[Discuss-gnuradio] Brickle/AB2KT and Carnegie Hall

[Robert McGwier]

On December 22 at Carnegie Hall,  the New Jersey Composer's Guild will 
present "Answer to Job, An Alternative Holiday Concert".    Frank 
Brickle (AB2KT) is the secretary of the Composer's Guild of New Jersey.

He has composed an opera which will be performed during this concert:

http://www.williamanderson.us/index_body.html

Frank's opera is a Townley Mystery Play.  Mystery plays or miracle plays 
are medieval religious dramas based on stories from the Bible. Mystery 
plays were performed around the time of church festivals, reaching their 
height in Europe during the 15th and 16th Centuries. A whole cycle 
running from the Creation to the Last Judgment was performed in separate 
scenes on mobile wagons by various town guilds. Four English cycles 
survive: Coventry, Wakefield (or Townley), Chester and York.   They 
were  intended for the common person.  In many cases, it was the only 
way people could hear the stories of the Bible in their common tongue, 
rather than in Latin.  Frank's composition,  "The Creation of the World" 
will be performed during this concert.

The tickets are not yet on sale, but you may visit the Carnegie site and 
soon enough the "Buy Tickets" button will open.

http://www.carnegiehall.org/article/box_office/events/evt_7356.html?selecteddate=12222005

Frank is a member of the American Radio Relay League SDR Working Group,  
a GnuRadio enthusiast,  contributor to the ARRL/HSMM/SDRWG OFDM modem 
project,  AMSAT member and a member of the Eagle/Phase 3 Express 
Software Defined Transponder and CC Rider Team for Eagle,   coauthor of 
the DttSP Software Defined Radio package (the SDR core for the Flex 
Radio SDR-1000), and  recently retired from IDA's Center for 
Communications Research in Princeton, NJ.   He did not stop working on 
technical problems to return exclusively to music as he is a regular 
consultant to Isigtech, Inc.,  has recently consulted for CNS Systems, 
Inc., and has consulted for many large firms including Agilent.  The 
work he did for IDA CCR earned him a very prestigious award from the 
U.S. government (the Anne Z. Caracristi award)  in 2000.  He has 
consulted with many other firms in matters related to signal processing 
problems which need statistical detection or classification algorithms.  
Frank has demonstrated a flair and genius for this type of signal 
processing problem.    Frank is the author of an interesting article in 
QEX Nov/Dec. 2003, "Automatic Signal Classification for Software Defined 
Radios".  This was the first article published in the growing area of 
cognitively defined radio with a view to amateur radio applications but 
not limited to amateur radio.  A Princeton University alumnus,  he 
studied under one of the most influential American composer's: Milton 
Babbitt.  Under Babbitt's tutelage, he earned his Ph. D in musical 
composition.    Frank was recently an organizer of a festival of music 
celebrating the life and work of the composer George Antheil:

http://www.paristransatlantic.com/festival/index.html

As an interesting aside, Antheil and actress Hedy Lamarr are credited 
with creating frequency hopping spread spectrum for use in torpedo 
guidance systems during world war II and were granted a patent. One 
could easily understand why Frank would find a kindred spirit in Antheil.

To listen to some of Frank's compositions, one need only use Google.  I 
suggest you search for "Brickle Merlin".  You will find an mp3 of one of 
his compositions that will stream.

The best word I can think of to describe Frank without listing more 
achievements or writing an unauthorized biography is polymath.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath


It seems appropriate as you can see from this list of recent 
achievements,interests, and  his educational achievements.  The word is 
inadequate, but is a useful beginning place to explore this talented and 
complex man. It is the best my limited command of language will allow me 
here.

Please join me in celebrating my best friend's achievement and I hope 
you will enjoy the NJ Composer's Guild offering in Carnegie Hall in 
December.  Bravo Frank!


Cheers!
Bob McGwier
N4HY

--
Laziness is the number one inspiration for ingenuity.  Guilty as charged!