The third of six events in UMBC's Livewire 14: Resounding new music festival features Sofia Kamayianni and Tim Ward, who will present their jointly developed Piano+ system.

The Piano+ system seeks to extend the sound world of the piano using technology while at the same time closely integrating into conventional piano performance techniques the control and shaping of the new timbres made possible. In this way the extension of the piano offers radical new possibilities to a performer while not dramatically changing their physical practice on the instrument.

Within the Piano+ system microphones capture the sound of the instrument itself, before passing this sound for manipulation by a computer and playback via loudspeakers. The control mechanism of the system is placed on the instrument in an accessible and almost invisible way, giving the performer precise and direct control of all manipulations that integrates closely to the existing piano keyboard and their performance practice. The manipulation of sounds undertaken by the system are under the complete control of the pianist in real-time, at the moment of performance. Out of this close integration of conventional and extended performance practice, an extraordinary range of supple and powerful extended piano possibilities emerge, building on the ingenuity and timing of the pianist themselves at the keyboard. This transparent technology is a central goal of the system — the technology integrates closely to the instrument and not the other way around, allowing the pianist and their musicality to be totally unimpeded, just with a few extra but very powerful ‘tools’ under their fingers to integrate into their musical technique.

The technology behind the Piano+ system was developed by Tim Ward. The impetus behind the system was to work closely with a pianist, developing the system in collaboration with them, drawing on their feedback and musical discussions emerging from hours of practice on the system. This role was played by Sofia Kamayianni, who has had an invaluable role in bringing the system to its current state and finding a wealth of musical possibilities within it.

Sofia Kamayianni is a composer, musician and educator. She studied piano, classical percussion, contemporary and theatre/film composition and mathematics (MA, University of London and Med, University of Leeds). She has worked extensively as a composer, writing concert and music theatre works, songs, incidental music for theatre/film/dance and video art and installation pieces, working with numerous ensembles (Kreutzer Quartet, Athens Camerata/Armonia Atenea, Athens Municipality Symphony Orchestra, UMBC Symphony Orchestra, Rosarte Childrens Chorus, Greek National Radio Symphony Orchestra, L’Αnima, Kroussis ensemble etc.). She has also performed widely in concerts and festivals, both indivudally and as an esemble member.

Her special interest in music theatre can be seen in her her first opera The Cloud In Love, based on the works of the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet, with its innovative use of a children’s choir in a central role, which completed a sold-out run at the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera (2023). A similar highlight is her work I Went Through…, based on the work of the renowned Greek poet Kiki Dimoula, with whom she collaborated in making recordings of the poet which feature centrally in the work. This use of recorded sound in combination with acoustic instruments has become a notable feature of her work

Tim Ward is a musician and sound artist with a background in acousmatic and live electronic music. He studied music in the UK (BA, MA, PhD, University of York), and taught at a number of UK universities before moving to Athens, Greece, where he currently teaches at The American College of Greece. He specializes in the use of technology within music, with a particular focus on the use of innovative approaches to the use of custom-created software in free improvisation as well as the use of field recordings in live performance. He has worked with a number of ensembles dedicated to new and experimental music, with his most recent work being with the collective MedeaElectronique, where he collaborated on a series of commissioned urban installations placing sound art within urban Athens using locative technology (the SoundscapesLandscapes project). He has also worked within sound design for the moving image, collaborating with a number of visual artists on the recording and creation of experimental sound designs for their film projects. He began the Piano+ project in 2023, developing the hardware and software to exend the conventional piano, before expanding it into a wider project in collaboration with the composer and musician Sofia Kamayianni.

Admission is free, and tickets are not required.

To view the other events in the Livewire 14: Resounding festival, please visit here.

The Music Box is easy to visit, with plenty of free parking. Please visit here for directions and parking information.

Livewire is sponsored in part by the Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts (CIRCA).