Sound Design Anthropology and Ecosound

Acoustic ontology characterizes the relationship we have with the world of sound, our world of sound being in the forefront, and that of the human tribe being in the background. The word ecosound refers to this paradigm. The role of sound design and its actors is therefore to monitor this question of a new sound order, which we have defined as “ecosonic” and within which our daily life is organized in different living spaces, in accordance with existing norms and standards and structural frameworks. 

Frank Pecquet was born and resides in Paris, France. He is a French composer, musicologist, author of music works in acoustic and electronic music and papers on contemporary music and sound studies. He is a Professor/Researcher in computer arts at the University of Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne in Art Creation Theory and Esthetics, with a special focus on the critical theory of culture. He holds a PhD in Musicology (Paris University) and PhD in Music Composition (University of California, San Diego). He Currently works in the field of sound design, acoustical ecology and interactive music composition.

Miya Masaoka, Associate Professor at Columbia University and Director of the Sound Art MFA Program,  is a composer, sound artist and musician who creates works for orchestra, acoustic phenomena, video, electronics and installation.  She is the recipient of the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright, and commissions from the Fromm Foundation and EMPAC. Her works have been presented at the Venice Biennale, MoMA PS1, Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Kunstmuseum Bonn. Her compositions have been performed by the the BBC Scottish  Orchestra, Jack Quartet, MIVOS, Del Sol Quartet, the S.E.M. Ensemble, Bang On a Can All-Stars, Del Sol Quartet, Volti, Ensemble Either/Or, Momenta Quartet and Alonzo King Lines Ballet.

Seth Cluett is a composer, performer, and visual artist. The recipient of grants from Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Fund and Meet the Composer, his work has been presented internationally at venues such as The Whitney Museum, MoMA/PS1, Moving Image Art Fair, and the Palais de Tokyo. His concert work has been commissioned by ensembles ranging from the Hong Kong Sinfonietta to the International Contemporary Ensemble and is documented on Line, Sedimental, Notice, and Winds Measure recordings. Cluett is Artist-in-Residence at Nokia Bell Labs and Director of the Computer Music Center at Columbia University where he is faculty in the Music Department and Assistant Director of the Sound Art MFA Program.

George Lewis is an American composer, musicologist, and trombonist. He is Edwin H. Case Professor of American Music and Area Chair in Composition at Columbia University, and Artistic Director of the International Contemporary Ensemble.  Lewis is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, and a member of the Akademie der Künste Berlin. Lewis’s other honors include the Doris Duke Artist Award (2019), a MacArthur Fellowship (2002), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2015).   A member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1971, Lewis's work is presented by ensembles worldwide. His publications include the award-winning A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music (University of Chicago Press, 2008). 

The co-sponsors of this event are the Columbia Maison Française, the Department of Music, and the Alliance Program.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Maison Française East Gallery, Buell Hall, Columbia University, New York, United States