Workshop | Henry Windish et al.: Working with MËSH: Advanced Tools and Strategies for Networked Instruments in Music and Sound Art

This workshop introduces MESH, a portable, wireless system for distributed music performance and interactive installation. Designed as a flexible alternative to infrastructure-heavy networked ensembles, MESH enables performers to create spatially distributed musical systems using compact, self-contained nodes that communicate over a wireless network.

Participants will gain hands-on experience with the core concepts behind MESH, including distributed sound synthesis, Open Sound Control (OSC) based communication, and decentralized performance design. We will build and perform with a distributed system, gaining practical insight into the design and implementation of portable networked music environments. In addition to performance-oriented applications, the workshop will also introduce approaches for audience interaction using computer vision techniques. The workshop is suitable for musicians, composers, and researchers interested in electroacoustic performance, interactive systems, and networked music practices.

Requirements

• No prior knowledge
• No materials needed – we will provide materials

About the workshop facilitators

Henry Windish is a graduate student in the School of Music at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His work focuses on computer music systems, audio software development, and collaborative tools for performance and education. He contributes to the design and implementation of networked performance platforms and supports student projects involving SuperCollider, audio networking, computer vision, and interactive media. Henry has been with the MËSH project since it launched at Georgia Tech in 2024. Previously, he studied electrical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.

Tristan Peng (he/him) is a Music Technology PhD student at the Georgia Institute of Technology exploring interaction design, spatial audio, and sonification; previously studying at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) in the Department of Music as well as the Department of Computer Science at Stanford University. A creative technologist and musician, his work aims to democratize music through technology–creating accessible, artful, and interactive ways for people to experience sound. His current projects investigate how data can become a medium for participation and how immersive Audio spaces can evoke emotion and understanding in ways that traditional visualizations cannot.

Henrik von Coler is a musician and researcher, working at the intersection of art, science and technology. In 2024 he founded the Lab for Interaction and Immersion (L42i) at Georgia Tech’s School of Music. Before that he was the director of the Electronic Music Studio at TU Berlin and head of the Computer Music Team at the Audio Communication Group. In his research and creative work, Henrik has explored various aspects of electronic music and musical instruments. This includes interface design, algorithms for sound generation and experimental concepts for composition and performance. Most of his projects treat space as an integral part of music. In 2017 he founded the Electronic Orchestra Charlottenburg – an ensemble of up to 12 electronic musicians – to explore music interaction on immersive loudspeaker systems. He has since worked on ways to enhance how musicians and audiences experience spatial music and sound art.