Recent News: Leigh Landy visits China Conservatory of Music & Tianjin Conservatory of Music

In June 2015, Leigh Landy visited several institutions in China to discuss EARS2.  Two of the most significant venues – the China Conservatory of Music (CCM), based in Beijing, and the Tianjin Conservatory of Music (TJCM) – have featured information about these visits on their websites.

Translated from Chinese by MTI doctoral student Mungo Zhangruibo, these two news pieces can be found on the CHEARS (The Chinese ElectroAcoustic Resource Survey) website.

Leigh's lecture at CCM discussed the work of the Music Technology & Innovation Research Centre, within De Montfort University, alongside a broader discussion of music technology within the UK.
(Read more: Chinese/English).

At the Tianjin Conservatory, Leigh met first with Prof. Xu Changjun, the president of TJCM and Mrs. Wang Jianying, the secretary of the Composition Department. The subsequent lecture then saw Leigh talking about the the music technology subject area in the UK, followed more specifically by a discussion about the research areas of the MTI.  Key projects of the MTI were introduced, including the EARS projects.
(Read more: Chinese/English)

In both lectures, Compose with Sounds (CwS) was demonstrated in relation to the EARS2 project. CwS is available as a free download.

For more information about these lectures (in English) please visit the links below, via CHEARS:
The China Conservatory of Music: Link
Tianjin Conservatory of Music: Link

Chris Cree Brown: Seminar & Concert, 29 April 2015

Chris Cree Brown (University of Canterbury, NZ), will be visiting MTI on Wednesday the 29 April 2015 to deliver a seminar and concert of his work Pilgrimage to Gallipoli.

Chris Cree Brown's visit will have two parts:

13.00-14.30 – Gateway House Room GH3.54 : A talk on the origins and ideas behind the work

16.00-17.30 – PACE Building, Studio 1, Richmond Street : A performance of Pilgrimage to Gallipoli

Abstract

ANZAC (‘Australia and New Zealand Army Corps’) day is celebrated on the 25th April each year, the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings in 1915 during the First World War. This year is thus the centenary. In 2008 the New Zealand composer Chris Cree Brown completed a dramatic radiophonic work which bears witness to these events – it can be performed over a loudspeaker system in a concert hall as will be the case when the composer visits DMU on Wednesday 29th April. Pilgrimage to Gallipoli is an extensive radiophonic work of 85 minutes in two parts. It is the result of more than 14 years of research, audio recordings, and compilation. The work includes recordings Chris made during visits to ANZAC day commemorations at ANZAC cove in 1994 and 2000, along with interviews, site-specific recordings and historic sonic material. His sabbatical leave in 2008 allowed him sufficient space and time essential to compiling this creative response to one of this country’s defining events.
 
Bio-sketch 

Chris Cree Brown is an Associate Professor at the School of Music, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His main interests include conventional instrumental composition, electroacoustic and computer music, and inter-media art. He has twice been awarded the Mozart Fellowship at the University of Otago, has twice been appointed Composer-in-Schools and has written a number of film scores. Along with Icescape, for orchestra, is an electro-acoustic work, Under Erebus that were a result of his trip to Antarctica under the Artists to Antarctica programme run under the auspices of Antarctic New Zealand and with the assistance of Creative New Zealand. He has a strong interest in musical sculptures, and his Aeolian harps were exhibited in 2002 in the Christchurch Botanical gardens as part of the Art and Industry Scape Biennale. Chris was awarded the KBB/CANZ citation for services to New Zealand Music in 2010. His work has been performed in many countries, including Australia, UK, Finland, Hungary, France, Germany, Canada, Portugal, Russia, USA.

Audiovisual Concert and Seminar

Tuesday 5 November in PACE Studio 1, 7pm, MTI welcomes visiting Argentine composer Prof. Raúl Minsburg (National University of Lanús and National University of Tres de Febrero, Buenos Aires) who will present his large-scale audiovisual work reflecting on the personal and cultural experience of memory and the human condition: La Memoria del Tiempo, co-authored with video artist Nicolás Testoni.

See a preview at http://vimeo.com/42866691

This is followed on Wednesday 6 November, in Queen's 1.12, 1-2pm when Prof. Minsburg will present a talk ‘From Texture to Form’—a discussion of issues in the creation and reception in electroacoustic music.

 

Intermedial perspectives: Practice – Technology – Pedagogy

Troika Ranch — Loop Diver

Jointly hosted by Intermediality & Performance research group (I&Prg) and Music, Technology & Innovation Research Centre (MTIRC) at De Montfort University

2nd July 2013, 10.00 – 16.00 De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH

Key Note speaker: Mark Coniglio (Troika Ranch / Isadora creator)

This inaugural symposium brings together scholars and practitioners to reflect on the nature of intermediality within performance practice, creativity and pedagogies from a range of art practices and disciplines. Building on established perspectives and discourses surrounding notions of ‘intermediality’ this symposium seeks to focus on and interrogate further, the implications of making intermedial performance in what is a swiftly developing milieu.

There is now a substantial collection of work that encompasses screen based installation art, performance and interactive media and applications of intermedial practices in time-based theatre arts. However, whilst there has been a flurry of interest, particularly in the past decade, precedents in the field indicate that there is still scope for more rigorous engagement with how these new ‘forms’ and ‘relations’ from the perspective of the practitioner and educator are having an impact on the practice of making art. This symposium aims to open up further ideas relating to the current impact of ‘intermediality’ on the performing arts and pedagogy.

Other presenters include: Prof. Leigh Landy, Dr. Bret Battey, Kerry Francksen, Marie Fitzpatrick, Dr. Craig Vear, Sally Doughty, Mark Crossley, Jill Cowley and Jo Scott.

For further information or to reserve a place at the symposium please contact: cvear@dmu.ac.uk

Miriam Akkerman / University of the Arts, Berlin: Seminar and Installation

Miriam Akkerman, a PhD student from University of the Arts, Berlin, will be visiting us next week on an Erasmus exchange. Miriam is an instrumentalist, composer, and sound artist, with work ranging from live electronics to installation art.

Thursday, Feb 28
MTI Research Lab (Clephan 0.19)

12:30-1:30 — Research Seminar: "Between Algorithm and Composition. David Wessel, Karlheinz Essl and Georg Hajdu"

2:00-3:00 — Presentation and discussion of an installation artwork "Info Wall" with the MUST3028 Installation Art class and all others interested

For more information on Miriam's work, see www.miriam-akkermann.de.

International Composing with Sounds Concert

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New Media Events 2012-2013

Cultural Exchanges Festival 2013

Composing with Sounds

Wednesday 27^th February 2013, 6.30-7.30pm

PACE Building, Studio 1, Richmond St., Leicester

The "Composing with Sounds" project is an initiative led by the Music, Technology and Innovation Research Centre De Montfort University and supported by an EU Culture grant with five partners throughout Europe: INA/GRM (Paris, F), ZKM (Karlsruhe, D), NOTAM (Oslo, N) and associate partners Miso Music (Cascais, P) and the Ionian University (Corfu, GR). An innovative software tool Compose with Sounds has been developed and taken into schools, introducing the possibilities of making music with sounds to young people, especially at KS3 (11-14) across Europe. This concert is one of many to take place between January and April in the six participating countries. It involves primarily pairs of works often using the same sound materials, one made by a student and one by a professional composer. Tonight’s concert includes work from the countries of the four main partners.

Germany

A two-day workshop was held in Germany in December. Pairs of participants created short works, all of them studies. For this concert, three of these were chosen and will be played without pause.

Nora Burkhardt, Jara Kullick – No Title – 1’05

Lilli Roser, Lea Mara Nikolai – No Title – 0’54

& Thea Heck, Lena Eisenhut  – No Title – 2’45 

Norway

14 Students – Year 6 Kringler-Slattum Elementary School (outside of Oslo) Winter Sound (Vinterlyd) 6’

Gyrid Nordal Kaldestad Sketches of Faust 6’30 (NOTAM commission)

France

15 students following the sonic arts option – aged 15 – led by Sylvain Labartette and Eric Broitmann at the Lycée Général Georges Brassens Concrètement Féminin (Concretely Feminine) 4’30

Florian Sulpice C’est Wiizzz!!! 3’45

Roger Cochini Retour aux Sources (Return to the Sources) 5’30 (GRM Commission)

UK

Works been composed using a collection of Compose with Sounds ‘Soundcards’ (recordings) that were made in external locations, both urban and rural environments and schools in Leicester.

Joseph Deeping Paradox 3’

Andrew Hill Abstracted Journeys 5’ (DMU/MTI Commission)

Leshaun Kiaya Blake-Rodrigues Beautiful Things 2’

Duncan Chapman … but the kitchen sink 5’ (DMU/MTI Commission)

Visible Bits, Audible Bytes: Audio-visual Concert & Symposium Wednesday 13th February

Wednesday February 13th, 2013
Phoenix Square (Film & Digital Media)

Midland Street, Leicester, LE1 1TG

Visible Bits, Audible Bytes

Seminar: 3pm – 5pm

Concert & screening: 6.30pm - 8pm

Location: Phoenix seminar rooms and cinema
Concert tickets: £5 (£3 conc.) - seminar free entry
Call the box office on 0116 242 2800 to reserve your free place on the afternoon seminar or to book a ticket for the concert - or book online (http://phoenix.org.uk/)



Visible Bits, Audible Bytes presents a series of talks and a concert of experimental film and audio-visual works that champion the soundtrack and explore the relationship between sound and the moving image. An afternoon seminar brings together three of the UK's leading practitioners to discuss their current work in restoring, creating and performing audio-visual works - Dr Joseph Hyde, Bath Spa University; Dr Mick Grierson, Goldsmiths College University of London; Dr Louise Harris, Kingston University. This is followed by a concert screening of works, curated to demonstrate the historical legacy of sound and image practice, bringing contemporary works and those from the BFI archives together in a diverse and rich programme.



Perpetual Motion (2011) - Andrew Hill
Trade Tattoo (1936) - Len Lye
Cs2 (2013) - Louise Harris
Delusions of Alien Control - Mick Grierson [Live Performance]
End Transmission (2012) - Jo Hyde
In Absentia (2000) - Quay Brothers & Karlheinz Stockhausen

The event has been curated by the Music, Technology and Innovation Research Centre (De Montfort University), in partnership with Phoenix. The afternoon talks are free and will take place in the Courtyard Rooms between 3-5pm. The concert screening will take place in Screen Two from 6.30pm.

Andrew Lewis / Wellcome Trust Concert PACE 1 Wednesday January 16th 7pm

Wednesday January 16th, 2013 7.00pm

PACE Building, Studio 1, Richmond St., Leicester

Andrew Lewis – Wellcome Trust concert

“Andrew Lewis’s new audio-visual work Lexicon is based on a poem written by a 12-year old boy, Tom, in which he tries to articulate his personal experience of dyslexia. By presenting an imaginary sonic and visual journey through the text of the poem, Lexicon explores not only the challenges, but also the life-affirming creative potential that dyslexia, and a fuller understanding of it, can bring. Lexicon is supported by the Wellcome Trust's 'Engaging Science' programme, which aims to use artistic creation as a means of raising public awareness of biomedical science.”

Andrew Lewis (Bangor University) will perform this audio visual work and other acousmatic from the Bangor studio; also the world premiere of Pulse from MTI’s Peter Batchelor who studied with Andrew Lewis.

Pre-concert talk by Andrew Lewis at 3pm in PACE 1.

Andrew Lewis - Dark Glass

Kimon Emmanouil Grigoriadis - Peri-Phonis

Andrew Lewis - Lexicon

Peter Batchelor - Pulse

Andrew Lewis - Penmon Point

Entry Free!

Shenyang Conservatory of Music - Lunchtime Concert 12.00 - Wednesday 21st November - PACE Studio 1

We welcome composers and instrumentalists from the Shenyang Conservatory in China. They will introduce us to the work of the Conservatory and play some electroacoustic music by members of their community, both staff and graduates of the composition department.

Looking of a Lad by Zhao Ziwen, Wei Fangxia, Zhao Yitong, Deng Ruochuan, Ren Xiu

Ambush on All Sides in Acousmographe by Zhang Ruibo

Birth and Rebirth by Zhang Ruibo (for Guqin and Max/MSP/Jitter)
Guqin soloist: Zhu Mohan

Heng (Perserverence, Duration) for live khoomei and industrial noise with VJ - Creative Design: Xie Bingyuan, Zhang Ruibo; Khoomei: Wumuti Anniwa (bass), Zhang Ruibo (tenor); Programmer: Zhao Zhongye, Yang Tianyang; VJ: Zhou Zhengqi

Entry Free! All Welcome!

MTI-team extended – Frosinone – Montréal

Wednesday March 14^th, 2012 7pm

PACE Building, Studio 1, Richmond St., Leicester

MTI’s Panos Amelides and Adam Chetty are joined by composers from our exchange partners Frosinone (Italy) - Dario Amoroso, Gabriele Paolozzi, – and Montreal – Sébastien Lavoie - to perform a concert of acousmatic works.

Dario Amoroso                         Mac vs PC

Gabriele Paolozzi                          Vocal Mutations

Adam Chetty                         Ecological Harmony: Public (I)

Sébastien Lavoie                         In My Camaro

Panos Amelides                         Alexandros (excerpt)

Mirko Ettore D'Agostino              Super Mikro World

Luca De Siena                          Telephonie

Entry Free!

MTI Symposium at Cultural Exchanges Festival

‘Extending analysis: emotion, brain, computation’

As part of the AHRC funded project ‘New Multimedia Tools for Electroacoustic Music Analysis’ directed by Simon Emmerson and Leigh Landy (MTI)

Wednesday 29th February 11am-1pm & 2-5pm
Clephan Building, Bonners Lane - Room 0.01
Free

• Keynote speakers: ‘Emotion, Cognition, Computation’ Gary Kendall (Queen’s University Belfast): “Meaning in Electroacoustic Music: Feeling, Emotion and the Aesthetic Experience” Michael Young (Goldsmiths, University of London): “Why now? Contingencies and Identities in Interactive and Generative Music” Simon Durrant (University of Lincoln): “Write it how you hear it: how neuroscience and psychology may help inform electroacoustic music analysis”
• Also Leigh Landy, Simon Emmerson, Pierre Couprie (EAnalysis), Michael Gatt and OREMA contributors Ben Ramsay, Manuella Blackburn, Panos Amelides, Andrew Hill, Ambrose Seddon

Box Office - to book a place -
Tel.: 0116-250-6229 Online: dmu.ac.uk/culturalexchanges

MTI Events feature in Cultural Exchanges Festival

Thursday March 1^st, 2012 7pm

PACE Building, Studio 1, Richmond St., Leicester

Leigh Landy 60^th Birthday Concert

With Jos Zwaanenburg (flute)

A series of three radio-based spatialised and very humorous works (French, English and German – with subtitles) are presented with two live works for flutes and recordings performed by virtuoso flautist, Jos Zwaanenburg in which musical sounds can be heard from Europe, Africa and Asia.

Oh là la radio (2007), To BBC or Not (2008), Radio-aktiv (2011)

Wolken Wind Schermen (Clouds Wind Screens 1976), Ceci n’est pas une flûte (1989-90), both revised 2011 – for flutes and electronics.

Friday March 2^nd, 2012 7pm

PACE Building, Studio 1, Richmond St., Leicester

Light, Space and Shadow  - John Young 50^th Birthday Concert

With Xenia Pestova (piano)

The programme includes three recent works: Smoke and Mirrors, a 16-channel immersive soundscape commissioned by Radio France in 2008, Are You Everybody? an audiovisual collaboration with photographer Lala Meredith-Vula and X for piano and electroacoustic sounds featuring Welsh- based pianist Xenia Pestova.

Presented by the composers.

Box Office - to book a place -

Tel.: 0116-250-6229

Online: dmu.ac.uk/culturalexchanges

Oded Ben-Tal on the Emerging Digital Improviser

Oded Ben-Tal (Kingston University) visits MTI and the Institute of Creative Technologies on Wednesday, 8 February to discuss "From algorithmic composition to live electronics, or an emerging digital improviser". Ben-Tal will describe his mixed (acoustic + electronic) compositions. He will start from pieces with fixed tape parts generated algorithmically, but will focus primarily on the implementation of simple machine listening strategies for live, interactive work. At issue will be the question at which point (if at all) does this become an improvising system.

1pm. IOCT Lab, Gateway Street, Leicester

DJ Sniff and Dirty Electronics Concert

Takuro Lippitt (dj Sniff) (STEIM, Amsterdam), with members of DMU’s Dirty Electronics Ensemble and Music, Technology & Performance students will present a concert of pieces that explore STEIM's new CrackleHack and pieces for motors, ostrich feathers and air fresheners. The concert will also feature turntablist Amit Patel.

Friday February 3rd, 2012 7pm – Note change from normal concert day. PACE Building, Studio 1, Richmond St., Leicester

Entry Free!

Trevor Wishart – Encounters in the Republic of Heaven

Trevor Wishart will present Encounters in the Republic of Heaven ... all the colours of speech ... in concert at MTI on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 — as part of MTI's New Media Events series.

Encounters is an 8-channel sound-surround piece based on speaking voices recorded in the North East of England where Trevor Wishart was A.C.E. Composer-in-Residence 2006-2009, based at the University of Durham. The piece is constructed in 4 Acts of approximately 20 minutes each, combining portraits of individual speakers (accompanied by sounds and imaginary instruments derived from the voices themselves) with computer animation of the entire community of voices - speech that waltzes, speech that locks in harmony, clouds of speech that circle the audience, culminating with speech that transforms into song. The piece was finally completed on January 1st 2011.

The concert will be in the PACE Building, Studio 1, Richmond St., Leicester. Admission is free.

Full House for Symposium on Form in Electroacoustic Music

Though it was held on a Sunday, we had a full house for the Symposium on Form in Electroacoustic Music, organised by Prof John Young. Our distinguished roster of presenters included Stephen McAdams (McGill University, Montreal), John Young (De Montfort University, Leicester), Bill Brunson (Royal College of Music, Stockholm), John Dack (Middlesex University), Jonty Harrison (University of Birmingham), Sean Ferguson (McGill University, Montreal), Simon Emmerson (De Montfort University, Leicester). The session concluded with summary and reflection from Georgina Born (University of Oxford), Jøran Rudi (NOTAM, Oslo), and Denis Smalley (City University, London).

NOTAM Visit Launches International Exchange Performance Series

On January 27th, MTI launched the 2011 part of its public events programme with the first of a new series of international exchange performances. Jøran Rudi is Artistic and Scientific Director of NOTAM, the Norwegian Centre for Technology in Music and the Arts. MTI has a memorandum of research exchange and Rudi is keen to collaborate with MTI on a wide range of developments, including software, conference & symposia and performances. The well attended concert in Pace 1 presented electroacoustic and audio-visual pieces by Jøran Rudi himself and by NOTAM visiting composers Natasha Barrett, Anders Vinjar and Risto Holopainen.