Ada sketches by Emily Howard

ada lovelace chalon portrait

As part of the Ada Lovelace celebration, the Oxford e-Research Centre have organised a performance by Emily Howard and students of the Royal Northern College of Music on November 30th. The evening features a performance of this short opera, a talk by Emily Howard, and the chance for audience members to participate in the composition of mathematical music, working with the musicians to turn "numbers into notes”.

Part of ‘The Lovelace Trilogy’ composed in 2011, ‘Ada Sketches’, a dramatic scena for mezzo-soprano (Ada), flute, clarinet and percussion, explores a musical solution to a computation as solved in the hypothetical 1842 Analytical Engine. It will be performed by RNCM Alumna mezzo-soprano Rosie Middleton and current RNCM students Lily Caunt (flute), German Martinez-Merino (clarinet), and Aiden Marsden (percussion).

This event is part of our 200 year anniversary celebrations of Ada Lovelace and follows the very successful "Science of Harmony" evening held at the Science Museum on Friday 23rd October. It draws inspiration from the note by Ada Lovelace: "Supposing, for instance, that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of such expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent."

We are grateful to the many supporters of the event, including the Transforming Musicology project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and FAST supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Click here to register for your free ticket.

 

Ada Lovelace

Contact name: David de Roure
Contact email: david.deroure@oerc.ox.ac.uk
Audience: Open to all