At the same time, the mystery of our existence, where we came from, how we got here, where we’re going, intrigues us beyond our ability to comprehend. Some see themselves as instruments of a Higher Being, or predestined to follow the paths of their ancestors. For others, the notion of a calling defines their quest for meaning. But if no one’s calling, we try to shape our own destiny.

What if there is a hidden purpose to our existence? And what if that purpose is hidden in the harmonies and dissonances of music? That is the genesis of composer Mardi-Ellen Hill’s story of a dynasty that has secretly controlled the world for centuries. Woven into the very fabric of the family’s DNA is a code embedded in music, which the chance hearing of a song confides to the heroine.

Not only a story set to music, this is also a computer game where participants can act out the roles and create new experiences that change the outcome for themselves. Hill calls it MEND, Musical Encode/Decode, which in her orchestration mixes virtual reality and real-life experience in a startlingly new way. Like the first talking movies that brought audiences into seemingly intimate contact with stars, this integrated story / music / game / technology of Mardi-Ellen Hill’s will create a shock of recognition — because it is the way we live now.

Posted on Facebook | May 30 | Permalink