Public Transmissions is a new musical project by composer James Waide, in collaboration with harpist Anne-Marie O’Farrell and accordionist Timo Kinnunen.
An experimental performance piece, Public Transmissions radically reimagines the concert environment as a shared social space of musical communication. Scored for soloist(s) and an ensemble of local folk and/or popular musicians, the work dissolves traditional hierarchies between performer and audience, professional and amateur, classical and vernacular.
Like any truly public space, Public Transmissions is open to all: no single individual or group holds greater power to shape the space than any other. At its core, the piece is a dialogue—not only between musical parts, but between people. The audience’s behaviour directly influences the performers, while soloists respond sensitively to shifting patterns of attention and engagement.
In this spirit, alongside Anne-Marie and Timo, each performance includes an ensemble made up of anyone who wishes to take part, welcoming diverse musical voices and fostering collaboration across genres and backgrounds. Though performers may begin in positions that reflect conventional hierarchies, these are gradually subverted as the piece unfolds. Guided by a flexible graphic score and a responsive, improvisational logic, Public Transmissions treats audience attention as a compositional material in its own right—fundamental to the meaning and shape of each performance.
Public Transmissions 