On July 20th 2013 The Consortium for Innovation and Transformation participated in A Night in the Fields, a project in collaboration with the Center for Games and Impact and Phoenix Art Museum.
During A Night in the Fields, a group of musicians collaborated with attendees to create music that interacted with the way that people played the videogame Flower. As people played the game, musicians performed varied acoustic and electric instruments, laptops, and mobile devices to create and manipulate music that captured the sense of place and action occurring in the game.
Attendees were invited to participate in the music creation and performance with a range of small acoustic instruments. Each game player, situated between the group of musicians and a large screen upon which the game Flower was projected, had a unique and customized immersive experience. Attendees also had their own unique experiences as they watched the gameplay and listened to the music.
This project, in collaboration with the Center for Games and Impact, The Consortium for Innvotion and Transformation in Music Education, and The Phoenix Art Museum was a unique convergence of contemporary musical engagement, video games, interactive media, participatory culture, digital culture, music education, and community engagement.
The A Night in the Fields interactive music and video game event was an outgrowth of ongoing research and practice taking place in CITME and the ASU music education department looking at the process of creating music in relation to interactive media and connections to music teaching and learning. The musicians in the group made decisions collaboratively through a consensus-based process. A Night in the Fields was the group’s first public event and a significant point in the development of this ongoing project and research. For more information on the A Night in the Fields music and video game project and related initiatives contact: Evan Tobias evan.tobias@asu.edu
The A Night in the Fields interactive music ensemble consisted of:
Evan Tobias – facilitation & iPad
Ryan Bledsoe – saxophone
Corrie Box – vocals & effects processing
Rebecca Carr – MIDI keyboard controller
Patrick Cooper – string bass
Bill Fitzgibbons – trumpet
Jennifer Horne – flute
Jared O’Leary – percussion
Julian Peterson – laptop, gamepad controller, effects processing, & live audio mixing
Skye Van Duuren – trumpet
A Night in the Fields Saturday July 20 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m @ Phoenix Art Museum Great Hall
Additional Information on related projects and organizations:
Phoenix Art Museum Announcement of A Night in the Fields
The Art of Video Games Exhibit @ the Phoenix Art Museum
The Center for Games and Impact
Celebrating the Art of Making and Playing Games: Bridging Digital and Live Play Experiences (The Center for Games & Impact @ the Phoenix Art Museum July 20 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The Consortium for Innovation and Transformation in Music Education (CITME @ASU):
ASU School of Music Music Education Department
The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
