Expertise
Electroacoustic composition and performance, Video game music (composition, performance, and arrangement), Live looping, Hardware and software design, Microcontrollers, Interactive media
Research Interests
Minecraft/Video Games as live musical instruments, Expressive live looping, Expanding musical expressivity through programming, Circuit design using microcontrollers, Remote and in-person media interactivity
Education
D.M.A: Music Composition, Boston University (2008)
B.M.:Music Composition, University of Missouri (2001)
Biosketch
Ramon Castillo, D.M.A., is a composer, performer, music technologist, improviser, and educator with a focus on live expressive performance using unconventional instruments and techniques. His compositional output includes works for Minecraft/video games (as instruments), robots, syntesizers, and traditional acoustic instruments. His long-term creative project Autumn Ate Everything integrates much of the above in a solo-performance package.
A list of instruments Ramon has performed in public:
Trumpet, Horn, Guitar (electric, acoustic, classical, guitar synth), Bass, Percussion (mostly mallets and aux), Piano, Cello, Banjo, Toy piano, Melodica, Voice, Bass ukelele, Baton (conductor's), Balinese gamelan (gong, gangsa, reong, kempli, pokok), Javanese gamelan (Lou Harrison's Si Betty), Synthesizer, Robot, Laptop/iPad/Electronic Digital Instuments, guitar pedals (as a musical instrument), sound-reactive video synth, Otamatone, Minecraft (as a musical instrument).
A list of ensemble types Ramon has performed with:
Concert bands/wind ensembles, Marching bands, Big bands, Jazz combos, Rock/funk/soul/ska bands, Dance bands, Guitar quartet, Chamber ensembles, Musical theater pit ensemble, Orchestra, Gamelan, new music ensembles, electroacoustic ensembles.
A list of artists Ramon has had the pleasure of performing with:
Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley, Gyan Riley, Publiquartet, Gamelan Galak Tika, Bang on a Can, Sandeep Das, Evan Ziporyn, Wu Man, Todd Reynolds, Taku Hirano, Bobby Shew.
Selected Presentations
July 2022 - Talk at Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) Conference - Minecraft as My Musical Instrument
May 2022 - Presentation of UML Music projects at the Maker Music Festival - virtual building at https://www.makermusicfestival.com/building/C418
March 2019 - Presentation at New England Synthesizer Festival - Advanced Looping in Ableton Live
March 2019 - Presentation at SEAMUS (Society for Electro-acoustic Music in the United States) at Berklee College of Music - Advanced Looping in Ableton Live
March - 2017 - Technology Demo: Polyrhythmic and Evolving Voltage Control: Earth Tones Controller at Voltage Connect at Berklee College of Music
Feb. 2016 - Presentation at SEAMUS (Society for Electro-acoustic Music in the United States) at Georgia Southern University - Polyrhythmic and Evolving Voltage Control: Earth Tones Controller
Selected Intellectual Property
Autumn Ate Everything - MO75 - https://share.amuse.io/album/autumn-ate-everything-mo75
Autumn Ate Everything - Sympathetic - https://share.amuse.io/album/autumn-ate-everything-sympathetic
Autumn Ate Everything - Cycle - https://share.amuse.io/album/autumn-ate-everything-cycle
Autumn Ate Everything - Chicken Hero, Villager Hero, Cow Hero - https://share.amuse.io/track/autumn-ate-everything-chicken-hero-villager-hero-cow-hero
Autumn Ate Everything - Caution! Wedding Cake - https://share.amuse.io/track/autumn-ate-everything-caution-wedding-cake
Autumn Ate Everything - Bleep Blop - https://share.amuse.io/album/autumn-ate-everything-bleep-blop
Selected Artistic and Professional Performances and Exhibits
July 2022 - Performance at Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) Conference (original music by R.C.)
24/7 Interactive Minecraft/MaxMSP/Twitch installation at https://www.twitch.tv/autumnateeverything
Feb. 2019 - Performance at 404 Festival at UMass Lowell (original music by R.C.)
April 2016 - Performance with Publiquartet at First Church Boston (original music by R.C.)
Sept. 2014 - Performance for Original Gravity Concert Series at the Aeronaut Brewing Co (original music by R.C.)
March 5, 2014 - World Projects at Carnegie Hall (original music by R.C.)
Sept. 2013 - Sandeep Das and Bleep Blop at Berklee College of Music (original music by R.C.)
Dec. 2011 - Performance with Terry Riley and Gamelan Galak Tika at MIT
Aug. 2010 - Performance with Kronos Quartet and Gamelan Galak Tika at Lincoln Center Out of Doors
April 2007 - Performance with Ensemble Robot at the Theater of Electricity (Boston's Museum of Science)
Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research
- Open Text Materials Mini-Grant (), Grant - University of Massachusetts Lowell
Michaelsen, G., Williams, A., Castillo, R.P.