Physics in the Composer's Studio

Invoking Euler-Bernoulli Beam Theory to Solve a Musical Problem: As percussion instruments, chimes emit a tone with a complex, non-harmonic spectrum. In a lecture-demonstration, composer, musician, and one-time physicist Timothy Page will show how he has used Euler-Bernoulli beam theory to calculate the modes of resonance on homemade copper pipe chimes to generate a pitch space for his new percussion quartet, soon to be premiered by Grammy-award winning Third Coast Percussion as part of Denison’s Tutti Festival. Along the way, he will also discuss the fast Fourier transform - a computational method fundamental to digital signal processing, with myriad applications in physics, music, and beyond - and some more of the musical thinking behind his new piece.

A concert featuring Third Coast Percussion and Page’s work will take place on Saturday, March 9th at 7:00 pm in Swasey Chapel. Free entry!