Virgil Moorefield is a composer, intermedia artist, author, and drummer. CDs of his composer-led ensembles include "Things You Must Do to Get to Heaven" (Innova, 2007), "The Temperature in Hell is Over 3,000 Degrees" (Tzadik, 1997), and "Distractions On the Way To the King's Party" (Cuneiform, 1994). The Virgil Moorefield Ensemble has performed in Europe and the U.S., including the Inventing America Festival at London's Barbican Hall, and the Bang on a Can Marathon at Lincoln Center. Moorefield's intermedia work, "Five Ideas About the Relation of Sight and Sound" (2008), was recently premiered in Ann Arbor and at the Aimaako Festival in Santiago, Chile. A collaborative intermedia work, "Chicago Union Station," was presented at the International Computer Music Conference in Miami. His work has received support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. Moorefield has been commissioned by the Bang On A Can All-Stars, and his orchestral work "Blanqui" was performed by the Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble in Brooklyn.

His book, "The Producer As Composer" (2005), is published by MIT Press. As a drummer, Moorefield has worked with numerous rock and avantgarde artists, including Glenn Branca, Swans, Bill Laswell, Elliott Sharp, and Damage.

Moorefield received an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in composition from Princeton University. He also holds an M.A. and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Columbia University, and studied at the Juilliard School. He is currently an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Arrival (audio)

Chicago Union Station (video)

No Warning (audio)

Possession (audio)

Six Corners (video)

Sixteen Sesterces (audio)

Slot Machine (audio)

The Temperature (audio)

Helicopter String Quartet (2008)

  • Faced with the daunting task of mounting a performance of even one scene of this huge work, the Digital Music Ensemble decided to stage its own interpretation of the piece. Thus we are using model helicopters instead of full-scale ones, a quartet of electric guitarists in place of a string quartet, and we're adding a live video processing dimension. Sonically, we have taken considerable liberties at variance with the printed score, as did Stockhausen himself on his recording with the Arditti Quartet (1995). We believe we have been true to the spirit of the piece.

 

"Five Ideas About the Relation of Sight and Sound"

  • Robert Alexander, Devin Kerr, techno-artistic contributors (2008)
  • The piece is made for live performance and consists of five tableaux, each exploring a particular facet of the interplay between image and sound.
  • The piece calls for a 7.1 surround sound system, nine projectors, and high-end computers to process live performances featuring prepared grand piano, a percussion piece, and electric guitars.
  • River of Color
  • Reverb Interlude
  • Trio
  • Feedback Interlude
  • Grainy Film