The 'Carchofa' Electric Band (McCurdy-Climent) - Education Workshop in Valencia, Spain.

* The 'Carchofa / Carxofa' (*) Electric Band at Mostra Sonora.

>>for its new Carxofa Blog click here

It is an Electronic Worlshop for 300 children between 12-14 years old, using local vegetables fruits, sensors, electronics and computers by composers Iain McCurdy and Ricardo Climent.
* Where/when: Friday, 29th May, @ 10 am. Biblioteca Suecana, Claustre, Sueca, (Valencia), Spain. Festival: 5th Muestra Sonora de Sueca. Participants will need to bring a piece of fruit or veggie from home. Alongside this workshop, McCurdy will present his sound installation Pendulum, already presented at MANTIS 08 and Spanish trombonist Carlos Gil will perform Climent's works Gyrosbone (2005) and Trombonsis (1999).

(*) Carchofa means artichoke in Valencian language.

NEW: VIDEO of the workshop - it made echo on the news at the Spanish national TV Antena 3 Noticias TV-

* - Original Note from the Festival (Spanish)
The Carchofa Electric Band: TALLER SONORO ELECTRONICO CON FRUTAS Y HORTALIZAS (Iain McCurdy / Ricardo Climent). The Carchofa Electric Band es un taller para niños que deseen iniciarse en el mundo de la creación sonora usando frutas y hortalizas. Para ello harán uso de tecnología de sensores, computadoras y sonido surround! Se mostrará a los participantes como se pueden crear música y diseñar sonidos nuevos utilizando objetos cotidianos de nuestra cocina, como son; frutas y verduras, un zumo de naranja, un trozo de papel de aluminio o el corazón de una alcachofa. Los participantes crearán una orquesta de frutas y hortalizas con mucha marcha y experimentarán con formas de interacción musical en grupo. Requisitos: para niños de edades comprendidas entre 12 y 14. Cada participante deberá llevar una pieza de hortaliza o fruta a su elección. Los asistentes al taller no requiren ninguna experiencia musical, electrónica o gastronómica. Nota: El taller es totalmente seguro y apenas utiliza el voltaje de una pila pequeña para dar un sinfín de alegría y sonidos a los productos de la huerta. Ningún alimento sera ingerido como parte de taller.

Pictured above, Iain McCurdy performing some of his so-called 'organic instruments'

Kaho Cheung completes residency at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in California

NOVARS and MANTIS composer Kaho Cheung has completed his residency at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in USA.
As part of the residency, Kaho had a presentation on his electro-acoustic works and many opportunities to exchange ideas with artists from various other art disciplines, including media arts, literature, choreography and visual arts. He also had a recording session with poet/scientist Robert Pesich and composed an electro-acoustic work featuring the acoustics of the architectural installation Estaciones de Luz (Stations of Light).
The Djerassi Program was founded in 1979 by Stanford University Professor Emeritus Dr. Carl Djerassi, who along with his colleagues at Syntex Corporation, became the first to synthesize a practical oral contraceptive in the early 1950s. In the 1960s proceeds from the rise of Syntex stock enabled Djerassi to purchase a large tract of land in the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Stanford, which he called SMIP (Syntex-Made-It-Possible) Ranch, but in 1970 renamed Sic manebimus in pace (Thus we'll remain in peace) . On this spectacular property with its breath-taking views of the Pacific Ocean and its quiet solitude, Djerassi built a home, as did his children, Pamela and Dale.

Mauricio Pauly receives the prestigious Solti Foundation award for Acanthes 09

NOVARS-based composer, Mauricio Pauly has received a generous grant from the prestigious Solti Foundation to cover the costs of attending the 33rd Centre Acanthes Workshops in Metz, France. For this occasion, Mauricio is writing a new octet (ob, cl, bsn, perc, harp, vln, vla, cb) to be rehearsed, recorded and performed by the Orchestre National de Lorraine, conducted by Jean Deroyer. In the summer of 2009 and for 2 weeks, Mauricio will attend workshops and lectures in Metz, with Hughes Dufourt, Ivan Fedele and Bruno Mantovani.

Touch The Stars: Composer Mark Pilkington and Astrophysicist Tim O'Brien

Touch The Stars is an electroacoustic piece of music realized between NOVARS, (composer Mark Pilkington) and The Astro Physics department at the University of Manchester (astrophysicist Tim O'Brien)
The structure of the piece is controlled by remote sensor data arriving directly from the a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, Cheshire.
Data form the telescope is transmitted via the internet and translated into a specially constructed computer controlled music algorithm - the computer follows, calculates and manages a series of live sonic elements.
Part of sound material for the piece is derived from a one second recording of balloon exploding - a metaphor for the 'big bang' theory.

Mark Pilkington
www.thought-universe.co.uk

Visual Dialogues: Centre for Screen Studies and Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology

NOVARS research associate, Centre for Screen Studies and Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology present:
Visual Dialogues

Thursday 7 May, 5-7pm, John Casken Lecture Theatre, Martin Harris Centre.
Title: ‘Street Culture, Music and Thinking through Sound’
Speaker: Dr Julian Henriques (Film Director and Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communications, at Goldsmiths, University of London)
'Street Culture, Music and Thinking through Sound' by Dr Julian Henriques

The presentation, will chart an ongoing relationship between filmmaking and research practices. It includes extracts from Henriques’ fiction work, Babymother and We the Ragamuffin and documentaries Rouch in Reverse and Derek Walcott Poet of the Island. This film work has also become the research and conceptual basis for his forthcoming book about embodied ways of knowing: Sonic Bodies, Sound Systems & Bass Culture.
Dr Julian Henriques is a screenwriter, film director and researcher with interests in sound and auditory culture. Julian has worked as a policy researcher, journalist, television producer and director, and is currently senior lecturer in the Department of Media and Communications, at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Visual Dialogues is organised by Centre for Screen Studies and Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology.
For further information please visit this link