This performance was conceived in a partnership with Zachary Boulanger and the concept is related to playing with the idea of expectations. The master performer would be a composer using the master application with an 8-key keyboard that was configured to send every key touched to all the friends available. The other performers would have the same keyboard and they would receive the information regarding the notes to be played. Each note was converted to falling balls over the keyboard keys and the performers were invited to touch the correspondent key as soon as the ball reaches the other side of the screen.
On the performance conception, the composer expects the performers to play his creation exactly right, however the players soon realize they are not bound to this. The audience expects to hear well-known canons and to hear the music ``written'' by the composer, but once the performers start changing it up these expectations are broken. While composer is creating melodies based on canons, the audience will see the notes coming from the top of the projector screen and they are expected to hear the notes once they reach the bottom. In the beginning the performers will play only their specific notes, but some of them are going to try other notes and the perception of the melodies will diverge from the reality. As the performers decide to walk on the stage, it will became hard to know who is expected to play the right note.
The audience will expect some control from composer hands, but he is using a headphone and will not hear anything. In the middle the composer will take out the headphone, he will try to control the performers again, and stop sending notes to the end of the piece. The sound experience comes from the idea that the audience will expect some melodies based on the notes that are falling down, but it doesn't depend only on the composer's composition, because the composer is not a player.
The premiere was held on April 18, 2015 in Stamps Auditorium at the Walgreen Drama Center on the U-M North Campus. More information about the event can be found at this page. Videos from the event are available at this playlist.