SP-404 Performance Ensemble

This ensemble offers electronic music-focused students a unique hands-on opportunity to explore live performance using the Roland SP-404MKII as the central instrument. Students will develop techniques for curating and loading their own samples, structuring dynamic live sets, and building efficient workflows tailored for performance. When applicable, students may also incorporate their principal instruments as live audio sources for processing and improvisation. This ensemble emphasizes collaboration and responsiveness, encouraging students to create original music that emerges from a collective pool of samples, styles, and personal influences. With an open-genre approach, the repertoire will be shaped by the participants, fostering creativity and shared musical direction. Inspired by the spontaneity of jazz, the ensemble will focus on listening, reacting, and improvising with samplers and instruments in a group context. Participants will gain fluency in key live performance techniques using the SP-404MKII, including sample triggering, finger drumming, live effects processing, input routing, mixing, and performance-ready sample preparation. The course culminates in a final performance that showcases each student’s growth as a creative live electronic performer.