Residency Dates: February 18, 2018 - March 10, 2018
Application Deadline: September 17, 2017
His work as a composer is mainly devoted to acousmatic music, although he composed some mixed works. More specifically, his compositions employ esthetical criteria whereby he creates a ‘cinema for the ear’ in which ‘meaning’ as well as ‘sound’ become the elements that elaborate his works. More recently he composed a cycle of works of immersive multiphonic music for dome of loudspeakers. Along with concert music he has composed, for a period of twenty years, incidental music especially for the theatre.
He also worked as artistic director for over twenty years, especially for the concert series Clair de terre (Association pour la création et la recherche électroacoustiques du Québec (ACREQ)) from 1989 to ’93 at the Planétarium de Montréal, and Rien à voir and Akousma (Réseaux) from 1997 to 2006.
He is Professor in electroacoustic music composition at Université de Montréal since 1999. after completing the first PhDMus in Electroacoustic Composition (1992), under Marcelle Deschênes and Francis Dhomont. He leads the Groupe de recherche immersion spatiale (Spatial Immersion Research Group, GRIS), which produces sound spatialisation software.
He received three Prix Opus from the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM): two in 1999 — “Composer of the Year” and “Record of the Year — Contemporary Music” for Figures (IMED 0944) — and one in 2013 — “Record of the Year — Contemporary Music” for Palimpseste (IMED 12116). The Académie québécoise du théâtre (AQT) has given him two Masque Awards (“Best Music for Theatre”): one in 2002 for the play Malina and the second in 2005 for the play La cloche de verre, both directed by stage director Brigitte Haentjens.
Robert Normandeau is an award winner of numerous international competitions, including Ars Electronica, Linz (Austria, 1993, Golden Nica in 1996), Bourges (France, 1986, ’88, ’93), Fribourg (Switzerland, 2002), Luigi Russolo, Varese (Italy, 1989, ’90), Métamorphoses, Brussels (Belgium, 2002, 04), Musica Nova, Prague (Czech Republic, 1994, ’95, ’98, 2012, ’13), Noroit-Léonce Petitot, Arras (France, 1991, ’93), Phonurgia Nova, Arles (France, 1987, ’88), and Stockholm (Sweden, 1992) and Giga-Hertz (Karlsruhe, 2010).
He received commissions from The Banff Centre for the Arts, BBC, CKUT-FM, Codes d’accès / Musiques & Recherches, Jacques Drouin, Les événements du neuf, Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM), Groupe de musique expérimentale de Marseille (GMEM), Terri Hron, Claire Marchand, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Open Space Gallery, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) / Société de transport de Montréal (STM), Arturo Parra, Société Radio-Canada, Réseaux, Sonorities Festival, Vancouver New Music Society, and Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM).
He was composer in residence in Banff (Canada, 1989, ’92, ’93, 2012), Bangor (Wales, UK, 2008), Belfast (Northern Ireland, RU, 1997), Bourges (France, 1988, ’99, 2005), Huddersfield (England, RU, 2015), Karlsruhe (Germany, 2004, ’05, ’10, ’11), Mons (Belgium, 1996), Morelia (Mexico, 2013), Ohain (Belgium, 1987, 2007), Oslo (Norway, 2015), Paris (France, 1990, 94), and Santiago (Chile, 2013).
For more information, please visit http://www.electrocd.com/en/bio/normandeau_ro/
Residency Statement
The workshop will be devoted to electroacoustic composition in all its forms in a sonic spatialization perspective. The associates will be able to work either on an original composition or on the layout of an existing work. We will take advantage of the multiphonic system of the ACA (8 + 2 speakers) to address the issue of sound space in electroacoustic music. The spatialization system will be permanently installed throughout the workshop. We will explore the issues of spatialization and localization. We will learn how to work with the tools developed at the Université de Montréal by the space immersion research group (GRIS) and in particular the brand new SpatGRIS Server, designed to spatialize the sound up to 128 speakers! We will have individual meetings as well as group meetings.
I am interested in artists working with the question of the space of the sound in all its forms but more particularly the way in which space can be integrated directly into the process of composition on a daily basis. I consider space a musical parameter, not just as an added flavour. As space intervenes in the compositional process, how does this parameter alter the way we think about music? And how does it alter the way to present music in concert and in personal listening? Acousmatic, live and mixed electroacoustic music composers and sound artists are welcome.
Application requirements
Two recent compositions and / or sound-art works. The submissions can be in stereo or multichannel. Please remember to state for multichannel formats, the speaker routing. For multichannel formats, applicants can submit multiple mono or interleaved files. Please limit these examples to 120 MB. For files larger than 15MB, please use a cloud service such as dropbox or wetransfer to share the files. Please upload a document to ‘submittable’ with a link(s) that will allow Robert to download the large files. All applicants should submit a stereo example on ‘submittable’ even if their main submission is a multichannel format. If appropriate, applicants may also supplement the recordings with photos, videos and other visual materials (such as installation schematics, or scores).
- A short biography or CV. (.doc, .odt, .pdf)
- A letter of intent presenting the following (.doc, .odt, .pdf):
– An idea of what you are interested in working on during the residence. This may be a specific idea or a more general topic that you find fascinating and are curious to investigate in your work.
– General information on influences and interests.
– Musical / sound-art strengths.
- You will be expected to bring your own computer / laptop and good quality headphones. It would be advantageous to bring personal recording equipment if possible. A limited selection of equipment is available at Atlantic Center for the Arts.
Residency Fee: $900
Includes a $100 administration fee, weekday meals and housing; does not include artist materials, transportation, or weekend meals.
Scholarships / Financial Assistance
Only accepted Associate Artists may apply for financial assistance. For details, please visit the master artist details page.