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World Premiere: Electric Sheep

We're thrilled to announce the premiere of Electric Sheep, a new commissioned work by composer Marc Mellits for Piano and LEMUR Robots. Electric Sheep will be performed by renown new music pianist Kathleen Supové in a three-night run at The Flea Theater on December 17th, 18th and 19th as part of her Exploding Piano series. The concert, Kathleen Supové and the Electric Sheep will also feature works by three other composers created for and performed by Ms. Supové.

Kathleen Supové and the Electric Sheep
The Flea Theater
41 White Street
New York City
(3 blocks below Canal Street between Church and Broadway)
Saturday December 17th, 9:30 pm
Sunday December 18th, 7:00 pm
Monday December 19th, 7:00 pm
$15 ($12 students/seniors)








































Past News

Living In The Future
Eric Singer @ SPACE Gallery

Despite the lack of flying cars, jet packs and personal worm holes, Eric Singer enjoys living in the future. In fact, this is where he draws inspiration for his artwork. With this in mind, Eric presents a retro-proto-spective of his work combining sound, video, robotics and technology. Plus, you get to play with the art, too.

SPACE Gallery
May 13-June 16
818 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA
Opening Reception: May 13th, 6-9 pm























Recent CBS Sunday Morning feature on the Orchestrion!



















News
- Check out our new Vimeo channel featuring lots of new video: Click here. Please forward to your friends!
- The LEMUR GamelaTron toured Russia recently thanks to the support of USArtists International. http://gamelatron.com
- Composer Marc Mellits (http://marcmellits.com) is working on a piece for pianist Kathleen Supové and LEMUR robots. We hope to premiere this in the fall.
- Todd Reynolds, Eric Singer and Luke DuBois did a residency last fall at MassMOCA. Stay tuned for Still Life with Microphone shows from various combinations of us in the future.
- The GuitarBot is in residence at the Computer Music Department at CMU. We expect pieces by several Pittsburgh artists to come out of this.

Eric Singer stuff
- Eric has a six-week solo retrospective show at SPACE Gallery in Pittsburgh opening May 13th, featuring his and LEMUR's work.
- Eric and friends are planning Pyrotopia: The First Annual Festival of Fire Arts, in Braddock PA, October 7th & 8th. http://pyrotopia.com
- Eric is working on plans for a new Art, Technology and Fabrication space in Pittsburgh. More news on this as it develops.



  • LEMUR at the NYC Maker Faire 9/25-26
  • Three New Grants
  • Collaborations with Todd Reynolds, Attack Theatre
  • Pat Metheny Orchestrion Tour Continues October 1

The Latest from LEMUR, 9/22/2010

We're pleased to announce three grant awards: the Multi Arts Production (MAP) Fund awarded us a grant to commission a new work from Marc Mellits for LEMUR robots and pianist Kathleen Supové; USArtists International awarded us funds for Zemi17 and the GamelaTron to play the Apositsia Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia; and the BNY Mellon Foundation awarded us a grant to assist in market our installations to museums.

Todd Reynolds has been working with the bots lately, including premiering a new commissioned work with the Albany Symphony's Dogs of Desire earlier this year, as well as employing the instruments on his upcoming album, scheduled for release in the spring.

Eric attended the FILE Festival in São Paulo, Brazil this summer, exhibiting the new GuitarBot II for the festival's opening week. We'll be at the World Maker Faire this weekend (9/25-26) at the Queens Hall of Science. If you're attending, stop by and say hi.

The Pat Metheny Orchestrion Tour featuring LEMUR's instruments continues Oct. 1. Pittsburghers: see the Orchestrion on Oct. 3 at the Carnegie Library Music Hall in Munhall. Details at patmetheny.com.

We'll be collaborating with the acclaimed Attack Theatre dance company on their next production, premiering in January 2011. Also, stay tuned for details on a collaboration with Dan Deacon, slated to play in NYC next year.


LEMUR In The News
We're happy about all the press we've been receiving lately.

A great feature on Eric & LEMUR is now on Vice's Motherboard.tv.

Plus recent print stories:


What We're Up To

This summer, we're working on appearances in western Massachusetts and Sao Paulo, Brazil (!). Details to follow in a future news blast.

Meanwhile, we're cocooning a bit, taking time to work on some new instruments and ideas, as well as forging some interesting collaborations with other performing groups.

We're also working on stirring up future children's and science museum installations with the LEMURtron. Please let us know if you have friends in high museum places that might be interested.


LEMUR on Facebook and Twitter

Subscribe to our feeds on Facebook and Twitter (@lemurbots) to receive informal news and more frequent updates on our goings-on. As always, you can subscribe to our announcement list at the bottom right of this page.


Pat Metheny Orchestrion
The first part of the Pat Metheny Orchestrion Tour has concluded. Pat reported that LEMUR's instruments performed valiantly ("They were the least of our problems!" he told us). The tour will resume in October.

What does an "Orchestrion" look like? Check out this Gigapan image. Double-click to zoom in and see the instruments up close.




LEMUR Robots and Pat Metheny's Orchestrion Project












Pat Metheny Orchestrion (click to play video)

From LEMUR Director Eric Singer:

After more than a year of work and collaboration, I am extremely excited to tell you about the Orchestrion Project. In 2008, 17-time Grammy-winning jazz artist Pat Metheny came to LEMUR with the idea to produce an album and tour backed entirely by robotic musical instruments. This led to a year-long project where we produced an orchestra of over 40 robotic instruments, including GuitarBots, mallet instruments and a large array of percussion. These instruments, augmented with several instruments by other roboticists, comprise the Orchestrion, a robotic orchestra entirely under Pat's compositional and improvisational control.

Pat spent the better part of 2009 composing for and recording with these instruments. The result is a new album entitled Orchestrion, scheduled for release on January 26, 2010. I've had the pleasure to preview the album and see Pat perform in studio with the Orchestrion. I and others who have heard and seen the Orchestrion Project believe it is some of the best music Pat has ever produced.

From February to May 2010, Pat will be touring the world with the Orchestrion. I am eagerly looking forward to the tour and the exposure it will bring to our art form and the great music produced by Pat Metheny with these instruments. When Orchestrion comes to your city, it is a performance not to be missed.

I would like to personally thank all of the LEMUR artists and apprentices who worked on this project. I especially want to thank Leif Krinkle and Boris Klompus - without their hard work and dedication, the extraordinary results we achieved would not have been possible.

This project, along with other projects, performances and installations we're working on in New York and Pittsburgh, should make 2010 a banner year for LEMUR. I hope we'll have the opportunity to share our work with you.

Pat Metheny's Orchestrion
Beginning in January 2010
More Information on the Orchestrion Project


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