Collegiate Times

“What’s nice about using Pure Data is that it’s all open-source,” he said, “and that means that we can give back and other people can enjoy it as well and add onto it.”

This drive to remain cost-efficient led to innovations that Wirdzek said have come to define the ensemble’s visual identity. To control the Pure Data programs, known as “patches,” an input controller is needed. Rather than spend upwards of $70 for each orchestra member, Bukvic found a visually appealing, cheaper alternative: the Wii remote.

“The patches Ico wrote are the score and instruments, while the ‘Wiimote’ is how you control,” Querry said.

To ensure even distribution of the orchestra’s different sounds, Bukvic insisted on using hemispheric speakers. Over the summer the L2Ork team purchased several IKEA salad bowls and spent weeks transforming them into omnidirectional sound projectors at a fraction of the cost of a retail version.

According to Bukvic, the speakers simulate the natural acoustics of an instrumental orchestra, allowing audiences to hear each member’s part of the composition.

With the infrastructure in place, L2Ork began operation at the beginning of the fall semester with eight members. Participants vary in majors. Some are in the music technology program while others, such as Wirdzek, were recruited by Bukvic after expressing interest in the curriculum. The ensemble members all take a one-credit laptop orchestra course that doubles as practice. Progress, as Bukvic expected, was slow as students wrapped their heads around the Pure Data system.

“This semester — half of it, maybe more — was spent figuring out the software we have and turning it into music,” Wirdzek said.

Bukvic, the chief composer for the ensemble, said that the weeks leading up to the event were some of the most stressful of his college career. Members said they were still perfecting the compositions a week in advance of the show. Media coverage added to the pressure felt by Bukvic and the students to live up to expectations.

“He really was working his butt off to make sure these pieces were good because we were getting a lot of hype toward the end,” Wirdzek said. “I think it was well-deserved because we pulled it off pretty well because of him.”

The early December show, the culmination of the semester’s work, was considered a major success by all involved. The orchestra played to a standing room-only audience in Squires Studio Theatre that Crane described as “enthusiastic.” Perhaps the ensemble’s greatest validation came after the show when many students in attendance came onto the stage to ask questions and watch demonstrations of the equipment.

Bukvic smiles broadly as he talks about the positive reaction.

“It was really exciting because it says there’s genuine interest,” he said. “I think (the show) went amazingly well.”

With that first crucial success under their belt, the orchestra members now look forward to expanding the program. This semester, L2Ork is scheduled to play its first travel show at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Developing the infrastructure to enable touring performances is one of Bukvic’s major goals for the laptop orchestra community. The ensemble is also expecting to compete in an international music competition that could provide an opportunity to perform in the Netherlands.

The group is optimistic that bigger things await the orchestra in 2010.

“I see it expanding,” said Crane. “With all the publicity its getting now and so many people enthusiastic about it, I feel like more people will get interested and more funding will hopefully come to the L2Ork project as well as the music department.”

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