listen to complete piece

composer	Matthew Burtner (b. 1970)
performers	Matthew Burtner, tenor saxophone
affiliation	BMI
label	innova Recordings 526http://www.innova.mu
duration	11:55

about the music

Matthew Burtner:

"Incantation S4 for tenor saxophone and computer-generated sound was composed at the Phonos Foundation/Audiovisual Institute in Barcelona. Most of the electronic sound was generated on the PODX system for quasi-synchronous granular synthesis created during a residency at Simon Fraser University. The piece is dedicated to my friend, composer Barry Truax, whose work on the World Soundscape Project and exploration of sonic microstructures continue to be an inspiration.

"This piece was my first compositional effort in what has become an extended project exploring the saxophone as an electroacoustic instrument (www.metasax.com). Here, the saxophone and electronics are conceived as equal elements, each drawing inspiration from the other. The saxophone uses extended techniques such as multiphonics with varying spectral consonance, microtonal trills, and circular breathing inspired by the signal processing techniques employed in the piece. Similarly, the electronics draw on the expressive fluidity of the instrumental sound."

about the composer		back to top

Composer and sound artist Matthew Burtner's (b. 1970) work regularly incorporates instrumental ensembles, computer technology, interactive acoustics, and multimedia. A native of Anchorage, Alaska, Burtner studied philosophy, composition, saxophone, and computer music at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana; Les Ateliers UPIC (now CCMIX) in Alfortville, France; the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland; and Stanford University in California.

Burtner's music has been performed throughout North America and Europe, and in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Latin America. Commissions include musicians and ensembles such as Haleh Abghari, Phyllis Bryn-Julson and Mark Markham, Peabody Trio, Spectri Sonori Ensemble, and Trio Ascolto. A first prize winner in the Musica Nova International Electroacoustic Music Competition, Burtner has also received awards from the American Music Center, Concorso Internazionale "Luigi Russolo," Gaudeamus Foundation, Meet the Composer, and others. He has recorded for the DACO, Euridice, and innova labels.

Burtner teaches at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he is associate director of the Virginia Center for Computer Music. He has been composer-in-residence at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and the Audiovisual Institute in Barcelona. His computer music research is presented regularly at international conferences, and has been published by the Journal of New Music Research, Leonardo Music Journal, and Organised Sound.

related websites
http://www.burtner.net