Aurora Borealis | Baczkowski | Manchester Contemporary Orchestra

This performance explores how neuroscience can be brought into the concert hall to potentially enhance the live music experience. During this concert by the Manchester Contemporary Orchestra, a volunteer audience member was wearing an EEG cap which allows us to measure their brain activity. We developed a system where this brain data manipulates an animation of the Northern Lights in real time.
Different sides of our brain are more active when processing different emotions. For instance, in right-handed people, the right hemisphere is more active in processing more negative feelings such as anger or fear. Measurements of each side of the brain controlled the colour of the lights: red for right hemisphere activation (more negative emotions) and blue for left (more positive emotions). For this performance, the lighting in the concert hall also changes colour to match the projection.

This is the premiere of a shorter version of my composition Aurora Borealis. My piece explores how our affective responses to things like different musical styles may be mediated by our familiarity with them.