"Amplifying Agency”  - Research Presentation, midterm evaluation of PhD Artistic Research - open to the public, and including a public discussion

Working with trained singers unfamiliar with audio technology and improvisation, Kristin explored how an interactive audio processing system that creates pseudo-random permutations of the singer's voice can function as a digital improvisation partner. The research included 1.a comparison of different sound designs & speakers 2.an observation of the singers' physical and musical responses to the different systems 3.the development of environments for real-time audio processing that accommodate the operatic voice on her own terms.

Kristin was interested in exploring the balance needed between chaos and control, predictability versus surprise. Kristin's ultimate goals was twofold: 1. to design an audio processing system that allows for mobility and enables performers to manipulate their own voices in real-time, independent of a visual interface, and 2. to identify a sound design that allows for an ideal acoustic balance between an unamplified, embodied operatic voice and the sampled, edited and detuned voice(s).

PhD artistic researcher Kristin Norderval (Norway), Spanish soprano Mar Ameba (ES), Norwegian countertenor Sean Bell (NO), software designer Max Frimout (NL), Gerriet Sharma (Germany) designer IKO 3D speaker.

The lecture is the final presentation of Kristin’s research, a day after the performance “Place, Manner, Time….“, which is a culmination of the research.