Sageev Oore
Sunday May 20, 1pm ­ 2 pm
University of Toronto, Canada
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~oore

The Space Between Music and Science

The theme of this conference—blurring the boundaries between art and science—is both inspiring and challenging for me. I find it inspiring because I love both art and science independently (albeit not indiscriminately), and I am furthermore fascinated by the idea of their juxtaposition. I also find the theme challenging because, in my experience, I have not yet felt a blurred boundary between art and science. I have not even seen a boundary at all: in order to share a "boundary" two elements must be sufficiently close, and what I have often experienced is the space between them, the strange and asymmetrical transition from one to the other.

While studying pure mathematics and classical music, I was often asked about the ubiquitous "math and music" connection. For the most part, I did not really perceive any special connection between the two. As a mathematician, it was clear that music—from the characteristics of sound waves, to the remarkable structure of a fugue or symphony—provides a fertile territory for a lot of fun and interesting analysis, full of satisfying logical relationships. As a performer, however, approaching music in these terms was only one element—sometimes a very small one, at that—of a larger picture, a picture that also involved not-thinking, not-analyzing, and just feeling or experiencing or imagining. So where is the connection?

Reexamining such concepts, I realize that I have little or no idea about the more abstract or philosophical relationships, but maybe the connection is simpler: math and music are connected for me because they are both in my life. That's all. The relationship becomes visible by looking internally rather than externally. It does not lie inherently in the fields themselves, but in the experience of a journey combining both.

In this light the boundary between art and science has felt rather more like a "transitional space" between two worlds that seem too far apart (in my own experience) to share a true boundary. In fact, there is even something about the very mind frames, corresponding to each of these activities, that makes them exclusive of one another in some ways, as though they occupy two emotional spaces that cannot both be active simultaneously.

Searching for the space between science and art, as it exists within myself, is a process I have just begun; and more importantly than bringing answers, it is revealing a new source of questions. In this presentation I would ideally like to explore this space in between. I will include both a discussion of scientific topics and music performance. This is in essence an experiment, to see whether, somewhere in between these directions, by traversing such an ensemble of experiences, another perspective might emerge.

On the scientific side, for example, I would like to discuss some very simple or fundamental mathematical concepts which I have found to be beautiful or exciting. Furthermore, I would like to describe current research in developing a tool for allowing a person to perform computer animation of a character in real-time. Also known as computer puppetry, this represents another sort of convergence, wherein science and technology are being used to create a tool, or interface, for eventual performance.

Musically, I would like to keep things open.

Biography

Sageev Oore has a classical music and science background that includes an undergraduate degree in Math (Dalhousie U.), and performing piano concerti (Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninoff) with orchestras including Symphony Nova Scotia (under the baton of the late Georg Tintner. His performances of classical to early twentieth century piano music were featured in a one hour special on CBC radio.

Sageev completed an MSc in Neural Networks (under the supervision of Geoffrey Hinton), after which he spent time exploring a wide range of interdisciplinary performing. He studied clown seriously. In recent years, he has focused energy on improvised music. He works with singer Fides Krucker un/covering pop songs, and together they have performed at the Royal Ontario Museum (in collaboration with painter Vivien Reiss), CBC Radio, and the Music Gallery.

He performs frequently with free improvising ensemble The Woodchoppers Association, led by Dave Clark, appearing at venues such as Hillside Music Festival, Guelph Jazz Festival, DoWhat? Festival (with Gord Downie), Varsity Arena, as well as giving an educational tour through highschools. Sageev plays with his brother Dani Oore (sax, vocals), and has had the wonderful experience of playing with Dani at the 2000 Atlantic Jazz Festival, a concert which was recorded and later broadcast by CBC radio.

Sageev is presently a PhD student at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Geoffrey Hinton and http://www.mrl.nyu.edu/~dt/ Demetri Terzopoulos, designing an interface for computer puppetry to create animation in real-time.