A History of Music: From Handel to House

Randy Naraine opens a late-night piano set at the conference by recalling his first visit to the event years ago, before he worked in security. He explains the format: one continuous medley that moves from Baroque and Romantic classical pieces through ragtime, early jazz, blues, the standards of the 1950s, and the top songs of each following decade, ending with recent music from 2025. The setlist is shared through a QR code, and a MIDI visualizer behind him shows the notes, dynamics and melody as he plays.

Between pieces he talks about his years as a music teacher and his belief that students can write their own music instead of only following the printed page. He invites audience members to describe a memory, a feeling or a sound, then improvises short pieces around those suggestions. One of these is a gospel-inspired improvisation built from a listener's description, and he also reminisces about the old hotel that hosted the conference in earlier years.

The set closes with thanks, an offer to send the recorded MIDI file to anyone who emails him, and an encore request for a slower, lower-octave version of one piece. The talk has no security content. It shows how a MIDI controller can turn a live performance into generative visual art, and how improvisation can be approached by anyone willing to experiment.