COMPOSE YOURSELF. The Exploratorium, San Francisco's interactive science museum and cultural center, kicked off its summer-long Interactive Sound Studio festival of performances, lectures, workshops and demonstrations on May 28. Central to the festival, which runs through September 5, is the notion that composing music can be done by a variety of experimental techniques ranging from miceing rocking chairs and playing electric skis to using topographical computer algorithms for creating melodies and hooking up to the innovative WaveRider biofeedback technology (covered in this space last month).

In addition to 45 interactive sound and hearing exhibits, workshops and studio demonstrations, several artists, including Beth Custer (Club Foot Orchestra, Transmission), Myles Boisen (Splatter Trio), vocalist Pamela Z and composer Bob Ostertag, led audiences in a variety of compositional strategies. In conjunction with the Festival, the Exploratorium presented Vox Mundi (World Voice), a series of June concerts presenting vocalists of diverse styles and cultures. Featured artists included Terry Riley and Jai Uttal.