Music Current 2025: Rob Canning Digital Score Workshop

As part of Music Current Festival 2025.

Rob Canning presents a workshop on “Rotula”, an interactive software tool for live musical performances, workshops, and rehearsals, which he developed specially for his new commission with Pony Says ensemble. Designed to provide a dynamic and synchronised experience, Rotula enables playback of SVG-based scores with integrated support for multimedia elements, OSC (Open Sound Control), and customisable playback options. Rotula presents a synchronised interactive computer-based scrolling graphic score playback system.

Here Rob explains the rationale for the development, how the system was used for this new work, and how to use and write scores for the system. Rob says, “I think Rotula might be useful for other people beyond the scope of my composition and I am happy to share it".

This two-hour workshop will be of interest to composers, performers, technologists, visual artists, designers and interested concert-goers. Participants are welcome to attend as auditors or as active participants. The software is open source and workshop participants can bring their own laptop with the cross platform, free and open source software Inkscape installed.

More details on the software here: https://git.kompot.si/rob/rotula.score

Rob Canning (IRL/SLO, b. 1974) is a composer, musician, and researcher known for his innovative use of digital technologies in composition, performance, and improvisation. Canning’s music often explores open-form structures and networked performance, drawing on influences from experimental noise, complexity, and systems-based composition.

Many of his compositions are context-responsive, engaging with the acoustics of specific spaces, the surrounding environment, and the audiences themselves through locative and participatory elements. He completed his Ph.D. at Goldsmiths, University of London, where his research focused on computer-assisted performance and composition strategies. He is currently living and working in Slovenia.

Music Current workshops are supported by the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland (www.cmc.ie). Composer participants resident on the island of Ireland, travelling from outside Dublin, may apply to CMC for a bursary to cover the cost of travel, subsistence and workshop entry fee by contacting festival staff when attending workshop events, or by contacting info@musiccurrent.ie

Tickets

€5 (including refreshments). Book tickets.