Music — There’s a Science to That

March 24, 2015

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Ballroom
112 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA

Program Series:
Science and Society

When you imagine someone working in the music field, what do you see? A composer? A musician? A conductor? Would you ever picture a scientist or an engineer? The areas of science and music appear to some to be diametrically opposed to one another, but nothing could be farther from the truth in today’s music industry.

Making music is about being an artist. And yet it is so much more. Designing rooms for optimized acoustics requires physics. Creating electrical components for amplifiers and crafting instruments requires a keen understanding of engineering concepts. Entrepreneurs use technology to dream up the musical devices and instruments of the future. In this field, creativity is not just about putting notes together.

The music field is full of people across many disciplines who apply a wide range of education and skills to their love of music. Come join us as we explore the intersection between music, science, engineering, and technology.

Event Details

Tuesday, March 24th
Doors open at 5:00pm
Program runs 6:00pm-7:30pm
Come early–Hopkins will be demonstrating the gTar prior to the program, starting at 5:15!

This program is FREE to attend, but registration is strongly encouraged.

Can’t join us live? Then join us via live stream, or watch the program at your leisure at a later date on our YouTube channel, C2ST TV. Streaming will begin on March 24 at 6 p.m. CDT. https://www.youtube.com/user/C2STvideos/videos

We regret to announce that Matt Hennessy from VSOP Studios will no longer be able to participate as part of the program.

Featured Guests

Nicolas Collins

Nicolas Collins was born and raised in New York, and has been a composer and performer of electronic and instrumental music for over 40 years. He has presented over 1000 concerts and installations worldwide. He spent the 1980s performing, recording and touring the U.S., Europe and Japan as a solo artist, as well as in collaboration with groups. He spent most of the 1990s in Europe, where he was Visiting Artistic Director of Stichting STEIM (Amsterdam), and a DAAD composer-in-residence in Berlin. An early adopter of microcomputers for live performance, Collins also makes use of homemade electronic circuitry and conventional acoustic instruments. He returned to the U.S. in 1999 to join the Department of Sound at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Collins is editor-in-chief of the Leonardo Music Journal. His book, Handmade Electronic Music – The Art of Hardware Hacking (Routledge), has influenced emerging electronic music worldwide. Collins’ indecisive career trajectory is reflected in his having played at both CBGB and the Concertgebouw.

Doug McBride

Doug McBride is a music producer, mixer, mastering engineer, multi-instrumentalist and owner of Gravity Studios in Chicago. His began his career as an artist who garnered interest from Atlantic Records, then cut his teeth in production work at the Chicago Recording Company in the early 1990s. At CRC, McBride worked on many projects, including Cheap Trick’s “Budokan II,” Izzy Stradlin’s first solo record and Dog’s Eye View. He then founded Gravity Studios, and the first band he worked with was Veruca Salt, producing their hit “Seether.” He’s continued to work with numerous other local bands. The Smashing Pumpkins spent two weeks with Doug on their album “Pisces Iscariot.” Doug and Gravity continue to work with national and international artists on major labels, such as Ben Kweller, Johnny Rzenik, Badly Drawn Boy, Racheal Yamagata, Fall Out Boy, Jack’s Mannequin, Buddy Guy, and American Idol winning client Lee DeWyze. He serves as the Chairman of the Grammy’s Chicago Chapter Producer’s Craft Committee, speaks at conferences and colleges around the country, and teaches recording classes at Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy.

Torin Hopkins

Torin Hopkins is a recent graduate cum laude of Physiology, Chemistry and Music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Hopkins is now working as an adjunct fMRI data analyst and research assistant, primarily studying how memories are consolidated bilaterally in the human cortex. He is also working on the development of applications for the “gTar” and related “smart instruments.” These instruments are the first of their kind and incorporate smartphones in order to advance many aspects of the modern musician. Hopkins designs, builds, codes and analyzes these types of new technologies in order to enhance the accessibility of music playing, theory and education.

Moderator: Aaron Freeman

Aaron Freeman is C2ST’s Artist in Residence. Freeman is a writer/producer, science commentator and funnyman. Former host of both NPR’s weekly talk show Metropolis and WTTTW’s Chicago Tomorrow, a weekly science-and-health half-hour magazine.