Postdigital Rituals in Laptop Orchestras: Human–Computer Interaction and Second-Order Resonance

Charles White (Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt, Germany University of Graz)
Lawrence Wilde (Institute of Music at Faculty II: Education, Architecture, Arts, University of Siegen)

Journal of Contemporary Rituals and Traditions
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026)

Purpose: This study examines how rituals operate within laptop orchestras as postdigital performance environments. Although laptop orchestras have commonly been discussed as technological innovations and pedagogical models, their ritual structures and their role in mediating human–computer interaction (HCI) remain underexplored. This article therefore investigates how ritual practices are adapted across different laptop orchestra contexts and how they contribute to second-order resonance in technology-mediated collective performance. Methodology: The study employs a qualitative interpretive design that combines comparative performance analysis with autoethnographic observation. It focuses on three performances: Nonspecific Gamelan Taiko Fusion (2006) by the Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk), Twilight (2013) by the Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk), and Farben (2024) by the Postdigital Laptop Ensemble at the University of Siegen (PULSE). The data consist of audiovisual recordings, photographs, stage diagrams, program notes, contextual documentation, and autoethnographic fieldnotes produced during rehearsals, technical setup, and performance. Findings: The study finds that ritualized spatial arrangements, gestural coordination systems, and symbolically charged technological objects structure collective performance across the three cases. These ritual forms stabilize technology-mediated interaction, organize collective creativity, and transform digital devices into meaningful performance artifacts. Across the cases, rituals function as interactional infrastructures that mediate HCI and support sustained collective engagement. Implications: The findings suggest that laptop orchestras should be understood not only as technological or musical innovations, but also as ritual environments that organize distributed agency between performers and technological systems. This has implications for ritual studies in digital society, performance pedagogy, and research on technology-mediated collective creativity. Originality and Value: This study contributes to postdigital scholarship by conceptualizing laptop orchestras as postdigital ritual environments and by extending the concept of second-order resonance into technology-mediated artistic practice.