last modified: 10 01, 2009
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