It's a concert where smartphones and tablets aren't frowned upon--they're actually a part of the show!
This week's University Beat has a preview of Louder Than Ever Before, a multimedia, interactive concert performed by the band "Touch," which plays all of its music on iPads.
The concert is Friday, February 1st at 7:30 p.m. in USF's School of Music Concert Hall.
USF School of Music Associate Professor David Williams says that as music and technology both continue to change, using tools like the iPad and the hundreds of musical apps available on it only becomes more natural.
“The iPad, at least in my mind, is no different than any other musical instrument," he says. "They both take some level of skill, practice, and technique that you have to develop on them.”
In addition to Williams, "Touch" includes USF School of Music faculty member Clint Randles, and a trio of graduate students: Victor Ezquerra, Chris Morris, and Nick Stefanic.
http://youtu.be/Mf87gB7fieI
The concert will include music from a wide variety of artists, including Pachelbel, Norah Jones, Coldplay and Blake Shelton.
"Touch" will be joined by a cast of collaborators, including a trio of singers who are all music teachers: USF alumnus Nate Strawbridge, who teaches in Hillsborough County, Rosemary Collins from Safety Harbor Middle School and Justin Havard from Palm Harbor University High School.
In addition, students and faculty from the USF Schools of Music, Theatre and Dance, and Art will also interact with the musicians. A painter will "dictate" one section of the performance with what she paints, including the colors she uses. There's also a segment in which poetry and music will collide.
Finally, members of the audience will serve as the storytellers as their tweets direct the band and a group of actors in their version of "The Wizard of Oz."
"We want that interaction as we perform, I think that helps us as performers," Williams says, "but it certainly helps the audience enjoy the program more when they get to be a part of it."
Tickets for "Louder Than Ever Before" are $8 for students & seniors, $12 for the general public, $10 and $15 the day of the show. You can follow the action on Twitter through #TouchUSF and #ImprovOz. Concert attendees are also encouraged to bring their own iPad or mobile device with any drum app installed.
