Chris Rutkowski, Composer/Pianist

John McLaughlin killin it. Katia Lebecque jammin on a vintage Synclavier.

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Here’s an example of what you can do with a good relatively inexpensive video program (e. g., Final Cut Express, c. $150 academic) and a Digital Audio Workstation that will do video (Logic, $500).

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Here are all three movements of the Sax Concerto gathered together in one place.
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble
The Indiana University Wind Ensemble, Stephen Pratt, conductor
Thomas Walsh, alto saxophone
1. Rage
2. La Luna d’Oro
3. NOLA

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Step 4: To add virtual instrument tracks to the pure audio in movements 2 and 3.
The Challenges:
Importing another Standard MIDI File from the score in Finale brings along with it the midi tempo commands from the Finale playback, thus nullifying all the hard work done [...]

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Step 3: To add a virtual (synthesized) trombone part to the pure audio file.
So far, I’ve striped the audio file with a bar and beat timeline, that was not present in the original recording. As there is rubato and natural fluctuation of the beat [...]

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Step 2: Create a bar and beat timeline for the audio of each movement of the Concerto.
The Problem: Audio files in a DAW are displayed as waveforms in a timeline, which shows where audio events happen in time. If the audio is recorded [...]

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Step 1: Assembling the best takes of the Concerto recording into the best compilation possible. Basically, this involves cutting the takes up into the best performances of any given passage, then gluing them together into a seamless whole. The length of the segments varies greatly, [...]

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I’ve been involved in what I’ve called “Artist-Driven Technology” for several years. (Here’s a link to the earliest post, and here’s one to the whole category.) I’ve begun a project that is a perfect example of the technological process merging seamlessly with the artistic one, so I thought I’d document some [...]

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I’m reposting (for the third or fourth time….) this link to a profile of the Japanese multi-media artist, Takagi Masakatsu. His work is very beautiful, and as a video artist, composer, performer of the sound track, and the technologist behind every element; he is the perfect model for the creative individual who wants to take [...]

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From the NY Times, this video profile of the new musician. No Boundaries. For that matter, an object lesson for those studying at a high-performing liberal arts school like the College of Wooster.

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