![]() |
Sweep Sweep (2008) is a concerto for solo violin with
percussionist and Wiimote orchestra composed by Douglas Geers. Sweep was commissioned by the
Princeton University Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk) for
performances by Maja Cerar and PLOrk. Sweep was premiered
in April, 2008 at the Sonic Divergence Festival in Chicago, Illinois.
Subsequent performances happened 2008-2009 in New York City,
Princeton, and Minneapolis.The goal of Sweep is to engender a sense of communal awareness of physicality among the players. All members of the orchestra perform by waving remote controllers from the Nintendo Wii video game system, informally known as wiimotes. Wiimotes contain sensors to track acceleration and directional orientation, and Sweep takes advantage of this, exploring the physical gestures of music performance.
In Sweep
the motions made to play traditional instruments, the violin and
percussion, combine with other motions, both choreographic and from
daily life; and these motions are applied both to the acoustic
instruments and the wiimotes. Through much of the piece the
laptop players must watch the conductor and improvise variations of his
movements, as well react musically to the performances of the
violinist, percussionist, and the other laptop players.
Video |