Stillness | Perfection - Grainger | Amplified

This Science Gallery Perfection exhibition satellite event presents three new compositions created by student composers at the University of Melbourne, played through a sound system in the Grainger Museum courtyard. Visitors are invited to contribute their responses to the sonic environment via a web platform (in the form of iPads installed within the space or on their personal devices).

^{Zinia Chan, ‘In Transition’}

Grainger | Amplified is a project exploring the acoustic capacity and future architectural enrichment of the Grainger Museum Courtyard.  We are testing ideas leading to the design of a new state-of-the-art sound performance space, which retains the ‘feel’ of the indoor/outdoor space via a transparent or retractable roof.

^{Chris Pickering, ‘Ceiling of Clouds’}

Music and space

As part of testing the acoustics and ‘feel’ of the existing space, the student composers were commissioned to create a new piece of music for the courtyard. The composers were asked to consider their ideas of acoustic perfection in the courtyard, including calm, respite, stillness, and even silence. These compositions were recorded live in the courtyard, to test the current acoustic qualities.

^{Wayne Kington, ‘Moments of Congruence’}

Acoustic science

“The Grainger Museum courtyard is a unique acoustic space.  As a way to celebrate and document the existing space, we are recording live performances and measuring the acoustic parameters that define how the space sounds.

By recording the live performances with a 3D soundfield microphone, the audience atmosphere and particularly the space can be given as much attention as the creative content.  The acoustic parameters that define how the space sounds will be recorded by capturing the 3D room impulse response.  By convoluting this captured impulse response with any piece of anechoic audio, the temporal and spatial characteristics of the Grainger Museum courtyard sound field can be recreated.” - Will Gouthro, Melbourne Acoustics Team Leader, ARUP.

We invite visitors to the Grainger Museum to experience this project first hand, and to submit their responses of this sonic environment.

Grainger | Amplified is a collaborative project between the Grainger Museum, Melbourne School of Design, Faculty of Fine Art and Music, and industry partner ARUP.

^{Composers: Chris Pickering (‘Ceiling of Clouds’), Zinia Chan (‘In Transition’) and Wayne Kington (‘Moments of Congruence’), postgraduate students, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.}

Interactive web platform designed and built by Jiaming Wu, postgraduate student, Melbourne School of Computing and Information Systems.