Composer Andrew May is best known for chamber music that combines classical instruments with interactive computer systems. During his childhood in Chicago he studied violin, wrote chamber music for his friends, manhandled tape recorders to make odd sounds, and wrote computer software – but these were all separate activities. Then he learned about interactive computer music, and it turned out they could all work together. These days, May teaches composition and computer music at the University of North Texas, where he directs the Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia. He still plays violin, writes chamber music for his friends, and writes computer software – but now, sometimes some of the friends are the software.

Albums

Tornado Project

Release Date: July 10, 2015
Catalog Number: RR7908
21st Century
Chamber
Clarinet
Electronic
Flute
As a ferocious wind storm spins up all things in its path, The Tornado Project, conceived by composers Ricardo Climent and Paul Wilson, cuts a path through the repertoire of 21st-century electroacoustic music, presenting a collection of works for flute, clarinet, and computer-generated sound that explore the chaotic beauty of this trio. With performances by two American wind virtuosi - clarinetist Esther Lamneck and flutist Elizabeth McNutt - these works showcase the skills of the musicians, their dynamic relationships with the computer, and the composers' innovative, colorful, and resourceful styles.

Vanguards 2

Release Date: January 13, 2015
Catalog Number: RR7902
20th Century
21st Century
Chamber
Percussion
Piano
Voice
Ravello Records announces the second installment of its compilation series, VANGUARDS 2, presenting a deep cross-section of the label's contemporary and eclectic catalog. The album features performances by the London Symphony Orchestra, pianist Gregory Hall, the McCormick Percussion Group, mezzo-soprano Elaine Huckle, the Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Musica Viva, guitarist Alex Lubet, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and many more in works by contemporary composers including Mary Ann Joyce-Walter, Herbert Deutsch, Walter Ross, Rachel Lee Guthrie, Mark Vigil, Kim Halliday, Andrew May, Mel Mobley, Marga Richter, and others.

Imaginary Friends

Release Date: October 30, 2012
Catalog Number: RR7861
21st Century
Avant-Garde
Electroacoustic
Flute
Piano
The works of Andrew May nearly defy classification, seamlessly blending the personal expressiveness of traditional classical performance with the alien landscape of ambient computer music. On IMAGINARY FRIENDS, his debut release, May invites the listener to experience the drama of people and machines making intimate chamber music together, blurring the lines between human and inhuman, and traditional and experimental.