Norman Teale (b. 1980)-
Composer/Producer/Engineer/Vegetarian/Kentuckian/Half-British/Half-American/Dog Lover/(former) Dark Side Puppet/(former) Missile Commander/Tea Junkie/Photographer/Video Artist/Bassist/Guitarist/Drum Programmer/Blossoming Singer/Florida Driver's License Holder/Middle Tennessee State University alumni/(former) Verbally And Mathematically Precocious Youth/(former) Juvenile Delinquent Counselor/(former) Polymer Bagger/24 Hour Drone/Audio-Visual Assistant is currently seeking his MFA in Electronic Music & Recording Media.
The Fall of the American Empire (2006)
For 2 Un-amplified Female Voices, Feedback Synthesizer, Processed Drum Set, Sound Engineer, & Video Playback
Conductor- Kevin Mendoza
Voices- Kimberly Miller & Melody Ferris
Feedback Synthesizer- Kanoko Nishi
Drum Set- Shayna Dunkelman
Sound Engineer- Ben Bracken
Please rise for the national anthem at the beginning of this piece.
Is America an empire? Has any empire in human history not fallen? Upon reaching the current state of overconsumption, satiated masses, and global superiority, will we learn from the past in order to stabilize our society? Or will we decay into future history books as the paradigm of all empires?
The voice parts are a de-constructive canon using all 4 verses of Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner," while the synthesizer and drum parts were composed in reaction to the voice parts. The video is composed entirely of (approx.) 2,400 pictures of American flags that I have taken all over the U.S. during the past 4 years.
Please take a closer look at the American flag photo-mosaic (which uses all of the same images as the video) hanging in the hall.
Special thanks to: Michael Carter for realization of the Feedback Synthesizer, Fred Frith & David Kwan for guidance with the video, Catherine Wagner & Michael Temperio for guidance with the photography, and super special thanks to the performers! and Jacob Danziger for video playback assistance.
CAUTION: If you are prone to epileptic seizures, you should leave now.
One Second Line Day (2004-2006)
Stereo playback with projection (DVD)
As a prelude to a lifelong piece in A (recording one A note every day until I die), I wanted to explore a ritualistic dedication to one piece during my time at Mills.
The premise was simple- compose one second of audio per day of class, along with drawing a line on a piece of paper and photographing the results. I first decided on general key signatures for each semester's chunk, along with tempi and time signature changes. I did not impose any restrictions on instrumentation; each second was a sort of improvisation with whatever audio material I happened to sample or record for that given day.
The finished piece is somewhat reminiscent of the tape music of the early 1950's, but more regular and much louder.