Mark Trayle
Encyclopedia
Mark Trayle is a California based musician and sound artist working in a variety of media including live electronic music, improvisation
, installations, and compositions for chamber ensembles. His work has been noted for its use of re-engineered consumer products and cultural artifacts as interfaces for electronic music performances and networked media installations.
, he studied composition at the University of Oregon
with Homer Keller
, and at Mills College
with Robert Ashley
, David Behrman
, and David Rosenboom
. Under Berhman’s tutelage he began building hybrid digital-analog electronics and used those (often with electric guitar and homemade performance interfaces) throughout the 1980s.
From the late 1980s through the mid 1990s his work focused on the use of alternative performance interfaces to guide algorithmic compositions, as well as composing for and performing with The Hub
. He also made his first sound/media installations during this period. In 1996 he moved from the San Francisco area to Southern California to teach at CalArts. Soon after, he composed a number of pieces for acoustic instruments with electronics. True North, Periodic Transmissions at Regular Intervals (are not allowed), and Propagation, Reflection, and Absorption are entirely acoustic in nature but use electronics and sensors to create real-time scores for the performers. More recent works such as bitpool, sierranevada, and Bender use electronics that allow the players to trigger electroacoustic
sounds.
Trayle's music has been the subject of articles in Strumenti Musicali and Virtual (Italy), Keyboard, and "Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century" (Grove/Atlantic), and he has written articles for Leonardo Music Journal (US/UK) and MusikTexte (Germany). He has recorded for the Artifact
, Atavistic Records
, CRI
, Creative Sources, Inial, Los Angeles River, Elektra/Nonesuch
, and Tzadik
labels. He has taught in the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts since 1996
, and Europe
. He has received grants from Arts International, American Composers Forum
, The Japan Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts
. Commissions have come from Radio Bremen
, Champs D’Action, Ensemble Zwischentoene, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin
, and Ensemble Mosaik. He has been an artist-in-residence at Mills College
, STEIM
, and The Lab
.
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
, installations, and compositions for chamber ensembles. His work has been noted for its use of re-engineered consumer products and cultural artifacts as interfaces for electronic music performances and networked media installations.
Biography
Born Mark Garrabrant (1955, San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, he studied composition at the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
with Homer Keller
Homer Keller
Homer T. Keller was an American composer of contemporary classical music.He graduated from Oxnard Union High School in Oxnard, California in 1933, after which he attended the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Howard Hanson, obtaining B.M. and M.M. degrees...
, and at Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
with Robert Ashley
Robert Ashley
Robert Ashley , is a contemporary American composer, best known for his operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. Along with Gordon Mumma, Ashley was also a major pioneer of audio synthesis.Ashley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
, David Behrman
David Behrman
David Behrman is a US composer and the producer of Columbia Records' Music of Our Time series. He was also a founding member of the Sonic Arts Union. He toured with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and has worked with Ben Neill. He was a part of Robert Ashley's Music with Roots in the Aether...
, and David Rosenboom
David Rosenboom
David Rosenboom is an American composer and a pioneer in the use of neurofeedback, cross-cultural collaborations and compositional algorithms...
. Under Berhman’s tutelage he began building hybrid digital-analog electronics and used those (often with electric guitar and homemade performance interfaces) throughout the 1980s.
From the late 1980s through the mid 1990s his work focused on the use of alternative performance interfaces to guide algorithmic compositions, as well as composing for and performing with The Hub
The Hub (band)
The Hub is an American "computer network music" ensemble consisting of John Bischoff, Tim Perkis, Chris Brown, Scot Gresham-Lancaster, Mark Trayle and Phil Stone....
. He also made his first sound/media installations during this period. In 1996 he moved from the San Francisco area to Southern California to teach at CalArts. Soon after, he composed a number of pieces for acoustic instruments with electronics. True North, Periodic Transmissions at Regular Intervals (are not allowed), and Propagation, Reflection, and Absorption are entirely acoustic in nature but use electronics and sensors to create real-time scores for the performers. More recent works such as bitpool, sierranevada, and Bender use electronics that allow the players to trigger electroacoustic
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
sounds.
Trayle's music has been the subject of articles in Strumenti Musicali and Virtual (Italy), Keyboard, and "Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century" (Grove/Atlantic), and he has written articles for Leonardo Music Journal (US/UK) and MusikTexte (Germany). He has recorded for the Artifact
Artifact
- Objects :*Artifact , an object formed by humans, particularly one of interest to archaeologists*Artifact , one of many kinds of tangible byproducts produced during the development of software...
, Atavistic Records
Atavistic Records
Atavistic Records is an American rock and jazz record label based in Chicago, Illinois, known particularly for its No Wave and free jazz recordings. It has released albums by Glenn Branca, Nels Cline, Lydia Lunch, Peter Brötzmann, various Ken Vandermark projects, Pinetop Seven, Swans, Elliott...
, CRI
CRI
-Business:* Community Rowing, Inc.* Composers Recordings, Inc.* Computer Resources International, a Danish aerospace company* Copyright infringement* Cricklewood railway station, London; National Rail station code CRI...
, Creative Sources, Inial, Los Angeles River, Elektra/Nonesuch
Nonesuch
The word nonesuch means something with nothing like it; an unrivalled thing; a paragon. Nonesuch can also refer to the following:*Nonesuch Press*Nonesuch Records*Nonesuch River*Nonesuch River Golf Course...
, and Tzadik
Tzadik
Tzadik/Zadik/Sadiq is a title given to personalities in Jewish tradition considered righteous, such as Biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ṣadiq, is ṣ-d-q , which means "justice" or "righteousness", also the root of Tzedakah...
labels. He has taught in the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts since 1996
Performance
Trayle has performed and exhibited at experimental music and new media venues and festivals in the U.S., CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He has received grants from Arts International, American Composers Forum
American Composers Forum
The American Composers Forum is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the promotion and assistance of American composers and their music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States...
, The Japan Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
. Commissions have come from Radio Bremen
Radio Bremen
Radio Bremen , Germany's smallest public radio and television broadcaster, is the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state of Bremen...
, Champs D’Action, Ensemble Zwischentoene, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin
Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin
Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, also known as KNM Berlin, is a music ensemble for contemporary music based in Berlin, Germany.The ensemble was founded in 1988 in then East Berlin by students of the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler"...
, and Ensemble Mosaik. He has been an artist-in-residence at Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
, STEIM
STEIM
STEIM is a center for research and development of new musical instruments in the electronic performing arts, located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Electronic music in STEIM's context is always strongly related to the physical and direct actions of a musician...
, and The Lab
The Lab
The Lab may refer to:* The Lab , an Australian band from the 1990s* The Lab , a 2006 novel by Jack Heath* The Lab with Leo Laporte, a TV series formerly known as Call For Help...
.
Discography
- Timelines Los Angeles -Jason Kahn- Creative Sources
- Stationary -(duo project with Toshimaru NakamuraToshimaru NakamuraToshimaru Nakamura is a Japanese musician, active in free improvisation and Japanese onkyo.He began his career playing rock and roll guitar, but gradually explored other types of music, even abandoning guitar and started working on circuit bending...
)- Creative Sources - Goldstripe- Creative Sources
- Boundary Layer (The HubThe Hub (band)The Hub is an American "computer network music" ensemble consisting of John Bischoff, Tim Perkis, Chris Brown, Scot Gresham-Lancaster, Mark Trayle and Phil Stone....
) Tzadik - Die Zeit, Eine Gebrauchsanweisung- (Michael Wertmueller)- GROB
- Luminous Axis (Wadada Leo SmithWadada Leo SmithIshmael Wadada Leo Smith is a trumpeter and composer working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation.-Biography:...
)- Tzadik - RPM::MHZ -Artifact Records
- Music for Woodwinds & Electronics (Vinny GoliaVinny GoliaVinny Golia is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation....
+ Mark Trayle)- Ninewinds - Transmigration Music (compilation)- CDCM/Centaur
- Light Upon Light (Wadada Leo SmithWadada Leo SmithIshmael Wadada Leo Smith is a trumpeter and composer working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation.-Biography:...
)- Tzadik - The Extended Flute (Maggi PayneMaggi PayneMaggi Payne is a composer, flutist, video artist, recording engineer/editor, and historical remastering engineer who creates electroacoustic, instrumental, and vocal works, and works involving visuals ....
)- CRI - State of The Union (compilation)- Atavistic
- Wreckin' Ball (The HubThe Hub (band)The Hub is an American "computer network music" ensemble consisting of John Bischoff, Tim Perkis, Chris Brown, Scot Gresham-Lancaster, Mark Trayle and Phil Stone....
)- Artifact Records - Etudes and Bagatelles- Artifact Records
- Computer Network Music (The HubThe Hub (band)The Hub is an American "computer network music" ensemble consisting of John Bischoff, Tim Perkis, Chris Brown, Scot Gresham-Lancaster, Mark Trayle and Phil Stone....
)- Artifact Records - Imaginary Landscapes (compilation)- Elektra/Nonesuch
External links
- Golden, Barbara. “Conversation with Mark Trayle.” eContact! 12.2 — Interviews (2) (April 2010). Montréal: CECCanadian Electroacoustic CommunityFounded in 1986, La Communauté électroacoustique canadienne / The Canadian Electroacoustic Community is Canada’s national electroacoustic / computer music / sonic arts organization and as such is dedicated to promoting this progressive art form in its broadest definition: from “pure” acousmatic...
.