“It is fitting that the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra will open its new season on Nov. 4 at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum,” writes Bruce Deachman in Wednesday’s (6/13) Ottawa Citizen (Canada). “A new work written by Montreal/New York composer Harry Stafylakis … will end the concert, which will feature eight stringed instruments created through 3D-printing. The show will also feature a short performance written for the winner of the orchestra’s National 3D Printed Musical Instrument Challenge, which encourages participants to improve or design ergonomically-optimized instruments.” Designs by the finalists in the 3D challenge include a clarinet and arm brace that “that redistributes the instrument’s weight to larger muscle groups [than] the performer’s thumb” and an electric violin design that “includes a chin-and-shoulder-rest system that bends and adapts to the shape, posture and playing style of the performer…. ‘At the symphony … have a special mission, but I want to extend that mission to also think outside of the box, to projects that we could do that bring us to other places in town,’ says OSO’s musical director and conductor, Alain Trudel…. The eight instruments being printed for November’s concert include four violins, two violas and two that resemble a viola da spalla—a small cello played like a violin.”
Posted June 15, 2018
