CHAIRS: Gisele Trudel and Nina Czegledy

Program

From synthesizers' beginnings as massive, expensive and highly specialized systems in the 1970s, various transformations have occurred over four decades. Methods and access have gradually become democratic and hybrid, while integrating tactile and collaborative processes. Social and technological developments between humans and machines have contributed to a greater variety of approaches. The presenters will discuss their motivations to create with synthesizers in an array of socially charged situations.

Speakers

Ricardo Dal Farra, composer and transdisciplinary artist, presents a historical overview of the use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments through his own experience with live and interactive systems for over four decades. Dal Farra is a professor of electroacoustic music composition and media arts at the Music Department of Concordia University. He is a Hexagram and Milieux research member.

André Eric Létourneau discusses his interest in synthesizer vacuum tubes, as explored through the philosophy of Gilbert Simondon and the concept of "technical individuals". Létourneau is a media and transmedia artist, researcher, author, musician, composer and curator. He is a professor in Communication Studies at UQAM's École des médias and is also Hexagram's codirector.

Max and Honey Pazhutan, recent immigrants to Montréal, discuss the challenges to compose electronic music in Iran. Their project Twarc Pyroelectric focuses mainly on compositions with recent analogue synthesizers. Max "MP" Pazhutan is a composer/synthesist/instrumentalist whose works are very diverse and range from Electronic Experimental to Conceptual Sound Art. Pazhutan is also a prolific educator, teaching internationally using remote means over the internet to compose and perform Electronic, Jazz, Experimental music. Honey "vH+" Pazhutan is a sound artist, a researcher of arts, philosophy and science, and a composer. Her interest in composition is rooted predominantly in modern and contemporary music, most notably John Cage. vH+ believes that technology eventually decreases the size of the gap between utopia and reality.
https://www.pazhutan.com/

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LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) Talks is Leonardo's international program of evening gatherings that bring artists and scientists together for informal presentations and conversations. LASER Talks were founded in 2008 by Bay Area LASER Chair Piero Scaruffi and are in over 30 cities around the world. To learn more about how our LASER Hosts and to visit a LASER near you please visit our website. 

The mission of the LASERs is to provide the general public with a snapshot of the cultural environment of a region and to foster interdisciplinary networking.