University Music Assoc. Prof. Matthew Burtner, in collaboration with Scott Deal, music professor at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, won an Internet2 Driving Exemplary Applications award Monday for his telematic opera, "Auksalaq."
"Auksalaq" is an opera which incorporates multimedia presentations and performances live from multiple locations to present a balanced discussion of climate change issues, Deal said.
The opera won the award for its innovative work in using networks to connect both performers and audiences, said Tom Knab, chief information officer at Case Western Reserve University and head of the judging committee for the IDEA awards. Internet2 is a networking partnership of researchers and scientists who develop key Internet technologies.
While Deal focused on the production of the opera, Burtner wrote the music and libretto, or text, for the piece and helped create the Network Operational Mobile Applied Digital System software used for the project.
The technology creates "a kind of a community around the performance," Burtner said. "You see the audience in all those locations together," and allow the audience to interact with the performance and each other in a way that changes the libretto, he added.
NOMADS was developed by the Interactive Media Research Group at the University, led by Burtner, and two of his coworkers, David Topper and Steve Kemper. Burtner said he uses the NOMADS technology in his classes at the University to try and give larger lectures a small seminar feel through student interaction.
Beyond the climate change aspect, Burtner sees the opera as a way to reflect on his personal connection to his home state of Alaska.
Both Deal, who worked at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Burtner had a personal connection to the intense impact of climate change felt in that state.
"This opera is a deep study into what is actually going on," Deal said. "When someone goes to see it, they are going to learn a lot about climate change."
Knab thinks the technology used in "Auksalaq" has broader potential uses.
"The judging committee was excited by 'Auksalaq' in that the tools that were developed ... held the potential for providing models for others to communicate at a distance," Knab said.
Burtner said he is trying to incorporate University students by creating a Charlottesville and Washington, D.C. component to the full production of "Auksalaq."
"Having an element in D.C. would be useful, because [Washington] is a place which is politically active," Burtner said.
The full opera is scheduled to be performed at the end of October 2012.
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