Solution
I decided to focus on the function of DNA. Simply converting nucleotide bases (A, C, G, T) or codons (groups of three bases) into discrete musical events will not provide an interesting artistic experience. Plus, this makes a faulty assumption about DNA in general: specific segments in the code correspond with specific parts or traits of the organism. The truth is more complex than that. Matt Ridley, in his book Genome, addresses this assumption by asserting that the metaphor of a recipe is better for understanding genetic code than the metaphor of a blueprint:

…each part of a blueprint makes an equivalent part of a machine or building; each sentence of a recipe book does not make a different mouthful of cake.*

To that end, I created a list of rules and functions to convert the code into a musical composition. The rules are encased in an algorithm built using Max/MSP. This algorithm takes the protein data and uses it to interact with a sine wave and white noise generators. In my metaphor these generators are equivalent to the chemical atoms utilized by proteins, specifically oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen.

Once the music was generated and recorded, I composed a score for use by a human performer playing flute. The sound generated from the algorithm will accompany the live performance. The tension between rigid code and subtle existence will be realized by allowing the score to flex at certain points to accommodate artistic choices by the performer.

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*Matt Ridley. Genome. (Perennial: New York, 2000) pg.8