North Texas Daily

Chad Robertson | Staff Writer

@chadr0b

Music filled the air as computer musicians from around the world attended this year’s 41^st annual International Computer Music Conference, which took place from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2.

UNT’s College of Music played host to the conference, entitled “Looking Back, Looking Forward,” and attendees reflected on innovations, developments and artistic challenges faced over the past century as they discussed what the future of music had to offer.

“The International Computer Music Conference is the preeminent annual gathering for computer music practitioners from around the world,” conference chair and UNT professor Dr. Panayiotis Kokoras said. “Its unique interweaving of professional paper presentations and concerts of new computer music creates a vital synthesis of science, technology and the art of music.”

The days of the conference were packed full of events, including over 50 concerts, presentations, workshops and panels. Events were spread across the UNT campus and around downtown Denton.

Musicians from across the country and the world got the chance to submit their own musical pieces to showcase and perform at the conference.

Venues like the Murchison Performing Arts Center, Voertman Hall, The Sky Theatre and Rubber Gloves were constantly occupied by the tunes of innovative concerts and musically fueled conversations.

At the conference, music-loving students also got a behind-the-scenes experience working as volunteers.

“I’ve been to a few concerts, but I’ve also been volunteering,” music composition junior Tyler Waters said. “I’ve volunteered as a driver and brought some performers and composers to and from the airport and hotel.”

Waters also noted the ICMC was a great way for artists from all over to come together and share their work.

“In the world of computer-based music, and especially in this day and age, innovation is constantly happening.” Waters said. “Events like ICMC are a fantastic opportunity for people to learn about various new directions that are being explored.”

Sophomore music composition major Austin Poorbaugh volunteered and helped out in getting the concerts set up and ready to go for the performers.

“I have helped out with registration, sound check and the stage crew at various concerts and events,” Poorbaugh said. “I am glad that I was able to volunteer and be involved because I think that this is an incredible opportunity to have as a young composer.”

The ICMC also featured a variety of paper sessions and keynote workshops covering a wide variety of topics like the use of virtual reality, computer aesthetics and new instruments.

Distinguished composers, musicians and music engineers hosted the workshop sessions. The hosts included Miller Puckette, the creator of the Max and Pure Data real-time computer music software environments; Carla Scaletti, an experimental composer and entrepreneur; and Jonty Harrison, an award-winning composer and director of Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre.

“The sessions and workshops show that music still has a future and explain where music is going,” music freshman Summer Mensah said. “The conference has allowed people to see what composers are doing, and it gave them a taste of what is new between technology and music.”

Featured Image: Courtesy | UNT College of Music