The Hewlett-Packard Symphony Orchestra was to be no more. Modern corporate trends dictated that the modest corporate support of our orchestra was ending.  Our final concert, in this case as “The Group Formerly Known as the Hewlett-Packard Symphony”  was May 15, 2009.  The concert featured the Dvořák Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”.  We were encouraged to contribute “open mic” pieces in that theme.

I’d had the idea to compose a piece for computer and live performers after having seen the Kronos Quartet play at Stanford a few months earlier.    In typical fashion, I waited until nearly the last possible moment and composed a piece I called “To the New World”.  

In it, the players open the piece, and introduce the various themes and motifs.  The computer “dopplegängers” take up the boring, repetitive tasks, while the players modify bits here and there. 

There were some technical difficulties that delayed the start by a minute or so, but the performance went well.

After the performance of the symphony we revealed our new identity: 

The South Bay Philharmonic, An Open Source Symphony

Our first concert featured:  Dvořák Symphony No. 8