Frederick Bianchi is an American-born composer and music technologist (born 1954). Central to his work is the integration of acoustic instruments with electronic/computer-generated sound. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, honors, and citations including the
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
Young Composers Award, the Russolo-Pratella International Electronic Music Competition in Italy, the Bourges International Computer Music competition in France, the Kennedy Center's Friedheim Award competition in orchestral composition, the National Orchestral Association's Orchestral Fellow Award in New York City, and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology 'Award for Innovation'.
In 1988, Bianchi began developing interactive computer music systems and
Virtual Orchestra technology with research partner David B. Smith. They were the first to introduce the term ''Virtual Orchestra'' into the musical lexicon in the early 1990s. The
Kentucky Opera
The Kentucky Opera is an American opera company based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is resident at the Brown Theatre, as part of Kentucky Performing Arts. The Louisville Orchestra is the accompanying orchestra for the company.
Moritz von ...
’s use of the Virtual Orchestra in the 1995 production of ''
Hansel and Gretel'' marks the first use of virtual orchestra technology by a major performing arts organization. Controversy has surrounded Bianchi’s work and research which has prompted international debate regarding the future of music performance and technology. The Broadway musicians strike of 2003 resulted in the attempted banning of the technology and the blacklisting of the Bianchi & Smith partnership by th
New York Musician’s Union In 2004, the British Musician’s Union threatened to strike over the use of Virtual Orchestra technology in the remount of ''
Les Misérables'' at the Queen’s Theater in London’s West End. The walkout was eventually thwarted when the Musician’s Union conceded that it could not prevent producer
Sir Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...
from using the technology.
In 1998, Bianchi co-founde
RealTime Music Solutionsin New York City. Bianchi’s Virtual Orchestra work includes over 400,000 performances worldwide and collaborations with
Lucent Technologies and
Cirque du Soleil. He has been on the music composition faculty of the College-Conservatory of Music at the
University of Cincinnati, is currently Professor of Music at the
Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, Director of th
Bar Harbor Project Centerin Maine, Director of th
Glacier National Park Project Centerin Montana, and a former member of the faculty at Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging Arts.
References
*
Norman Crowe
Edgar Norman Crowe OBE (known as Norman) (1905 – 1992) was Chairman of the Executive Council from 1967 until 1971. He was also previously Chairman of the Finance Board.
ReferencesThe Isle of Man at rulers.org
1905 births
1992 deaths
...
and
Paul Laseau: "Visual Notes for Architects and Designers", ''
Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc.'' 1984.
* Parsons, Charles H. (1996), "The Money Pit", Opera News Vol.60, NO. 12: 20-22.
* Smith, Patrick J. (1996), "The Bottom Line", Opera News Vol.60, NO. 12: 21.
External links
RealTime Music SolutionsFrederick BianchiMedia Arts Group Innovation CenterWorcester Polytechnic Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bianchi, Frederick
American male composers
21st-century American composers
Living people
Worcester Polytechnic Institute faculty
1954 births
21st-century American male musicians