Akousma (4): press release

Press Release — For Immediate Release

Montréal, October 2007 - Following up on the resounding success of Akousma (3), which celebrated the 15th anniversary of Réseaux and the 80th birthday of Francis Dhomont, one of electroacoustic music’s pioneers, Réseaux presents Akousma (4), a series of four concerts devoted to four national and international electroacoustic music composers, from November 28 to December 1, 2007, at 8 pm, in the welcoming Studio Hydro-Québec at Monument-National.

One after another, these master mariners will take the helm of their mixing desk and project their music, previously realized in studio, over an array of 20 loudspeakers spread across the venue. Occasionally accompanied by instrumentalists, composers Natasha Barrett (UK, Norway), Miguel Azguime (Portugal), Laurie Radford (Canada, UK), and Gilles Gobeil (Québec), will thus create true sound spatialization, letting the quintessence of their art burst out, while evoking vivid soundscapes in the imaginative minds of their listeners - everything you need to make up your own cinema for the ear! These four eclectic and unique evenings will feature acousmatic works (played by the composers on over 20 loudspeakers), mixed works (for instruments and tape or treatments), and videomusic works.

As a bonus treat, the winning works of the Hugh LeCaine Award at the 2007 SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers will be presented by their composers.

There will also be free master classes, workshops, and lectures with our international guest artists Miguel Azguime, Natasha Barrett, and Laurie Radford. [dates & locations TBA].

Wednesday, November 28, 8 pm - Ocean Storms

Natasha Barrett (composition, UK, Norway): AAxis Mundi
Acousmatic works: Trade Winds (53min, 2006) /-/ Twin of Eyg (10min, 2004) /-/ Three Fictions (9min, 2000)

Opening Program:
Robert Normandeau (Québec): Murmures (10min, 2007) [North American premiere]

Thursday, November 29, 8 pm — A Polyphony of Meanings

Miguel Azguime (composition & design, Portugal): Itinéraire du sel
Multitechnological performance: Itinéraire du sel (50min, 2006, premiere)
For performer (the designer), audio, video projections on two screens, real-time electronic treatment of images and sound, and sound and vocal spatialization [http://www.misoensemble.com/ingles/concertproposal.html]

Opening Program:
Geof Holbrook, 29 years old (Québec): Wooden Stars (8min, 2006, for tape and solo percussion with electronics [Fernando Rocha]), 1st Prize at SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers
Nicolas Bernier (Québec): Liaisons mécaniques (10min, 2007), 2nd Prize at the CIMESP 2007 International Competition, Brazil + mention at Música Viva 2007 (Portugal)
Georges Forget (France, Québec): Orages d’acier (9min, 2007), 2nd Prize at the JTTP 2007 competition of CEC + mention at Música Viva 2007 (Portugal)

Friday, November 30, 8 pm - Shape Shifting

Laurie Radford (composition, Canada, UK) and Quatuor Bozzini (Québec): Les ponts de l’espace
Acousmatic works: les ponts de l’espace II (12min, 2003) /-/ à la cire perdue (15min26, 2004) /-/ Terms of Occupancy (10min, 2004, 05-06)
Mixed Works: Concha 1, 2, 3 (6min, 2007, for 2 violins and audio/video device) /-/ Filling (15min, 2007, videomusic) /-/ Everything We See in the Sky (15min, 2005, for string quartet & treatment)
Quatuor Bozzini consists of Clemens Merkel (violin), Nadia Francavilla (violin), Stéphanie Bozzini (viola), and Isabelle Bozzini (cello).

Opening Program:
Trevor Grahl, 23 years old (Ontario): Oranges and Lemons (7min, 2006, for tape, melodica & percussion [Susanne Maziarz]), 3rd Prize at SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers

Saturday, December 1, 8 pm — Exploring Wide Spaces

Gilles Gobeil (composition, Québec): Trois songes
Acousmatic works: Ombres, espaces, silences… (23min, 2005) /-/ Entre les deux rives du printemps (18min, 2006) /-/ Le miroir triste (13min, 2007, premiere)

Opening Program:
Pierre-Marc Beaudoin, 26 years old (Québec): Du rire et de l’oubli (8min, 2005, for tape), 2nd Prize at SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers

You can find more details about the works, the complete schedule, and the composers’ bios here: www.reseauxconcerts.com

But what is acousmatic music?

“This expression refers to how Pythagoras called his method for teaching philosophy, behind a veil and in the dark, to make sure that his disciples were not being influenced by his body movements or facial expressions, and were completely focused on what he was saying. Similarly, an acousmatic sound is a sound you hear without being able to determine its physical origin; you become able to listen to it for itself, instead of classifying it according to its cause.”

More than sixty years since it was invented (in 1948, Pierre Schaeffer, then in charge of the French Radio’s Studio d’essai, begins to work on the sound itself, thus allowing music to be realized directly, like painting on a canvas), electro music (electroacoustic, acousmatic, “concrète”, etc.) is still extremely dynamic and more acknowledged than ever on the global cultural scene.

Réseaux des arts médiatiques: A unique organization in Canada

Founded in 1991 by composers Gilles Gobeil, Robert Normandeau, and Jean-François Denis, the electroacoustic music concert production company Réseaux is one of a kind, in both Quebec and Canada. Réseaux is the only production company that presents solely electroacoustic concert music from national and international composers. Réseaux regularly commissions works from electroacoustic music composers, who premiere them in concert. This makes Montréal the North American capital of electroacoustic music.

Between 1996 and 2004, Réseaux has presented 15 editions of the acousmatic concert series “Rien à voir” at the Planétarium de Montréal, Théâtre La Chapelle, and Espace Go. In 2003, Réseaux implemented virtual concerts on its website, where Réseaux-commissioned works are broadcasted. Since 2005, Réseaux is presenting “Akousma,” a new concert series devoted to all forms of electro music, which reflects the current concerns of composers who are increasingly diversifying their actions in a music world where practices grow more and more fragmented.

Réseaux (www.reseauxconcerts.com) is a member of the Conseil québécois de la musique (www.cqm.qc.ca), the Conseil québécois des arts médiatiques (www.cqam.org), and the Canadian New Music Network (www.newmusicnetwork.ca). Réseaux is also a partner in LA LISTE (www.laliste.qc.ca).

Akousma (4) is presented with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Heritage Canada, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, and the SOCAN Foundation.

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Media & journalists only, please contact: Marie Marais — marais@cooptel.qc.ca — 514-845-2821

For any other information request about our operations, please contact: Gaëlle Lemasson — admin@reseauxconcerts.com — 514-526-4096, extension 3.

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