Morrisville State College symposium celebrates influence of music in society and how science and technology have been altered by music

The relationships between society, technology and music will be the focus of Morrisville State College's fifth annual Science Technology and Society Symposium, “Technomusia: Science, Technology and Music,” taking place all day Thursday, April 21 in the John W. Stewart Center for Student Activities (STUAC). It is free and open to the public.



The symposium, which begins at noon, will focus on the intersections between high technology and cultural expressions through music.



“Music no doubt influences all of our lives in multiple ways, from listening to playing, watching to feeling,” Kurt Reymers, associate professor in the Department of Social Science at Morrisville State College, said. “Our modern technologies are influencing the ways in which we consume and produce music to growing degrees in the 21st century.”



During the event, musicians and scholars will demonstrate their knowledge and expertise in specific areas of science, technology and music.



Among those participating in the event are: inventor, musician and composer, Roy “Futureman” Wooten, percussionist with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, a jazz-bluegrass-fusion quartet; and musician and author Trevor Pinch, of The Electric Golem, who is also known for experimental synthesizer music.



Wooten, best known by his stage name, Futureman, is an inventor, musician, and composer. A five-time Grammy award-winning performer with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, he plays the Drumitar, a novel electronic instrument of his own invention, and is the only vocalist for the group, occasionally performing wordless vocals on songs.



Wooten also developed a new electronic instrument called the RoyEl, which resembles a piano but plays notes not found in the traditional western music scales.



Pinch is an experimental synthesizer musician and co-author of “Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer,” a book that explores the invention of the synthesizer and its impact on popular culture. A sociologist and professor of science and technology studies and sociology at Cornell University, he started the movement known as the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) within the sociology of science, and is a significant contributor to the study of sound culture.



The public is also invited to attend a master class session from noon to 3 p.m. where musical guests will explain their instruments and give brief performances to demonstrate how electronic technologies have allowed them to compose and perform in new and unique ways.



The master class session will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session from 3 to 5 p.m. There will also be musical performances from 7 to 9 p.m. featuring Trevor Pinch and The Electric Golem with special guest Roy “Futureman” Wooten.



Additionally, activities and booths in the STUAC lobby will feature music businesses demonstrating the latest electronic musical gear, student posters and compositions highlighting the theme of science, technology and music, and the Morrisville Gaming Guild will host a guitar hero contest in the lobby.



The symposium, hosted by Morrisville State College's science, technology and society B.S. degree program, is generously funded by the Sheila Johnson Institute.



For more information visit www.morrisville.edu/sts and click on the “Technomusia” link .



Morrisville State College's science, technology and society (STS) bachelor degree program offers a science degree that reflects not only the importance of substantive technical and scientific knowledge, but also seeks to understand it in the larger perspective of society.



Two concentrations are offered: environmental conservation and information technology. Each track provides students with a base of technical knowledge within their concentration and connects it to historical, sociological, and philosophical perspectives on science and technology.



Symposium Schedule (Events in the STUAC theatre)

12–3 p.m. - “Master Class” Sessions - Musical guests will individually explain their instruments, discuss how they came to engage in electronic music, and give brief performances to demonstrate how electronic technologies have allowed them to compose and perform in new and unique ways.

3–5 p.m. - Panel Discussion - Broader questions will be addressed about how science and technology have influenced the cultural production, distribution and consumption of music in modern times. Topics will include: the invention of the Moog synthesizer, the ethics of sampling and file sharing, and the relationship of music to nature and mathematics, for example, to Phi (or the Golden ratio).

7–9 p.m. - Performance - by The Electric Golem with special guest Roy “Futureman” Wooten.