Because I believe that creative writing is an art, even though it is frequently left out of that category, I am posting this article on ways that technology is affecting books and writing...it covers several different areas of e-publishing and other electronic delivery methods for poetry, short stories, longer works, essays, etc... The article also mentions diigo.

Billy Collins' poetry made visible by animation artists...whimsical, quirky and evocative. He reads a poem while the animation plays; the words and the images are entwined. The only text for each poem is the title formatted in accordance with the content. Sherri Vanden Akker shared this with me in response to one of our assignments. I find them very enjoyable and provocative!

Orchestras are cautiously trying texting as a way to connect with younger orchestras. They are pretty jittery about it, however, demonstrating how orchestras are loath to experiment. Still, there is a glimmer of exploration! And not every experiment works...and that's alright.

An interesting if somewhat arcane article on the nature of digital art and whether it changes basic understandings of what we even consider art and how we evaluate it as such.

New Zealand Symphony is making really good use of technology. Their website features digital stories about the conductors, musicians, composers, etc...and it is done really well. Much more interesting than most orchestra websites.

Students from music, art, engineering and dance make up the ensemble. The director is a professor in the school of music and a composer. They collaborate on new works in an innovative manner and on works that have been traditionally overlooked. I really like the exploratory nature of this group.

There are orchestras being formed, mainly by students, to perform video game music, and they collaborate with professional orchestras i. Also, video game makers are turning to professional composers and musicians for musical accompaniment so that music for video games is becoming more symphonic. However, the performances with orchestras are not interactive, which seems to me to defeat the purpose.

Eric Whitacre, composer and conductor, leads a virtual choir. It started when a young woman posted a fan video on YouTube singing the soprano part from one of his works. That gave him the idea to have people upload recordings on YouTube so as to sing together in a virtual choir-a network of YouTube connected singers, each singing different parts. Whitacre's website: http://ericwhitacre.com/the-virtual-choir

Researchers at Johns Hopkins conducted a study on the neuroscience of creativity and our response to art. They have established a new field called "neuroaesthetics." The BSI website is really a thing of beauty: http://www.brainscienceinstitute.org/

MIT is also exploring the intersection of arts and technology. This link is about a German-born composer, Trimpin http://arts.mit.edu/cast/artist/trimpin/ Here music is combined with technology, but he also brings in non-traditional instruments. The MIT website is http://arts.mit.edu/ There is a really long report written about their program: http://orgchart.mit.edu/sites/default/files/reports/20110628_Provost_ArtsatMITFinal6-20-2011.pdf and a shorter summary http://arts.mit.edu/about/arts-initiatives/arts-at-mit-white-paper/