(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)March 12, 2001

(Mahwah) — Sound and media artist Stephen Vitiello will present Twister, an experience in video and live sound, Wednesday, April 4 at 7 p.m. in the Adler Theater at Ramapo College of New Jersey. For this presentation, Vitiello excerpted three minutes of the movie Twister, transforming the clip into a mesmerizing 50-minute film, which he will accompany by his performance of ambient music and environmental sounds. Also on the program is a performance by Vitiello’s wife, Tracy Leipold, of Fluxus artist Larry Miller’s composition, “Sentinel,” which mimics the sequence of sounds made by a car alarm.

Vitiello, who has collaborated with the world’s best-known cutting-edge musicians, artists and choreographers, manipulates eclectic instruments and natural sounds to create improvised experimental electronica. His work has combined field recordings with digital processing to create slowly evolving, sonically-rich soundscapes. For example, the first track on his CD Light of Falling Cars is composed from manipulated sounds of a paper cutter.

In other works, Vitiello has sought to reveal sounds that, in a given space, are ambient or inaudible, sounds that might exist just beyond the reach of the listener. One example is his 1999 installation atop the World Trade Center, in which he placed contact microphones against the glass windows of a 91st-floor office to amplify exterior noises that were otherwise unheard but implied by the view. In addition, he has created new sound pieces generated in part from his collection of found Web-based sounds. Vitiello’s additional recordings include Scratchy Marimba, Fantastic Prayers and Sounds Building in the Fading Light, among others.

This performance follows the opening reception for the exhibition Automedia in the Pascal and Kresge Galleries. Admission is free.

###

About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

Press Release Archives

| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 |