Jon Rose at UCSD

By Ioana Patringenaru I January 30, 2006

He built a cello with 19 strings. He played on wire fences in the Australian outback. He outfitted some of his bows and instruments with electronic sensors. And now he's coming to UCSD.

Jon Rose, a violinist who lives in Australia, will bring his unconventional performances to campus in February.

If you want to see a real innovative force in contemporary music, Rose is your man, said UCSD Music Professor Mark Dresser, who invited the artist.

"He's an innovator who's carved out a unique space in the art world," Dresser said.

The professor heard a recording of Rose's work on the BBC in 1984. It sounded like a base, a violin and a cello rolled up into one - and it was amazing, Dresser recalls. Rose started playing the violin at age 7 -- but walked away from a formal music education at age 15. He went on to play, compose and study a large variety of music genres, from country and western, to bebop, to sound installations.

At UCSD, he will play an improvised duo with graduate student James Ilgenfritz. He also will be playing pieces from his Hyperstring Project, which marries the violin and interactive software. He also will talk about his Great Fences of Australia project. Since 2002, Rose and violinist Hollis Taylor have traveled about 22,000 miles playing hundreds of wire fences in every state and territory of the fifth continent, including the well-known 'Dog Fence' and 'Rabbit-Proof Fences', and recording the unique sounds they created.