October 31, 1975, first public performance in new theatre and premiere
Weekly performances Fri. & Sat. @ 8:00 and 10:00
Second AUDIUM Theatre
136 Speakers
A Theatre of Sound-Sculptured Space
Program Note Excerpts:
AUDIUM is a musical medium conceived to realize the spatial and sculptural dimensions of sound. It is based on a new understanding of space as an inherent component of music composition and performance.
The composer writes specifically for this medium, with a fundamental interest in all parameters of the environment. Completed taped compositions are played through a custom-designed console by the tape performer, allowing for exact control of sound location, movement, speed and intensity. He shapes and sculpts the sound images by channeling them through 136 independently controlled speakers: above, below, front, rear, sides and on multidimensional planes. The audience is immersed in this sound-space continuum.
Throughout AUDIUM’s 15 year span of performances, there has been a continual interaction between evolving compositional needs and technical capabilities. Thus, as compositions have become more complex, original equipment systems have paralleled their growth. The present theatre offered an opportunity to design and construct a total sound environment. It is a building within a building, an effort of several years’ planning and execution. The result is an environment created for a specific art form…