The First Continuum Fingerboard Conference will take place on June 9–11, 2016, at the Altamont Theatre in Asheville, North Carolina. With sponsors including the Bob Moog Foundation and modular synthesizer manufacturer Make Noise, the event will open with a Thursday evening reception at the Make Noise factory in West Asheville.
Designed by Dr. Lippold Haken and manufactured by Haken Audio, the Continuum Fingerboard is a musical instrument that allows real-time performance control. With a greater pitch range than a traditional 88-note MIDI keyboard, the Continuum offers continuous multidimensional performance control for every finger on the playing surface. Inside the instrument is a custom-designed, user-programmable, digital modular synthesizer specifically designed to take advantage of the Continuum's subtle and dramatic expressive musical possibilities.
The Continuum counts Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack composer A.R. Rahman, Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess and arena-packing EDM artist Amon Tobin among its players.
Performers, sound designers, composers and electronic music enthusiasts who attend ContinuuCon will explore this uniquely expressive instrument through concerts, workshops, lectures and more. Dr. Lippold Haken, inventor of the Continuum, and Edmund Eagan, developer of the Continuum's synthesis engine EaganMatrix, will be among those sharing their knowledge and musical talents.
ContinuuCon is planned as an annual event. Tickets and more information are available on the Web at continuucon.com.
About Asheville
The natural beauty of the Asheville area, located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains and once home to musical luminaries Béla Bartók and Bob Moog, combines with its deep heritage of surprisingly advanced musical thought to provide the perfect location for ContinuuCon. In addition to Béla and Bob, composer John Cage and choreographer Merce Cunningham debuted works and Cage staged his first "happening" at nearby Black Mountain College. Asheville has also made an oversized mark on contemporary music technology as home to The Bob Moog Foundation, Moog Music, Make Noise and Paul Vo.
