Build Day

From 2005 to 2008 I was the Founding Director of the Center for Research in Arts, Technology, Education and Learning (CRATEL) at Wichita State University.

Sensor construction used with former WSU Percussion Professor Dr. J.C. Combs’ replica of an instrument originally made by Harry Partch

Every Friday between 4 and 8pm, the CRATEL lab was open to visitors, volunteers, or anybody who wanted to come by, chat, or build something. There were no rules; the discussions were driven by students who were excited and ready to build.

During Build Day, students were free to explore circuits, software, computers and build projects. Moreover, various students came to the lab during Build Day for help with their own projects, from microphone interfacing to Linux installation.

On Build Day, the students typically built projects directly related to their academic study and interests. For example, WSU music student Brian Mueller interfaced a microcontroller to an LCD and audio amplifier to build his own programmable tuner for his percussion practice.

Perhaps CRATEL’s most recognized Build Day project involved several percussion students who interfaced sensors to replicas of rare instruments originally made by Harry Partch. The students interfaced the sensors to microcontrollers which then sent MIDI signals to computers. In this way, they could successfully perform on the replicas, triggering the sounds of the original instruments when they struck the replicas with mallets.

Digital Puppetry

I worked with a team of colleagues, community members, and urban youth. Our intention was to help the youth learn in a playful environment, find personal self-expression, and have their voices heard by communities in Boston. To do this, we adapted commercially available technology to provide a unique medium: digital puppetry.

Sharing Music Sharing Culture

Through four grants, I headed Sharing Music Sharing Culture (SMSC), a Wichita State University (WSU) initiative exploring how global learning can integrate with the current WSU music curriculum to transform both what and how we learn about music and culture.

BETA Competition

WSU Students from complimentary disciplines submit ideas which integrate the arts with technology and have commercial viability. Up to $7,000 in prizes.

SoundBlocks

SoundBlocks is a tangible environment where youth connect blocks to describe network dataflow. The environment explores digital sound manipulation as a personal, meaningful and fun artistic endeavor, rather than as a venture into mathematical, electronic or networking relationships.

String Improvation

In 2001 I founded Wichita State University’s String Improvisation Department and established WSU’s yearly String Improvisation Day each year, an introduction to string improvisation for string players who had little or no experience with improvisation. I then expanded our String Improvisation program with a new grant-funded initiative: Sharing Music Sharing Culture (SMSC) which connected The Irish World Music Center students and faculty with WSU.

Introduction to Audio and Video Synthesis

I taught a course called Introduction to Audio and Video Synthesis which introduced a variety of classic synthesis techniques, digital signal processing, and audio production. Additionally, students were exposed to important class and contemporary electronic works.

Build Day

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