Lawrence Ball

Lawrence Ball (born 17 September 1951) is an English musician and composer who lives in North London.

He produces multi-media compositions, performs in concert, and also works as a private tutor in mathematics, music theory and physics.

Lawrence Ball was born in London and graduated from Queen Mary College, London University, with a BSc in Computer Science with Mathematics, then received a scholarship to Dulwich College from 1963 to 1969.

He studied harmony and counterpoint with Robert Smith at the Guildhall School of Music from 1976 to 1977, piano with Tessa Uys from 1977 to 1978, and composition with composer Robert Boyle, an associate of Philip Glass, from 1978 to 1979.

Ball has performed live in Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Switzerland and the UK He has accompanied the international painting group Collective Phenomena, performed with Sri Lankan singer Manickam Yogeswaran and Californian sarod player Lisa Sangita Moskow.

Ball has developed projects with healer Isobel McGilvray and worked with choreographers Sheila Styles and Rebecca Ham.

He has composed for pianists Yonty Solomon and Tim Ravenscroft, violist Robin Ireland, The Smith Quartet, the Electric Symphony Orchestra and female vocal quartet Rosy Voices.

He also composed music for the film The Eye of the Heart, a biography of the artist Cecil Collins.

Other collaborations include work with Emily Burridge.

With the initial help of Michael Tusch and James Larsson, this branch of mathematics was developed on the foundation of Whitney's differential dynamics and has been applied to graphic 3D visuals, sound timbres and melodic loops which evolved from the later 1980s.

Such compositions are similar to fractal and chaos sequences, but unlike fractals, are structured into time.

In the 1980s Ball developed a series of harmonic-math generated "timbral transforms" tones which produced compositions co-authored with Isobel McGilvray, and marketed as ShapeTapes.

He was inspired by John Whitney's pre-computer and computer generated films to begin work on a branch of mathematics called harmonic mathematics in 1984.

From 1984, many of Ball's scores feature harmonic maths processes that he created without computer programs.

Pete Townshend's Method software uses harmonic maths exclusively in its generation.

A technical explanation of harmonic maths and their use in music composition is available on Ball's website.

Lawrence Ball has collaborated with healers, therapists and counselors as well as writing for dance, film, popular music, orchestra and choir.

His work is contemporary, related to minimalism and often considered New Age.

His compositions often use the technique of looping and repetition pioneered in the musical innovations of Terry Riley and LaMonte Young.

Other composers that Ball lists as influences include Erik Satie, Alan Hovhaness and Arvo Pärt.

With this input, Dave Snowdon developed a computer program in 1995 called Visual Harmony which produces graphics for live performance at musical events.

In 1996 Ball founded the Planet Tree Music Festival, which he continues to direct, featuring in particular the composers Alan Hovhaness, Kaikhosru Sorabji and Jean Catoire.

Ball has recorded over 2000 piano improvisations and other compositions.

His works include:

In 2006 Ball worked with composer and songwriter Pete Townshend on recordings for The Who's album Endless Wire. From 2004 to 2007 Ball also collaborated with Townshend and Dave Snowdon to set up a project called The Lifehouse Method, an Internet site where applicants could "sit" for an electronic musical portrait made up from data they enter into the website.

In January 2012, Navona Records released Method Music, a double album consisting of music created by Ball with assistance from Townshend using the Lifehouse Method.

Ball has an interest in algorithmically generated sound, music and visuals.