EMS20 conference postponed to 2021

After careful consideration and accepting our new unfortunate reality for what it is, the Electroacoustic Music Studies Network Directors along with the Scientific Committee for EMS20 have taken the decision to move EMS20 to EMS21 which will take place in June 2021, dates to be determined.

All proposals that have been/will be accepted for EMS20 will automatically be accepted for EMS21. Nonetheless, we shall send out a call, as always, for new submissions sometime this autumn, assuming that a semblance of normal life has returned. The conference theme and breadth of thematic subjects will not be altered.

All information will be made available on the EMS Network site: www.ems-network.org.

On behalf of all of us, we wish you all great strength and good health during this unique and anguishing period.

Works by John Young & James Andean to be performed in Brussels

Works by MTI²'s John Young and James Andean will be performed in Belgium, as part of the Influx - Musiques & Recherches concert 'Premiers de cordée', presenting award-winning works from competitions over the last couple of years:

Premiers de cordée / Influx / Lauréats concours internationaux
Wednesday March 18th 2020
Le Senghor, Brussels
PAF : 12 /10 euros
Coproduction : Influx - Musiques & Recherches/ Le Senghor
Réservations : www.senghor.be

https://www.facebook.com/events/591505314918805/

This Thursday: EMS20 proposal deadline!

This week Thursday, February 20th, is the deadline for paper proposals for the 2020 EMS conference, hosted this coming June by MTI²!

Next June MTI will be hosting the 2020 EMS conference. The call for proposals is out, on the theme 'Future Directions of Electroacoustic Music Studies' - deadline for submissions February 20th:

http://www.ems-network.org/ems20/call.html

Call for proposals:

Electroacoustic Music Studies Network conference:
Future Directions of Electroacoustic Music Studies

Music, Technology and Innovation – Institute for Sonic Creativity (MTI2)
De Montfort University, Leicester UK
Wed. 17 – Sat. 20 June 2020

Deadline for paper submission: 20 February 2020

Celebrating 20 years of Music, Technology & Innovation at De Montfort University, and 25 years of the ‘Organised Sound’ journal, 2020 is an opportune moment to investigate the state of our field and, perhaps more importantly, look to the future. As sonic creativity continues to develop rapidly, its field of study is arguably still in search of itself. Are we suffering from the old adage that music cannot be studied until it has existed for a long time? Or perhaps from our field being too interdisciplinary in nature?

EMS20 seeks to present, alongside up-to-date research results, a number of papers investigating how today’s and tomorrow’s specialists expect this important field to evolve. Will it settle in as a contemporary sub-area of musicology? Or will it find its own foci of scholarly endeavour thanks to the fact that it incorporates all sounds as well as many forms of technology?

ADDITIONAL EMS20 THEMES
The conference is also open to other topics relevant to the history and/or contemporary practice of electroacoustic music. We encourage the submission of papers relating to any aspect of the field, including but not limited to analysis, perception, listening, terminology, composition, performance, cultural issues and education.

Analysis:
- What types of discourse are relevant to electroacoustic works?
- Which analytical methods are currently being developed?
- Can one adapt existent analytical methods of music to electroacoustic works, many of which involve no prescriptive notation?
- How can we further develop the field of study of electroacoustic musics?

Transcription and representation of sound, new audio-visual tools:
- How are analytical tools being produced and disseminated in the community?
- Which means are available for communicating this sonic art form through symbolic and graphic representations?
- Does the study of electroacoustic musics require specifically designed tools or can it take advantage of methods conceived for other musics?

Taxonomy, terminology - 'meaningful' units of music description:
- Which systems of classification are in use or should be developed?
- How can we become more consistent in our use of terminology in a field as dynamic as electroacoustic music?

Real-time music making:
- How can live performance/composition strategies be analysed
- What is 'live' electronic music?

Performance, presentation, dissemination:
- What is the 'work'?
- New presentation spaces, technologies.
- Aesthetical and musical issues raised by Internet communities, group compositions, telematics and performances.

Listening, Intention-Reception
- Issues of perception and interpretation.
- How do the composer's intentions relate to what is perceived?

Semiotics/semiology, 'meaning':
- What (and how) do different electroacoustic music genres express?

Soundscape, sound ecology:
- Analytical tools for the understanding of soundscapes.
- New approaches to sound ecology, sonification, sound environment.

Genres/styles, 'languages':
- Questions of unity, diversity, plurality, multicultural resources, polystyle, hybridisation, 'local music'.

Gender issues:
- Have gender balances shifted since the early days?
- The relationship between technology/electroacoustic music and gender.
- Unrecognised contributions: revising history.

Research on history of electroacoustic music:
- Research on historical documentation.
- Studies on the genesis, development and activities of private and public studios.
- How can and should we revise history?

Socio-cultural issues:
- What are the socio-cultural ramifications of electroacoustic music?

Pedagogy:
- Curriculum design.
- Balance between theory and practice, general and specific approaches.
- Real-time and interaction versus fixed medium and studio techniques.
- Teaching material: how to select it, and language issues.

Caution: Participants are discouraged from submitting proposals focusing on their own compositions as well as those discussing the development of new technological resources for musical application that have a better home at events such as ICMC.

Deadline for submissions: 20 February 2020

All approved/presented papers will be published on the EMS site that has an ISSN number.

MTI alumna Louise Rossiter @ 'Electric Spring', ECA, & BBC Radio 3

MTI alumna Louise Rossiter's Music-Bodies-Machines project is receiving much well-deserved attention:

- On 20th February, Louise will be a featured artist at the Electric Spring festival in Huddersfield, playing the 'suite' plus the premiere of the latest work, Synapse: http://electricspring.co.uk/

- Also on 20th February, Neuronen will be performed in the Musica Nova prize winner concert in Edinburgh: https://digital.eca.ed.ac.uk/dialogues/2020/01/28/prize-winners-of-music-nova-prague-sound-diffusion-pete-stollery-20-february-west-court-edinburgh-college-of-art/

- Following Radio 3's interest in music from MTI's Convergence conference/festival, Louise's Homo Machina is featuring on that station's New Music show on 22nd February: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fpzp

'Simon Emmerson @ 70' concert, City University

On Tuesday February 11th, City University will be hosting a concert celebrating 70 years of MTI's Prof. Simon Emmerson:

https://www.city.ac.uk/events/2020/february/simon-emmerson-at-70

"Simon Emmerson, pioneering electronic music and founder of City's sound studios, returns to City with a programme including two of his recent works for instruments and electronics, in celebration of his 70th year. The programme will also include music by Roger Smalley, whose early works were a key influence on Emmerson's own music."

Article on MTI's latest doctoral graduate, Amit Patel

A lovely article spotlighting MTI's latest doctoral graduate, Amit Patel:

https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2020/january/dmu-sees-amit-through-from-hnd-to-phd.aspx

Seventeen years ago Amit Patel took his first steps towards studying music at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) - today he is graduating with a PhD.

“At first, I was worried I would be too old when I finished my PhD, but I’m so glad I took the plunge and did it,” said the 35-year-old from Leicester.

“I’ve met so many great people during my time at DMU and have felt part of a family, which has supported me through big life changes like getting married and buying a house. Graduating one last time will be bittersweet.”

Back in 2003, Amit was a passionate DJ working in a record shop who wanted to underpin his music industry experience with academic qualifications.

He was advised by DMU’s Dr Simon Atkinson to develop his skills first by embarking on an HND in Music, Technology and Innovation, now offered as a two-year Music Technology Foundation through Leicester College.

Finishing the foundation programme in 2005 granted Amit sought-after access onto the second year of DMU’s Creative Music Technology degree.

He said: “I couldn’t, and still can’t, read or write traditional music. I was anxious that this would hold me back, but I felt really welcome on the degree programme.

“The degree pushes you to think beyond your potential, being innovative and experimental, and by using technology and sounds to make music. I really enjoyed it and I feel like it expanded my mind both culturally and musically.”

Amit also had the chance to broaden his horizons through DMU Global, the university’s international experience programme. This included taking up a week-long residency at Stockholm’s Royal College of Music (KMH), the oldest and most prestigious institution of its kind in Sweden.

“Making music in different settings, meeting talented people and sharing ideas has been very enriching,” he said.

Getting to work with and perform for Chinese musician and poet Yan Jun, known for his improvised and experimental music, field recording and writing, was another DMU highlight for Amit.

With a growing interest in the problem-solving and research aspect of his degree, Amit then enrolled on DMU’s Music, Technology and Innovation MA. His research and practice involved using the turntable as an instrument with which to create music.

After graduating with an MA in 2008, he took a break from education. However, as a significant contributor to the Dirty Electronics Ensemble - directed by his mentor and research supervisor at DMU Dr John Richards - Amit maintained close ties with the university.

In 2013, he returned to take on a PhD, exploring the development of a holistic practice from what have been previously been seen as three separate activities: DIY electronic instrument making, sound studio practice and live electronics.

He said: “Traditionally, these activities take place in very specific spaces. But I explored free movement between them, subverting them to show that instruments can be built in the studio and recordings can be made on the workbench.”

Amit chose to study at DMU after visiting campus on an Open Day. As well as being local, he was impressed with the facilities and thought the course offered a more ‘open, different and unique’ perspective than others around the country.

What is it that kept him coming back over the years? “I’ve always been so inspired by the lecturers. They practice what they preach as they are all active musicians as well as educators,” he said.

“Also, the Music, Technology and Innovation – Institute for Sonic Creativity at DMU has an excellent research profile. Doing a PhD has helped me to grow in a formal way, pulling all my creative ideas together.”

Leigh Landy & John Richards at 'Sonic Experiments: Telematics' @ ZKM

Leigh Landy and John Richards took part in 'Sonic Experiments: Telematics' at ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany in December, which included live-performances, installations, symposium and workshops. The event was part the EU interfaces project exploring telematic art and network performance.

Richards gave a presentation on the telematic events co-initiated by DMU and the Onassis Cultural Centre (OCC), Athens, and his work developing a low-cost, stand-alone solution to network performance using readily available technology. He also conducted a workshop with a mixture of students and artists in which they built their own network instrument.

Landy was an invited panel member alongside Elisabeth Zimmermann (Kunstradio, Ö1/ORF, Vienna), Luka Frelih (Ljudmila, Slovenia) and Yannick Hofmann (ZKM) as part of a discussion on the field of telematic performance and its development.

https://zkm.de/de/veranstaltung/2019/12/sonic-experiments-telematics-0