Tomás Cotik, DMA, associate professor in the School of Music & Theater, has released a prototype of his new interdisciplinary media project, titled Música AR 3D.
Música AR 3D is an augmented-reality, three-dimensional method of experiencing classical music, available to anyone with a smartphone. In the prototype, he is seen performing “Spanish Romance,” a piece by an anonymous 19th-century composer, as experienced through a phone in augmented reality, allowing the viewer to walk around the performer and view the musician from different angles and distances and locations in Portland, Oregon.
Dr. Cotik’s goal is to create an AR experience where users can view a 3D violin performance right in front of them, anywhere in the world, through their phone. Lauded by Gramophone for his “joyful virtuosity,” Cotik seeks to “reimagine the public concert as a participatory, democratized, and shared experience” that breaks down barriers between classical music and a broader, more diverse audience. This newest research project is a continuation of his recent larger-than-life multidisciplinary music projects, including Ombra Musici and The Fiddler on the Roof, both of which were featured in the Portland Winter Light Festival.
A 2023 Fulbright Scholar award recipient, Cotik is currently on sabbatical in Spain with residencies at Conservatories in Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza, and Murcia, giving master classes and pursuing projects about Spanish music and composers Piazzolla and Bach, as well as exploring new perspectives on classical music through multidisciplinary media projects including Música AR 3D. The prototype shows Cotik performing music from Spain -- his sabbatical residence country -- back home in various locations in Portland, demonstrating the potential of the project for both cultural exchange and placemaking.
Read more about this project in The Violin Channel, a worldwide classical music news, media, and streaming platform.