Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT September 29, 2007

Heavy Metal (2006) for Balinese gamelan, violin, guitar, bass, Lyricon, and Ensemble Robot

  • Premiered at Boston Museum of Science Cahners Theater, January 25, 2006, by Gamelan Galak Tika, Todd Reynolds, Eddie Whalen, Blake Newman, Erik Nugent, and robots
  • Arranged for chamber string orchestra, robots and gamelan for Bang on a Can Summer Institute of Music, 2006 - Opened Bang on a Can Marathon at Mass MoCA, July 29, 2006

ZAP! (2004) for Ensemble Robot, guitar, bass, cello, 2 keyboards, Lyricon, percussion, and voices, premiered at the Boston Museum of Science Theater of Electricity February 4, 2005

Mars Polar Landing
(2003, 7:00) for clarinet, sax, trumpet, drum set, vibraphone, marimba, guitar, and bass

Play Me (2002, 15:35) for flute, 2 clarinets, english horn, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, piano, electric guitar, string quartet, bass, marimba, drums and cymbals. Won an American Composers Foundation competition.

Jamu (2002, 10:30) for gamelan, electric guitar, cello and bass; in three parts.

Remixed for electronics and Heliphon by Eric Gunther, with choreography by Ashley Salomon, for world premiere performance at Boston Cyberarts Festival, May 7, 2005

Feed and Fly (2002, 6:20) for clarinet, electric guitar, cello, bass, piano, drum set, and Balinese reong & gender

Performed by Eileen Mack, John Benthal, Wendy Sutter, Peter Askim, Michelle Schumann, Greg Beyer and Evan Ziporyn July 25, 2002 at Mass MoCA. Written for Bang on a Can Summer Institute of Music in June 2002.

Elf Grass (2002, 8:00) for clarinet, guitar, cello and piano. (originally with bass)

Recorded Alarm Will Sound reading February 21, 2002 at MIT Killian Hall: Bill Kalinkos (clarinet), Courtney Orlando (piano), Caleb Burhans (violin), Stefan Freund (cello), and Joel Ciaccio (bass) with Alan Pierson conducting.

Sekar Ikan Emas Yang Terbang (Flying Goldfish Flower) (2002, 7:20) for Balinese gamelan gong kebyar

Performed by Gamelan Galak Tika

  • April 20, 2002 at Wesleyan University, New England Gamelan Weekend (world premiere)
  • April 21, 2002 at MIT Kresge Auditorium
  • July 9, 2002 at University Park in Cambridge, MA
  • Bali Tour, Summer 2005: Kuta Carnival at Kuta Beach, Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar, and in Negara

Wild Warped Wax (2001, 8:30) for string quartet

Recorded Ethel reading May 21, 2002: Todd Reynolds, Mary Rowell (violins), Ralph Ferris (viola), and Dorothy Lawson (cello).

Violin/Clarinet (2001, 2:09) Original electronic piece made from sampled violin and clarinet (both performed by me).

HarmonicsonG (2001, 4:30) Experiment with low G string on a violin, forming a song out of the harmonics.

Bhoma Music (2001, 4:45) for voice, violin, clarinet, rubber band, dizi (Chinese flute), and sampled percussion. Instrumental ambient music with a layer of two voices phasing an Indian jati phrase.

Written for an MIT production of the play Bhoma (see below).

Timor Cotton (2001, 5:00) for marimba, vibraphone, violin, and electric guitar

Performed January 31,2001at MIT: Laurel Smith (violin), Mark Stewart (guitar), Evan Ziporyn (vibes), Danny Tunick (marimba).

Music for Two Gender (2000) suite for two gender wayang (Balinese metallophones)

MUSIC: Performance & Projects

Ensemble Robot 2003-present - Co-founder, President, Artistic Director

Ensemble Robot is a collective of engineers, artists, and musicians working together to build an orchestra of robotic musical instruments, designed and built to maximize the potential of simple actuators applied to producing musical sounds. Since its inception in 2003, Ensemble Robot has built 5 robots, commissioned and premiered new works from several composers including Ramon Castillo, Jenny Johnson, Christine Southworth, and Evan Ziporyn, and has performed at Mass MoCA, Boston Cyberarts Festival, the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, Wired Magazine Nextfest in New York, and three times at the Boston Museum of Science, with world-renowned musicians including violin virtuoso Todd Reynolds. Ensemble Robot is a 501(c)(3) non-for-profit corporation.

Gamelan Galak Tika 1999-present - Musician, Media Coordinator, General Manager (2007-08)

Active member of MIT's Gamelan Galak Tika, performing in the large, 30-person gong kebyar as well as in the group's smaller gender wayang ensemble. Galak Tika was founded in September 1993 by Evan Ziporyn, Nyoman Catra, and Desak Made Suarti Laksmi for the purpose of studying and performing both traditional and modern Balinese music and dance, as well as to develop new works in collaboration with Balinese and American artists. The Boston area's first Balinese gamelan, it has performed widely throughout New England, including appearances at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New Sounds Live at the Winter Garden, Bang On A Can, Somerville Arts Festival, First Night, Planet Gamelan, and at universities throughout the eastern US.

Study of Gender Wayang with Pak Wayan Loceng in Sukawati, Bali 2000, 2001

Studied gender wayang with Pak Wayan Loceng for three and a half months in Sukawati, Bali during the summers of 2000 and 2001. Gender wayang is a virtuosic form of Balinese gamelan played with two mallets on a metallophone. The music is used to accompany Balinese shadow puppet plays. I have played gender in concerts throughout New England as well as for private parties, and at religious ceremonies in Bali.

ShadowBang (fall 2001, summer 2003)

I was the tututan (assistant) to Pak Wija in Shadow Bang at MIT and at Mass MoCA in fall 2001, at Symphony Space in New York City at the Bang on a Can Marathon in the summer of 2003, and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. ShadowBang is a puppet opera written by Evan Ziporyn (composer) and Wayan Wija (Balinese puppeteer), was performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars.

Bhoma (April 2001)

Composed and performed (mostly improvised) music for the MIT production of the Indian play Bhoma, by Badal Sircar, directed by Tufts professor Sudipto Chatterjee. Performed April 26 - May 5, 2001 at Kresge Little Theatre, MIT. Instrumentation included violin, drums, pots and pans, guitar, Balinese flute, clarinet, and cymbals.

 

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