This composition features personal, intimate memories of those who experienced the events of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks first hand. Just three months after the World Trade Towers were struck; Steve Berman, Dawn Haines and I went to New York City and interviewed many survivors and rescue workers about their personal recollections of the events surrounding the attacks. The narrative design is centered on Billy Green, a fireman from Engine 6 who lost everyone in his company that day. This is the concert version of the interactive 3D Virtual Reality experience (see below). Sorting through more than 20 hours of interviews, I created a kind of animated poetry (using digital audio techniques) which drives the experience.

Credits

The work was funded by Steven Berman, Iowa State University and the Iowa Arts Counsel. The piece was installed or discussed at IEEE Conference: Germany, International Human Computer Interface Conference: Las Vegas, World Internet Conference: Madrid, IRCAM at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and International Super Computing. Several publications mention the piece, including the book, "Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to Interactive Entertainment" by Caroline Miller.

Many people contributed their time, expertise and experience in the making of this memorial. Ashes to Ashes was intended for performance in a six sided cave located at Iowa State University