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A ssymphony in two parts created by Sam Sebren utilizing found, prerecorded and live sounds and performed in the WGXC studio with collaborators Brian Dewan, Jamie Davis, Matt Bua, Max Goldfarb, and Tom Roe in celebration of the WGXC on-air launch on Feb 26, 2011.

Writes Sebren:

"For "radioisreal vs. nothingisrealradio" I was invited to create a sound piece in celebration of launching WGXC on the airwaves. I knew there would be other artists in the studio that night but there was no way for me to "rehearse" anything with anybody beforehand. I had several challenges. First, to make a piece that could be performed utilizing radio studio equipment (and anything else I brought in), and then, I had to have a plan where participants could spontaneously join in without knowing much prior information. Also, I wanted the feeling of the piece to have some playfulness and joy, in celebration of the spirit of the ocassion, yet not be too literal. I wanted it to refer to radio itself and also stimulate the imagination of listeners at home.

I thought about the piece as having 2 symbolic parts with many sources of sound, much like a symphony with an orchestra of instruments performing 2 "movements". The first "movement" would be darker and less hopeful, representing a world without freedom and without community radio. The second "movement" would be more joyful and playful, representing the world with community radio and all of its freedoms of expression, symbolizing the positive changes WGXC and free103point9 are making for our area and the airwaves already.

For the first "movement" I made several pre-recorded cassette tape loops using obnoxious TV ads, radio static, industrial noises, public hearings, and other bleak sources so as to convey darkness and despair. Then, in the studio, I "taught" this piece moments beforehand to Tom Roe who deftly managed the mixing board while I tweaked cassette decks, turntables, and radios playing multiple sounds which Tom was hearing & mixing for the first time. At a certain point I "conducted" everyone to shift into the second "movement", which, with no rehearsal, we all did seamlessly, which was amazing.

For the second "movement" I reprised a piece I created and performed on neighborhood public radio (npr) when they were in the 2008 Whitney Biennial in NYC. That piece was called "nothingisrealradio" and was a nod to pioneering electronic composer, Morton Subotnik. It was also an unsanctioned collaboration with him whereby myself and a friend played a variety of soundmaking toys on top of a Morton Subotnik composition. For this new version, I was excited to have more people in the studio which seemed ideal for recreating this spontaneous collaboration. I brought numerous soundmaking devices & toys to the WGXC studio and taught everyone quickly how to play them. Then I "conducted" the "orchestra" on when to play and when to stop. Otherwise, they were free to make sounds as they pleased, and again, Tom was hearing & mixing everything for the first time. The spontaneity of it all is wonderfully un-reproduce-able, and I believe the joy everyone had creating crazy sounds with new objects comes through for the listener. In the studio, at the end of our performance, there was lots of laughter & happiness! "