Starmirror Training Performance – Starmirror Ensemble unterstützt vom Kammerchor der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Starmirror Ensemble: Sara Gouzy, Marina Kerdraon-Dammekens, Andria Prokopa

On several Sundays during the exhibition period of Starmirror, participants are invited to take part in a live AI training process. The KW hall will be transformed into a recording studio in which local choirs, an ensemble and visitors will contribute their voices in an interplay of call and response.

During these sessions, participants will be asked to sing hymns from the newly created songbook by Herndon and Dryhurst. This was generated from a model based on Ordo Virtutum (1151) - a morality play by Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), the German Benedictine abbess and polymath, in which a soul must choose between good and evil. The artists were inspired by Hildegard von Bingen. They recognized analogies between her visions of a heavenly order between man and the cosmos and the protocols that shape today's cultural and technological infrastructures.

On each of the Sundays, a Berlin-based choir will join the ensemble for the call and response sessions and sing together with the visitors. No prior knowledge or preparation is required to participate, just an open mind and enthusiasm for singing together. The sessions are training performances that offer a direct, participatory experience of the human contributions that define AI.

The recordings of these sessions will form the basis for a public choral dataset that will be used to train a "Berlin AI Choir", which will celebrate its premiere at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (K21) in Düsseldorf.

The chamber choir of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin brings together German and foreign students in a chamber music ensemble. It sings a broad repertoire ranging from works of the past five centuries to contemporary compositions of the 21st century, including choral symphonic projects. The choir regularly collaborates with international ensembles and universities, e.g. Harvard, UT at Dallas, Poznan and Porto, and performs at home and abroad, including in Poland, Portugal, Italy, Israel and the USA. It has won several first prizes and special prizes at competitions. Direct contact with its audience in Berlin is particularly important to the choir.

Rights of use

By participating in the Starmirror training performances, the participants consent to the recording of their voices and grant the artists and KW Institute for Contemporary Art unrestricted rights of use to the voice recordings they contribute. This includes:

• Recording, storage and reproduction of the recordings.
• Use of the recordings for training and modification purposes of artificial intelligence (AI).
• Presentation and dissemination of the recordings, both in their original form and in AI-generated works (e.g. choral songs).
• Making the recordings and AI results publicly available, including online use and for promotional purposes.
• Editing, adapting or combining the recordings with other material to the extent necessary for the creation and presentation of the project.
• The recordings may also be published as part of the public domain.

Participation is voluntary and without financial compensation. Due to the large number of contributors, participants will not be named in connection with the resulting work.

Information on accessibility

Venue:
The event will take place in the exhibition rooms of KW (main hall). The exhibition rooms are accessible via a staircase and an elevator. Please email us in advance at reservation@kw-berlin.de so that we can reserve the elevator for you.

Recording:
The event will be recorded in audio form.

Time:
Admission begins at 4 pm.
The event starts punctually at 4 pm.
The event may start with a delay.
Late admission after the start of the event is possible.
The duration of the event is approximately 60 minutes.
The event will be held without breaks.

Seating facilities:
Seating (benches without backrests) will be provided.

Sensory stimuli:
The event tends to have a high volume.
The event is immersive.
The event takes place in a spacious room.

Event type:
The event is planned as a Relaxed Performance (""relaxed performance""). This means that the performance will take place in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. You are free to move around, leave and come back whenever you like.

Language:
The event will be mainly in English.
There is no translation.

Accompanying persons:
Accompanying persons can attend the event free of charge.

Contact persons:
For further questions regarding accessibility, please email reservation@kw-berlin.de.
If you have any questions or require assistance on site, please contact the admission staff.
If you have any questions or require on-site support, please contact the event management.