The Tornado Project
Works for flute, clarinet and computer-generated sound with virtuosi American performers Esther Lamneck, clarinet, and Elizabeth McNutt, flute, plus Live Electronics.
Background
Inspired by the image of winds and wood flying through the air, Ricardo Climent and Paul Wilson conceived The Tornado Project: a set of commissioned works for flute, clarinet and computer-generated sound, to be performed by American wind virtuosi Esther Lamneck (clarinet) and Elizabeth McNutt (flute). Four works were composed for this ensemble and premiered at the opening ceremony of the NOVARS Research Centre at Manchester University in 2007. Subsequently, a fifth composition was created by New York-based composer Robert Rowe, and the complete set of works was performed at New York University in 2008. Each of the five works presents a different take on the possibilities of the ensemble: primary harmonic and melodic materials, recombinant live sampling, extended instrumental timbres, 1970’s rock, and computer- mediated formal structures.