To use PRT, you should download PD Extended, which you can download here! Then, open the zip file, open the file at the top [1. PRT (open this file to play)] and enjoy visiting the different parts of the piece. If you make any changes to the piece, let me know.
If you do not have PD on your computer, you can try to open PRT from the app available here. Otherwise, a recording of the concert version of PRT is available under "Audio and Video"
If you do not have PD on your computer, you can try to open PRT from the app available here. Otherwise, a recording of the concert version of PRT is available under "Audio and Video"
prt_10-20.zip | |
File Size: | 85 kb |
File Type: | zip |
PRT is named after the automated train in Morgantown, West Virginia. Originally built in the
1970’s to demonstrate a technology that was considered the future of urban transport, riders of
the PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) select a station and are transported on demand. My piece
works similarly; a user selects a “station” from the list, presses the button, and is transported to
the musical and visual sequence representing that station. (During less-busy evening times all
PRT cars make all stops, as in the concert mode of this piece.)
The Morgantown PRT is still active today, though it never achieved its goal of being a model for
public transport, and isn’t even true “personal” rapid transit as the cars can accommodate over a
dozen passengers. After much tinkering and the steadfast, invaluable support and guidance from
Maurice Wright, my piece can be experienced individually, though perhaps both music and
public transport fall under the category of things best experienced collectively.
I was traveling to West Virginia witnessing the devastating impacts of mountaintop removal
coal-mining, which has destroyed many communities there. The “stations” in my PRT are named
after ghost towns in West Virginia, chosen for their evocative names.
PRT (c) 2015 Benjamin Safran (BMI)
1970’s to demonstrate a technology that was considered the future of urban transport, riders of
the PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) select a station and are transported on demand. My piece
works similarly; a user selects a “station” from the list, presses the button, and is transported to
the musical and visual sequence representing that station. (During less-busy evening times all
PRT cars make all stops, as in the concert mode of this piece.)
The Morgantown PRT is still active today, though it never achieved its goal of being a model for
public transport, and isn’t even true “personal” rapid transit as the cars can accommodate over a
dozen passengers. After much tinkering and the steadfast, invaluable support and guidance from
Maurice Wright, my piece can be experienced individually, though perhaps both music and
public transport fall under the category of things best experienced collectively.
I was traveling to West Virginia witnessing the devastating impacts of mountaintop removal
coal-mining, which has destroyed many communities there. The “stations” in my PRT are named
after ghost towns in West Virginia, chosen for their evocative names.
PRT (c) 2015 Benjamin Safran (BMI)