last modified: 07 02, 2007
Rencon Workshop at ISMIR 2006
Submissions are invited for the RENCON 2006 performance rendering contest.
The aim of the contest is to foster research on computational models of
expressive music performance. RENCON is an annual
international event that began in 2002, and it has been presented at workshops
and panels at conferences such as ICMC, NIME, ICAD and IJCAI. The
results of RENCON 2006 will be announced and discussed in a panel on Expression
in Music to be held at the 7th International
Conference on Music Information Retrieval (ISMIR'06) in Victoria, Canada,
8-12 October 2006.
Rendering expressive performance in itself involves complex perceptual,
cognitive, psychological, and aesthetic processes. It therefore represents
a broad spectrum and constitutes a challenging research theme for computer
music research. Moreover, music performance is a promising field for investigating
basic principles of human emotion, intelligence, creativity and individuality.
RENCON is also considered a landmark research project in the sense that
its ultimate goal is the development of a performance-rendering machine
that will win the Chopin Concours by 2050. The process of reaching
that goal is expected to spawn many related research projects and yield
many interesting results.
The format of the 2006 contest will be similar to the 2005 contest, in that
entries may render a set piece for solo piano (compulsory section) or a
piece of the entrant's choice for any instrument(s) (open section). Submissions
consist of the musical performance in one of the accepted formats (see below),
and a textual description of the performance rendering system in PDF format.
The description should clearly specify the level of human involvement in
the rendering process (e.g. setting parameters, identifying melody notes,
or any other information which the system used apart from the supplied MIDI
file). An existing publication is acceptable if it fulfils the criteria
above. Musical materials should be free of copyright restrictions so that
they can be placed on the RENCON web site.
Compulsory Section
The compulsory section consists of the following set piece for solo piano: Chopin Etude op. 10 no. 3, bars 1-21 (MIDI, PostScript, GIF, Finale).
Submissions for the compulsory section should preferably be in MIDI format. For judging the entries, the MIDI files will be played on a Bösendorfer grand piano (CEUS). Entries will also be accepted in CEUS format. Other formats might be accepted; please contact the organizer in advance if you would like to submit in another format.
Open Section
Entries may render any piece of music for any instrument(s). Submissions for solo piano may use MIDI or Bösendorfer file formats. Other submissions should use one of the standard audio file formats (WAV or MP3); please contact the organizer in advance if you would like to submit in another format. If your submission is larger than 20MB, please don't mail the file, but mail a web or ftp address where the file can be found.Important Dates
Submission of musical material: Extended to Sun 10 Sept 2006Submission of text description: Fri 15 Sept 2006 (no extension!)
ISMIR 2006: 8-12 October 2006
Submissions
Submissions should reach the organizer, Simon Dixon, by email, by the above-mentioned dates.Enquiries and submissions: simon[DOT]dixon(AT)ofai[DOT]at
Last changed: 6 July 2006