Inside-Out Flutes: The Emergence of the Transformative Meta-flautist

Abstract

As musical and performance practices have evolved over the last half-century, the realm of the solo flautist has expanded to encompass an extensive array of emerging techniques and technologies. This paper discusses the performance of music for flute and electronics from the perspective of the flautist, the impact of technological interventions and the new performative elements introduced by this genre. The focus is on elements of performance that generate change, such as transformations of sonority, reactivated spaces, altered physicality and perceptions of performer identity, that occur in a digitally interactive environment. The "meta-flautist" emerges through a series of encounters - of performer, instrument, equipment, computer, technologist, space, and composer - and the construction of the instrumentalist-computer relationship. The aim is to reveal elements of the inside story of performance, where practices are constructed, revealed and re-defined.