60x60
60x60 is a collection of 60 electroacoustic or acousmatic works from 60 different composers/artists, each work 60 seconds or less in duration. 60x60 project showcases sixty new works, each sixty seconds or less, by sixty composers in a continuous sixty-minute concert, for a one-hour cross-section of contemporary music. The 60x60 project was conceived and developed by the new music consortium, Vox Novus and its founder, Robert Voisey.
60x60 was designed to showcase the diversity of the contemporary music and has succeeded in presenting thousands of composers in hundreds of performances around the world since 2003. The 60x60 project puts out a call for submissions for recorded media 60 seconds or less in length 60 one-minute works are selected from the submissions. The 60 works are then ordered to create a one-hour music mix. The 60x60 mix is then synchronized with an analog clock where the beginning of each new minute brings the beginning of a new musical work by a different artist. The 60x60 mix is then presented in several venues throughout the world. Later in the performance season, 60x60 collaborates with artists of different disciplines to create multimedia performances with dance, video, and/or fine arts.
Performance, participants and purpose
The performance of 60x60 consists of the 60 works played over loudspeakers in succession without pause for 1 hour. It is played in conjunction with a synchronized analog clock. Works less than 60 seconds are artistically placed within a minute time frame; the rest of the minute is filled with silence until the next minute begins.60x60's primary focus is to create an artistic representation of the electronic music being created in society today and to present that music to a large audience, "to represent diverse composers from all walks of life" Each 60x60 performance mix contains a wide variety of musical styles and aesthetics. "Founder Robert Voisey said the 60-centric format – inspired by other intermission-free performances in New York – is designed to retain audiences' attention. And through "60x60," he hopes to expose newcomers to electronic music."
More than 2000 composers have been included in the project. A few notable composers in the 60x60 project include: Liana Alexandra, Ernst Bacon, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz, Eve Beglarian, Stephen Betts, Colin Black, James Brody, George Brunner, Warren Burt, Monique Buzzarté, Christian Calon, David Campbell, Robert Carl, Gustav Ciamaga, :fr:Paul Clouvel, Noah Creshevsky, Francis Dhomont, Robert Dick, Emma Lou Diemer, Moritz Eggert, Arne Eigenfeldt, Karlheinz Essl, Carlo Forlivesi, David Gamper, J. Ryan Garber, Robert Gluck, Daniel Goode, David Gunn, James Harley, David Evan Jones, Richard Kostelanetz, Gintas K, Joan La Barbara, Le Tuan Hung, Mary Jane Leach, Elainie Lillios, John Link, Guy Livingston, Annea Lockwood, Chris Mann, Al Margolis, Mike McFerron, Diana McIntosh, Christian McLeer, David Morneau, John Oliver, Pauline Oliveros, Marco Oppedisano, Cezary Ostrowski, Frank J. Oteri, Robert W. Parker, Maggi Payne, Sarah Peebles, Anne van Schothorst, Daria Semegen, Alex Shapiro, Judith Shatin, Alice Shields, Juan Maria Solare, Laurie Spiegel, Allen Strange, Robert Scott Thompson, Barry Truax, Eldad Tsabary, Robert Voisey, Jane Wang, Rodney Waschka II, and Hildegard Westerkamp
60x60 is a project in which promotes both established and emerging composers and artists alike. 60x60 is a platform for the contemporary composer to promote his or her career and expose their style and aesthetic to audiences around the world. Some of the emerging composers include: John Akins, Christopher Ariza, Jason Bolte Scott Brickman Mikel Butler, Russel Cannon, Maurilio Cacciatore, Dan Sedgwick, Marji Gere, Nicholas Chase Brad Decker, Kevin Lewis Noah Meites, Mason Leiberman, Michael Pounds, Garry Wickliffe, Greg Yasinitsky
Bruce Hamilton Aaron Krister Johnson, Mark Eden, Robert Fleisher, Tova Kardonne Mason Leiberman. Molly Crain, Joey Perkins, Nadia Smith, Maurilio Cacciatore, Greg Hoepfner, Erdem Helvacıoğlu Michael Wittgraf Lynn Job, Melissa Grey, Adam Sovkoplas, Brad Decker, Nivedita ShivRaj, Chris Flores, Aaron Word, Ricardo Arias, Moises Linares., William Price, Alan Shockley Bettie Ross, Yoko Honda, Lucrecia Ugena, Jennifer Merkowitz, Mary H. Simoni, and Stephen Lias.
A complete list of composers who participated in the 60x60 project can be found on the
The 60x60 project is more than just a single performance. It is a venue where a large community of composers and sound artists come together to present their music. Each year after the call for works a Radio Request Extravaganza is held. This is a radio show where any work submitted to the project may be requested for airplay. Afterwards, a selection panels finds 60 works for the 60x60 International mix for that year; when 60 composers of a particular region or style are found an alternate mix is created to represent them. When this happens the project presents the alternate mix as well as the international mix in its concert season. After the project has presented the audio mixes, usually presented with an analog clock, 60x60 collaborates with an artist in a different media. A second performance season is held promoting the multimedia collaboration. In conjunction to the performances of the project a CD is made each year to represent the submissions sent to the project.
60x60 has been presented in various types of venues throughout the world from concert halls to classrooms; from contemporary museums to art galleries; from projections on building walls to installations in storefront windows; from large public atriums to bars and nightclubs. 60x60 uses "guerrilla" production tactics to bring it to the broadest audience possible. Some notable venues include: the World Financial Center Winter Garden Atrium, Stratford Circus, The Sheldon the Essl Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Kemper Museum, the Weisman Art Museum, storefront window at chashama, and Galapagos Art Space. 2010 sees the European debut of 60x60 Dance in London at Stratford Circus.
Other performances include: A*Devantgarde festival, Arts NOW Series, Athena Festival, eArts at Mansfield University, Electronic Music Midwest festival, International Electroacoustic Music Festival, EuCuE Free Play: Listening chamber, The Fresno New Music Festival, Kentucky New Music Festival, New Music Days festival, Outside the Box New Music Festival, Spark Festival, Oklahoma Panhandle State University Birmingham New Music Festival, Dance Parade, Sedbergh Music Festival, Minifest Transylvania University's Studio 300: Digital Art and Music Festival, International Sound Art Festival Berlin 2010, and eArts 2010: Sound & Vision. Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium, 2009 Conference of the Texas Chapter of The National Association of Composers
60x60 has been presented in all forms of media throughout the world including Television, radio, and Internet.
Multimedia collaboration
"Robert Voisey collected and culled 60 musical arrangements from many more submissions, all to inspire the performers and stimulate the audience." -Minute to Win It, Alison SieloffEmbracing its vision to reach a diverse audience 60x60 has collaborated with artists outside the acoustic medium to create multimedia performances. 60x60 has collaborated with experimental film makers, photographers, improvisational videographers, sculptors, choreographers and dancers. Some of the artists the project has worked with include Viv Moore, Hettie Barnhill, Stephanie Bernard, Andy Haspenpflug, Justine Linnehan, Sabrina Pena Young, Adriana Pegorer, Erin Bomboy, Amiti Perry, Patrick Liddell, Zlatko Ćosić, Jeramy Zimmerman, Gisela Gamper, Shimpei Takeda, and Nick Zedd.
60x60 Dance
60x60 Dance is a collaboration pairing the 60 audio works with 60 different dances. Exactly like the audio performances, the 60 dances are performed continuously back to back for an hour synchronized with an analog clock. While the music of 60x60 Dance can be from any of the 60x60 mixes, the dancers and choreographers are pooled from the local area where the performance is being held. This creates a "grassroots" touring show which is community based utilizing the dancers from the immediate region. 60x60 Dance has had performances at churches, performance art spaces, art galleries, dance clubs, theaters, The Sheldon, and the World Financial Center Winter Garden Atrium where it was described by The New York Times as a "masterpiece of organization"- The first 60x60 Dance collaboration started in 2007 with a performance in Jan Hus Church and was directed with the choreographer Jeramy Zimmerman of in collaboration with Robert Voisey.
- In 2009, 60x60 Dance had its debuts in Ohio, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Montreal.
- Choreographer Amiti Perry organized 60x60 Dance to Columbus, Ohio at the Wall Street dance club. This was the first time 60x60 Dance was performed outside of New York City. Some of the artists included Columbus Movement Movement,
- In Kansas City, Kansas and St. Louis, Missouri, Amiti Perry and Erin Bomboy organized dancers and debuted 60x60 dance in those cities in conjunction with Robert Voisey at Vox Novus. In Kansas City 60x60 Dance was held the Electronic Music Midwest Festival and the St. Louis performance was held at the MadArt Art Gallery in co-production with the New Music Circle. The Dance company MADCO supplied many of the choreographers for that performance.
- In 2010, Erin Bomboy known as one of "the brightest stars in the dance firmament" will return to St Louis for the second year in a row to bring 60x60 Dance to The Sheldon for the American Arts Experience co-produced with HEARDing Cats Collective underwritten by The Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation. This performance of 60x60 Dance was recorded by HEC-TV and is . One of the 60 choreographers included in the St Louis performance was St Louis native Hettie Barnhill a Broadway dancer in the show Fela!.
- 2010 sees the European debut of 60x60 Dance in London on the July 24, 2010. Part of London's Open Weekend and the Create 10 Festival, 60x60 Dance cannot be better placed than at Stratford Circus in Stratford – the heart of the developing London Olympic City, 60x60 Dance is fitting to celebrate the official two year countdown towards London 2012. East London Dance is joining forces with Vox Novus, Artistic Director Robert Voisey, Dance Co-ordinator Adriana Pegorer and Producer Silke Arnold to introduce 60x60 Dance to London audiences. Over 200 choreographers from across the globe submitted to be selected for the London event including Tony Adigum, Colette Brandenburg, Chris Mathews and James Hewison.
- 60x60 Dance also debuted in Toronto in 2010 at the Music Gallery. The 60 dances created by 60 choreographers was organized by Vivien Moore and co-produced by Tova Kardonne and Robert Voisey. The performance was hailed as "miraculous" and "thoroughly enjoyable" by Paula Citron. In a year review of 2010 Paula Citron honored 60x60 with the Genre Fusion Award
- 60x60 Dance returns for its second year in the Dance Festival at Dance Parade. with Dance Coordinators Hettie Barnhill and Justine Linnehan Dance Parade is a yearly citywide dance parade and dance festival in New York city whose mission is to promote dance as an expressive and unifying art form by showcasing all forms of dance. The 2011 performance of the 60x60 Dance will be specifically showcase aerial dance.
- 60x60 Dance returned to The Sheldon in St Louis for the third time to be part of the annual American Arts Experience with Dance Coordinator Hettie Barnhill "It's the perfect mixture of improv and structure with the marriage of movement and music," Barnhill said.
- 60x60 Dance has been performed annually at Slippery Rock University since 2011. Organized by Andy Haspenpflug he comments, "60x60" is more than just a collection of short works played in succession, each work is a different piece, but they are put together by artists to create a macro composition for audiences to enjoy." He also comments in greater explanation, "One of the things I like best about it is it gives people a chance to really express themselves," said Hasenpflug. "They don't have to stick to one genre or a way of doing things that we say. They can essentially do whatever they want although I really try to harp on the fact that it has to be their best quality." Victoria Homschek, a senior dual major in dance and theatre from Aliquippa who performed at 60x60 Dance describes the performance, "I like to tell people to come and ride the wave of the show,... There are going to be some pieces that are funny, or sad, or you have no idea what's going on, but that's all the fun of it, just seeing all of our creative minds put together."
- In 2014, 60x60 Dance Toronto performs at the Enwave Theater for NextSteps
- For 2015 60x60 Dance created a special Anniversary Mix to celebrate the 15th year of Vox Novus. This mix was presented for a return performance to the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place and premiered in Texas at A&M University. 60x60 Dance also continued a yearly collaborations at Slippery Rock and Concordia University in Montreal.