Illuminating Sound

Teng Katherine

About this exposition

This research investigates the active role of light as a core compositional element in contemporary music performance by exploring the integration of light, sound, and movement in real-time environments. Traditionally, light has been treated as a secondary aspect of performance, primarily serving as a means of illumination or visual enhancement. However, this study examines how light can function beyond this conventional role, actively shaping musical structure and influencing perception. Through the analysis of live performances and hands-on experimentation with analogue oscillators, photoresistors, and DMX systems, this research explores how these elements function as both medium and material within a piece. My compositions, alongside works by composers such as Viola Yip and Hugo Morales Murguía, serve as case studies, illustrating light’s transformation in performance from a passive visual aid to a structural force. These works highlight how light, when treated as a compositional element, reconfigures performer agency and audience perception. By challenging conventional notions of light in music, this research contributes to ongoing discussions on multimedia composition and performance aesthetics. It proposes an alternative perspective in which light is not merely an accessory to sound but an integral component of musical structure, expanding the possibilities for interdisciplinary performance practice.

type	research exposition
keywords	multimedia, light, composition, interdisciplinary
date	07/11/2024
published	08/09/2025
last modified	08/09/2025
status	published
copyright	Katherine Ching-Fang Teng
license	CC BY-NC-ND
language	English
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/3159611/3159612
doi	https://doi.org/10.22501/koncon.3159611
published in	KC Research Portal
portal issue	1. Master Research Projects

name	Cover
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	solar panel stages
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	oscillator with dimmer pack rhythm
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	BD 1 movv
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	BD mov 1
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	BD mov.2
copyright	Katherine Teng
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name	BD mov.2 end
copyright	Katherine Teng
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name	oscillator trial photoresistor
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	ＢＤ mov 3
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	BD mov. 4
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	BD mov. 4 2
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	BD mov.4 3
copyright	Katherine Teng
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usages	picture

name	Bass drum setup
copyright	Katherine Teng
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usages	picture

name	Hands on screen
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	Insight shadows in THree
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	faces in Shadows in Three
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Blue Moon
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	Blue moon preview
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	image

name	Shadows in Three 2
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	pdf

name	Stages (2024)
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Stages 2024
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	Cables
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	Cabling
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	komorebi
copyright	Katherine Teng
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name	whole stage of BD
copyright	Katherine Teng
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name	Max patch for stages
copyright	Katherine Teng
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usages	picture

name	Working with light
copyright	Katherine Teng
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usages	picture

name	Trying light responsive syste
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	CWE Light House
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	Cwepreview
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
usages	image

name	CWE photo
copyright	Katherine Teng
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usages	picture

name	Scriabin Mysterium theater
copyright	Katherine Teng
license	All rights reserved
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name	Theater with candles
copyright	Katherine Teng
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name	Lumiere
copyright	Robert Henke
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	LED Light
copyright	Bady Abbas
license	All rights reserved
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name	Disco light
copyright	David Von Diemar
license	All rights reserved
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name	Forcefield
copyright	Hugo Morales Murguia
license	All rights reserved
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name	Test Patterns
copyright	Ryoji Ikeda
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Viola Yip
copyright	Viola Yip
license	All rights reserved
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name	The weather project
copyright	Olafur Eliasson
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	錯置現象
copyright	Lien-Cheng Wang
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Vermeer
copyright	Metropolitan museum of Art
license	All rights reserved
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Research Catalogue

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Illuminating Sound (2025)

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