Must-See Sound Installation Space

I saw (or rather, heard) a performance a few nights ago in San Francisco that was really great. AUDIUM is the only theatre anywhere constructed specifically for sound movement, utilizing the entire environment as a compositional tool. There are 167 speakers hanging from the ceiling, attached to the walls, and coming out of the floors-- the effect is total "surround-sound" in its truest sense.

AUDIUM's creators, composer Stan Shaff and equipment designer Doug McEachern, were both professional musicians before getting this space and building it with the help of several grants, including NEA grants. They started doing this in the 50's!! The performance is done in complete darkness, and lasts about an hour-- it's a combination of recognizable sounds (kids playing on a beach) and synthesizer noise. Very modern--and long enough to get you completely in a trance...

Stan was there himself doing the performance he composed, as he has been doing every weekend for years and years. He stuck around to talk to the audience afterwards (and dare I say charm the ladies), it was great.

check out the site at http://www.audium.org/