RadioPlateaux

Contraflow Symphony

for 2 to 32 large vehicles equipped with backup warning beepers, horns, and optional air horns
such as sanitation trucks, delivery trucks, construction vehicles, etc.
and 2 to 32 small vehicles equipped with forward warning beepers
such as airport carts.

This piece may be performed at four levels.
Level Four: All vehicles, events and equipment
Level Three: A smaller number of vehicles, with all events and equipment
Level Two: Any number of vehicles greater than four, with most events and limited equipment
Level One: Four vehicles with limited equipment
The Location
A resonant stone village (preferred), town or small city with a cobbled town square (preferred), large central park,
parking lot, or concrete parking garage. If the latter admits large vehicles, then it is ideal.
The Equipment
The vehicles and their beepers, horns and drivers, plus:
Walkie-talkies or mobile phones in walkie-talkie mode*
Powerful vehicle sound systems with recorded boom track (provided)**
GPS units, maps or good directional sense (rehearsed)***
On the town square, park, parking lot or garage:
Outside Ring with a sound system with multiple channels***
Second Ring with enough room for the vehicles to travel in a spiral
Third Ring with glass bottle sculptures (see design)***
Fourth Ring with large plates of glass (from windows, display cabinets, etc.)**
Fifth Ring with piles of random resonant metal**
Central Ring with plastic orange traffic barrels***
*equal to twice the number of vehicles
**equal to the number of large vehicles
***equal to the number of both large and small vehicles
Optional video equipment and camera operators to record the event from the perspective of each vehicle.
The Setup
1. The first walkie-talkie is used to establish communication between one small vehicle and one large vehicle for
signals and directions.
2. The second walkie-talkie is used to transmit the local sound from the vehicles to the central sound system. Ideally,
the second walkie-talkie is mounted near enough to the vehicle’s beeper and its exhaust to transmit both sounds.
3. The vehicles are set up on the outskirts of town and given a spiral route (either clockwise or counterclockwise, but
all vehicles traveling in the same direction) that will take them inward to the central square, arriving at about the
same time.
4. One small vehicle is to meet up with one large vehicle and guide it as travel gets congested, and to make decisions
if one set of vehicles overtakes another. This pairing is set in advance.
5. All traffic signals and laws are to be respected.
Total time is approximately one hour. Longer performances are encouraged.
The Performance
Prelude
1. At an arranged time, all vehicles turn on their walkie-talkies.
2. The large vehicles immediately turn on their sound systems and begin the boom track.
3. One minute later, all vehicles turn on their engines and warning beepers.
4. One minute later, the small vehicles begin to move and travel to find the large vehicle. The search and meeting
should take no longer than five minutes.
First Movement
5. When the large vehicle is met by the small one, the pair begins to travel—the small one forward and the large one
backward with both warning beepers sounding—toward the town square. They are always together.
6. The sound from all beepers and exhausts is received, mixed and broadcast into the town square. It is
recommended that real-time effects or transformations be made with a resident a laptop orchestra. The sound level
throughout should be matched to the actual level of the vehicles.
Second Movement
7. As the vehicles pairs arrive at the edge of the town square, they file onto the Second Ring and continue to move.
8. As each vehicle pair arrives, it slides into position behind the nearest pair and continues to move.
9. When all vehicles are circling, a designated leader begins the spiral inward.
10. When the first vehicle reaches the inside edge of the Second Ring, it pulls into position on the radius, aimed at
the Third Ring, and stops. The lead vehicle remains the small one, and the large vehicle follows it (still in reverse).
All sounds and transmissions continue.
11. The second pair of vehicles passes the first and follows into the circle.
12. Eventually (and as quickly as possible) all vehicles are lined up, motors and beepers and boom tracks running.
Third Movement
13. At an arranged signal, all vehicles race their engines for a 30 seconds, then slow them down for 30 more seconds.
14. When all engines are at idle, the small vehicles commence the inward motion simultaneously, perform a U-turn
just before the metal piles in the Fifth Ring, slide past the large vehicles, and perform another U-turn.
15. When the small vehicles are facing the large ones, the large ones begin to move very slowly backward, the driver
reaching out and pushing over the glass bottle sculptures in the Third Ring so they fall onto the glass plates in the
Fourth Ring, timing the fall to occur when the large vehicle hits the pile of metal in the Fifth Ring. Drivers
immediately scream loudly and blow their horns (air horns if available).
16. As soon as the glass is breaking and the metal screeching, the engines are revved and the large vehicles hit the
plastic barrels in the Central Ring as fast as possible, and then shift into neutral.
Coda
17. Engine idling, boom track and beeping continue for at least a full minute.
18. Engines are switched off. Beeping and boom tracks continue for another full minute.
19. Boom tracks are switched off. Beeping continues for another full minute.
20. Everything is switched off and silence ensues (after, if used, the laptop orchestra completes its transformations).
Location Layout
[ see pdf link for image - below]

Approximate setup of sound equipment, vehicles, bottle sculptures, glass, and barrels, together with the safe zone.
An area aproximately 400 feet on each side will be satisfactory, though a reduced area can be used with smaller
vehicles.
The setup should encourage an increasing tumult as vehicles begin their journey and finally arrive in the central
area. The crescendo of sound is not a smooth rise, but rather quickly growing from silence to a roar of exhausts and
beeps, concluding with 64 sound sources (live and broadcast) in a chaos of rhythms and thunders.
Bottle Sculptures and Glass Plates
Constructing the bottle tree wind chime in the Third Ring is straightforward. A tree-shaped frame is built
with several bottles hanging at different heights but close enough to strike each other; the top of the tree
shape is a cross similar to that used for marionettes. The bottom of the tree pivots on a frame sturdy enough
to hold the entire assembly, and a backrest keeps the pivoting tree from blowing over in the wind. The pivot
is chosen so that when the bottle tree is pulled over, the bottoms of the bottles strike the central part of the
glass plate in the Fourth Ring.
Because of the number of large vehicles that will be running on fossil fuels, this performance piece is
ecologically marginal. The cost of the final portion can be ameliorated by using scrap materials that can be
retrieved from and returned to the recycling stream.
The bottle tree wind chime is built entirely recycled materials, from the bottles themselves to the scrap
wood for the tree, the pivot, and the base. The frame for the plate glass can be any supporting wood, and
the plate glass itself can be scrap window glass frequently discarded at the roadside.
The resonant metal in the Fifth Ring can also be obtained from and returned to the recycling stream.
‘Resonant metal’ might include appliance sides, brake drums and discs, rebar, automobile fenders, etc.
Finally, the plastic orange barrels in the Central Ring are used in road construction and are intended to be
struck by vehicles and re-used.

Score can be found here:

 Ebook: Download (36)

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Dennis Bathory-Kitsz

As part of the post-Fluxus generation of independent and academically unaffiliated artists,
Dennis Bathory-Kitsz has composed intensely while advocating for the presentation of nonpop
music. He has created work for sound sculptures, soloists, chamber ensembles, electronics,
theater, installations, orchestras, dancers, interactive media and performance events, as well as
creating arrangements and writing extensively on music and multimedia arts.
Composition: Bathory-Kitsz has composed nearly six hundred works, receiving 160
commissions and 250 premieres. The personal opera resurgence began with his
composition Plasm over ocean (1977) at the World Trade Center, using instruments of his
design. In Bocca al Lupo (1986) at the Yellowstone Art Center and the Vermont outdoor
installation Traveler’s Rest (1991) were seminal creations for quasi-intelligent systems,
both collaborations with sculptor Fernanda D’Agostino. He was the first American
composer commissioned for Prague’s Mánes Museum, conducting Zonule Glaes II (1999)
for string quartet & electronic playback, integrated with the sculpture of Pavel Kraus. Part
of his opera Erzsébet was featured on the Discovery Channel (2005). His project “We Are
All Mozart” saw the creation of one hundred works on commission (2007). His work has
been recognized with ASCAP Standard Panel awards each year since 1992.
Advocacy: Advocacy for contemporary nonpop music has been a lifelong effort, from
directing the Trans/Media arts collective (1973-1978) through many years of co-hosting
Kalvos & Damian’s New Music Bazaar (1995-), winner of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor
Award for Internet journalism. He has been project director for events from the first
Delaware Valley Festival of the Avant-Garde (1974) through the last Vermont Composers
Festival (2005), acted as a juror for Canada’s “Jeu de Temps” (2001-2003), and co-founded
the Vermont Composers Consortium (1988) and the NonPop International Network (2003).
Independence: His role as an independent composer and advocate draws credibility from
service in community, commerce, and academia. That role has included presenter at
universities, conferences, and corporations; consultant for OrbitAccess in website disability
access; creator of an experimental rural music program that received the Northeast
Outstanding Practices Fellowship; executive director of the Vermont Alliance of
Independent Country Stores; author of a substantial body of articles and books on technology
and the arts; owner of music publisher Westleaf Edition; senior editor for The Transitive
Empire; documentarian of Vermont concerts for Malted/Media; member of arts, educational
and museum advisory boards; past president and technology designer for Green Mountain
Micro; and consultant in digital music technologies. His book Country Stores of Vermont: A
History and Guide was published by The History Press in July 2008.
Projects: Two major projects are underway: “Birth Song: Cross-Cultural Exploration of an
Old Birth Art” (with midwife Barbara S. J. Balch), including the project’s initial April
2007 residency at Binaural Media in Nodar, and Portugal; the opera Erzsébet, to be
presented on the site of the Cséjthe Castle in Slovakia. Past projects have been supported
by grant awards from ASCAP, American Music Center, Argosy Foundation, Vermont
Council on the Arts, Montana State Arts Council, New Jersey State Council on the Arts,
and National Endowment for the Arts.
Dennis Bathory-Kitsz
Abbreviated List of Compositions
50 diverse examples selected from a body of 570, reverse chronological order; °premieres and *commissions noted. Recorded on
Capstone, Three’s Film Works, Pressthebutton, Frog Peak, Ursa Minor, Sistrum, Longman Anthology of British Literature.
99 Events for the Found, the Made and the Natural, 2007, performance pieces. *Hostetler Foundation.
Horizon (Ocean), 2007, wind quartet, string quartet, piano. *Anonymous.
Scalar Rainbows, 2007, piano. (°sched. Ghent, 2008) *André Posman, De Rode Pomp.
Under the Aurora, 2007, clarinet & string quartet. *David Goodman, Fran Richard/ASCAP, Richard Fredette.
Lunar Cascade in Serial Time, in twelve parts, 2007, tenor guitar. *Seth Gordon.
Low Clouds and Evening Wind, 2007, piano. *Patricia Goodson.
Fanfare:Heat, 2007, orchestra. (°sched. Winooski, Vt., 2008) *Vermont Youth Orchestra.
Future Remembrance, 2007, electronic playback. (°Munich, 2007) *Robert Voisey.
Mountains of Spices, 2007, chamber ensemble (°Tulsa, 2007) *Eleva Chamber Players.
Soundings and Détente, 2007, organ (°Ottawa, 2007) *Carson Cooman.
Eventide, 2006, three winds. (°Winooski, Vt., 2006) *Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble.
Clouds of Endless Summer, 2006, piano trio. *The Bartholdy Ensemble.
Erzsébet, chamber opera. In progress, with Blood Scene (°Cable, 2005) *Discovery Channel.
L’Estampie du Chevalier, 2005, string quartet. (°Ghent, 2005) *De Rode Pomp.
Sweet Ovals, 2005, solo horn. (°Montpelier, Vt., 2005) *Lydia Busler-Blais.
Jameo y el Delfin Mareado, 2005, orchestra. *Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife.
By Still Waters, 2004, solo voice and drone. (°New York, 2004) *Beth Griffith.
Icecut, 2004, orchestra. (°ten-location tour, Vermont, 2004) *Vermont Symphony Orchestra.
Shahmat, 2004, solo flute. (°Plainfield, Vt., 2004) *Su Lian Tan.
Northsea Balletic Spicebush, 2003, double bass. (°Va., N.C., Ind., Ill. tour, 2004) *P. Kellach Waddle.
LiquidBirds, 2003, 3 theremins, video, and playback. (°Burlington, Vt., 2003)
Spammung, 2003, extended voice and playback. (°Dartmouth College, 2003)
Tïrkíinistrá: 25 Landscape Preludes, 2002, piano. (°Amsterdam, 2003) *Michael Arnowitt
Mirrored Birds, 2001, flute concerto. (°Montpelier, Vt., 2002) *Montpelier Chamber Orchestra.
Fuliginous Quadrant, 2001, chamber ensemble. (°Ghent, 2005) *VCME.
HighBirds (Prime), 2001, 2 electric guitars & playback. (°Montpelier, Vt., 2001) *Larry Polansky.
RatGeyser, 2000, MalletKat and playback. (°Montpelier, Vt., 2001) *Michael Manion.
Sourian Slide, 1999, string orchestra. (°Montpelier, Vt., 2000) *Montpelier Chamber Orchestra.
LowBirds, 1999, small ensemble. (°New York, 1999) *The Downtown Ensemble.
Zonule Glaes II, 1999, electronics/string quartet. (°Prague, 1999) *Pavel Kraus, Gema Art, Mánes Museum.
Into the Morning Rain, 1998, small ensemble. (°Burlington, Vt., 1999) *VCME.
Detritus of Mating, 1997, electroacoustic. (°Burlington, Vt., 1997) *Pavel Kraus, Exquisite Corpse Gallery.
zéyu, quânh & sweeh, 1996, playback. (°Melbourne, 1996)
Gardens, 1996, for English horn and string quartet. (°Ghent, 2005)
xirx, 1996, electronic tape, ice and aromas. (°Montpelier, Vt., 1996)
Hypertunes, Baby, 1994, voice and tape. (°Middlebury, Vt., 1994)
Llama Butter, 1993, tuba and tape. (°Urbana, Ill., 1995) *Mark Nelson.
Emerald Canticles, Below, 1993, small ensemble. (°Toronto, 1995).
Binky Plays Marbles, 1992, double bass and viola. *Pieter Smithuysen.
Softening Cries, 1991, orchestra. (°Bennington, Vt., 1992) *Sage City Symphony.
Traveler’s Rest and Wolf5, 1991, sound environments. (°Randolph, Vt., 1991)
A Time Machine, 1990, voice, small ensemble, dance & computers. (°Burlington, Vt., 1991) *VCME.
The Lily and the Thorn, 1990, orchestra. (°Montpelier, Vt., 1991) *Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra.
Yçuré, 1990, two chamber orchestras. (°Guilford, Vt.,1990) *Friends of Music at Guilford.
Csárdás, 1989, piano. (°Putney, Vt., 1989) *Michael Arnowitt.
Variations on Amanda, 1989, strings/harpsichord. (°Braintree, Vt., 1989) *Braintree Historical Society.
Rough Edges, 1987, piano. (°Barre, Vt., 1987) *Michael Arnowitt.
In Bocca al Lupo, 1986, environmental sound design. (°Billings, Mont., 1986) *Yellowstone Art Center
Mantra Canon, 1986, large ensemble. (°Montpelier, Vt., 1986)
Echo, A Performance Ritual in Four Parts, 1985. (°Montpelier, Vt., 1985)
Rando’s Poetic License, 1978, electronics, computer, voices, instruments. (°Washington, D.C., 1978)
Missa da Camera, 1978, small ensemble. (°Cambridge, Mass., 1978)
Plasm over ocean, 1977, chamber opera. (°New York, 1977) *NEA
Somnambula, 1975, recorder and electronic sound. (°Trenton, N.J., 1975) *John Burkhalter.
Construction “on nix rest… in china,” 1972, trombones and tape. (°Amsterdam, 2003)
Dennis Bathory-Kitsz
Dennis Bathory-Kitsz is a composer, author, editor, teacher, technologist, and award-winning radio producer
and photographer. He is engaged in the advancement of arts and technology from both a humanist and
experimental perspective. He has written for more than fifty periodicals as well as for businesses and
organizations, and presented lectures and seminars in North America and Europe.
He designs and builds original electronic instruments, functional electronic jewelry, computer software and
hardware, and composition-specific electronic music devices, including unnamed synthesizers and boxes, and
the Rhythmatron. He also designs and builds original acoustic instruments such as Bellzebub, Chimes I & II,
Glass Chimes I & II, Brass Chimes, Hharp, Uncello, Gong, Exlophon, Ovarian Xylophone, Candle Harp,
Buzzophone, Organism, Triangulum, Monofilament, Wind Harp, Defrocked Autoharp, Forkklang,
Diskklang, and others of unique design and tuning.
He writes about technology, business technology, music and the arts, with 600 articles and eight books since
1979. His authorship includes the groundbreaking Kalvos & Damian’s New Music Bazaar website, with early
streaming audio and cybercasts dating from 1995 and a 1,200-hour archive of composer interviews.
He teaches and consults in private and public settings in music and technology, including individual students
in composition, programming and electronics; elementary through high school teaching in music; is adjunct
college faculty in computer technology and music; and consults in vocational technologies.
His major multimedia events include Trans/Media Minifest, Caution: Merging Environments, Echo, In
Bocca al Lupo, Traveler’s Rest/Wolf5, Circular Screaming, Detritus of Mating, and Zonule Glaes II.
Education
Stichting Paideia, Amsterdam, 2006 (Ph.D., Border Studies); Rutgers University, 1970 (B.A., Music)
Selected Current Activities
Executive Director, Vermont Alliance of Independent Country Stores (2001-)
Founder, The NonPop International Network (2001-)
Director, OrbitAccess consultancy in web accessibility (1999-)
Charter Member, Electronic Music Foundation (1996-)
Co-Host/Producer, Kalvos & Damian radio/cyber show and website (1995-)
Independent Study Faculty, Johnson State College (1994-)
Partner and Senior Editor, The Transitive Empire writers/editors (1993-)
Member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (1989-)
Co-Founder and Officer, Vermont Composers Consortium (1988-)
Founder and Music Director, Il Gruppo Nuke Jitters (1984-)
Independent consultant/author in computer technology (1979-)
Publisher, Westleaf Edition Music Publications (1973-)
Selected Past Activities
Technology/Marketing Facilitator and Consultant, Trans/Video.Net (2000-)
Project Director, Ought-One Festival (2001)
Fellow, Northeast Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement (1991-92)
Faculty, Governor’s Institute for the Arts (1991-92)
Founder/President, Green Mountain Micro (1980-86)
Selected Books
Country Stores of Vermont: A History and Guide. Charleston: The History Press, 2008.
HTML 4 Unleashed (contributing author). New York: Sams.net, 1997.
The Middle-Aged Hiker. (co-author, with David Gunn). Westleaf Edition Web publication, 1995.
Learning the 6809. Roxbury, Vermont: Green Mountain Micro, 1984.
Kenneth Sawyer Goodman, A Chronology and Annotated Bibliography. Chicago: Newberry Library, 1984.
The Custom TRS-80, and Other Mysteries. Upland, California: IJG, 1982.
Full résumé: http://maltedmedia.com/bathory/bathres.html