Wheels is Madelyn Byrne, Ellen Weller, Randy Hoffman, and Bob Weller. Madelyn Byrne is a composer of both acoustic and electro-acoustic music, and much of her recent work combines acoustic instruments with computer-generated sounds. Some compositions in this area include For ANWR (commissioned by Yoon Jeong Heo), Rain, Sea, and Sky (commissioned by the NOISE Ensemble), and Dream Tableaux (commissioned by Colin McAllister). Past honors include ASCAPlus Awards, honorable mention in the “Suoni di Legno” competition, winner of the Friends and Enemies of New Music Composition Competition, and recordings on CRI Records and Innova Records. Madelyn’s music has also been selected for a wide range of new music festivals including several International Computer Music Conferences, Electronic Music Midwest, WIU’s New Music Festival, Imagine II, and Merging Voices among others. Her music has received additional national and international performances and broadcasts on television, radio, and the internet. Madelyn completed her DMA in Composition at The Graduate Center in 1999 and joined the Palomar College Faculty in the Fall 2000 semester. Madelyn has also been a guest composer at Columbia University’s Computer Music Center.
Wires and Whistles and Taps – Oh, my! is four improvising musicians (electronics, woodwinds, and percussion) who improvise in a loose structure inspired by the “The Wizard of Oz,” current news items, and the work of Franz Kafka and George Orwell. Participants interact with the musicians – they may read prepared quotes or make whatever sound that they choose while they pay no attention to the person behind the curtain who may or may not record them.