April 25-26, 2025
Globally and locally, what are the sources and sinks of the energy that keyboard instruments consume and produce? How might they be apprehended as interfaces and archives as well as material, historical, and geographical assemblages? And how can (or should) we sustain and reinvent keyboard cultures in the face of an uncertain future?
“Keyboard Energies” addresses these questions by way of the remarkable history of instruments, experimentation, and electricity across 20th-century New York State. Presentations will explore how keyboard culture has been powered since Niagara Falls started generating electricity in 1882, while performances will include a hand- and foot-powered program of water-inspired music on Cornell’s baroque organ.
Schedule of Events
Friday, April 25, 2025
CONCERT: Elemental Energies at the Keyboard
7:30pm
Barnes Hall
Harpsichord strings will vibrate in sympathy with the oscillators of the Minimoog synthesizer over the course of a program tracing the themes of musical elements (water, air, earth, and fire) and electrification. Performing on an array of eleven aerophonic, chordophonic, and electrophonic keyboard instruments, Cornell faculty and graduate students will be joined by special guests from the Ithaca area in presenting music by C. P. E. & J. S. Bach, David Borden, Anne Louise Brillon de Jouy, György Ligeti, Jasmine Morris, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Dane Rudhyar, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Richard Wagner.
Instruments:
Barnes Hall Chamber Organ
Fender Rhodes & RMI 368X Electric Pianos
Friederici Clavichord
Hohner Clavinet
Minimoog analog synthesizer
Steinway grand piano
Walter-McNulty fortepiano
Wolf harpsichord
Saturday, April 26, 2025
SESSION 1: The Organization of Electricity and the Electrification of Organs
9:00AM - 11:30AM
A. D. White House, Guerlac Room
Roger Moseley - Arcs of History
Nathan Laube - Batteries not Included: Thoughts on Electricity and Organbuilding
Anne Laver & Michael Laver - Mules and Melodies: The Impact of the Erie Canal on Organ Building and Culture in New York State
Annette Richards - "Sure you can": The Hammond Organ, Electric Domesticity, and the Mid-Century American Woman
RECITAL: Wind and Water with David Yearsley
11:45AM - 12:30PM
Anabel Taylor Chapel
SESSION 2: The Color of Sound and Other Digitized Analogies
2:00PM - 4:00PM
A. D. White House, Guerlac Room
Owen Marshall - Auto-Tune, Energy, and the Keyboardized Voice
Deirdre Loughridge - Analogical Instruments
Darren Mueller - Herbie Hancock, the DX7, and the Fairlight
CONCERT: Gary Versace Organ Trio
5:00PM
Lincoln Hall B20
The CCHK gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Rural Humanities Initiative, the Society for the Humanities, and the Central New York Humanities Corridor, funded by an award by the Mellon Foundation.
All events are free and open to the public.