Calling Songs
(2025)
author(s): Johannes Westendorp
published in: Research Catalogue
Calling Songs is a research into the possibilities of using the sounds created by insect and frog choirs in a musical composition/soundscape.
An 8-channel speaker system was developed for this purpose, able to stand outside conditions and fitting into a natural environment.
The voices of crickets and frogs have characteristics that make them sound almost electronic and therefore blend surprisingly well with the sounds that the muiscians of Zwerm can produce using effectpedals, loop-feedback, modular synthesizers and occasionally a guitar.
The listener is invited to question the idea of culture versus nature. For the performers, the central question is how to give non-human life a voice in our artistic practice.
Calling Songs is a collaboration between Johannes Westendorp, Zwerm and Pieter Verhees
Trombone Compositions Written by Modern Day Female Composers, Inspired by Amy Riebs Mills
(2025)
author(s): K L Blackburn
published in: Codarts
This research paper belongs to the Performance Practice area of study. It is to give more insight into a not so well known female composer, Amy Riebs Mills. It’s also to understand why there is not so much brass music written by women. As well as finding new ways to compose and create unique pieces to add into the trombone repertoire whilst working with a female composer. Using research methods such as literature, interviews, reenactments, experiments, analysis of scores and recordings. I wanted to take time to explore an area that I'm passionate about and give another example to the future generation of female brass players, as nothing should change because of our gender.
I looked to find approaches that suited my playing when it came to the parameters of articulation, dynamics and glissando; as well as exploring the attributes it takes to compose a challenging but enjoyable piece influenced by the works of Amy Riebs Mills. Examples include: Red Dragonfly, Golden, Catharsis, One More Mountain and Journey One: Hints of the Middle East. Additionally, I worked alongside a talented female composer, creating a personal piece of music that explores interesting parts of the trombone.
I reached an artistic result of two new pieces for the trombone. Approaches to the parameters were explored, achieved and an analysis of Mills’ works were organised and utilized. I used this creatively in pieces that show not only my intended outcome, but also a part of myself. I hope that this research now provides information in an area that was not so commonly known and can also show that women can be powerful.
The Sonic Atelier #4 – A Conversation with Iosonouncane
(2025)
author(s): Francesca Guccione
published in: Research Catalogue
This exposition is part of the series The Sonic Atelier – Conversations with Contemporary Composers and Producers, dedicated to exploring the evolving role of the composer in the twenty-first century. Through a Q&A format, the project investigates how contemporary creators inhabit hybrid identities at the intersection of composition, production, performance, and technology.
This interview features Iosonouncane (Jacopo Incani), who reflects on the influences that shaped his formation, the balance between composition, production, and mixing, and the challenges of navigating today’s algorithm-driven music industry. He also discusses his approach to film scoring, the role of spatialization as a compositional parameter, and his views on new technologies such as artificial intelligence and immersive formats. His insights highlight the tensions between experimentation and market logic, as well as the need to preserve complexity and diversity as essential values in contemporary music-making.
Insights through spatial visualization of the compositional decisions regarding auditory perception in a hemispherical loudspeaker array
(2025)
author(s): Jakob Gille
published in: Research Catalogue
This research explores the crucial role of spatialisation within electroacoustic composition through a detailed analysis of a section of the author's work 'Motion', composed in 5th order Ambisonics for hemispheric loudspeaker arrays. It focuses in particular on how spatial analysis tools can reveal perceptual relationships that traditional spectral analysis alone cannot adequately capture. While spectral analysis provides invaluable insight into timbre and frequency content, it cannot show the dynamic interplay of sound sources in a three-dimensional environment. As spatialisation profoundly influences how listeners perceive individual sound events, their interactions and the overall coherence of a composition within a given acoustic space, the analysis of it is even more important.
The author also draws on the importance of analysing spatialisation to provide insights that are otherwise not easily understood. One of the many challenges faced by a composer working with multichannel audio is the uncertainty of the actual loudspeaker configuration of the concert space. A spatial analysis of immersive electroacoustic works can provide insights into how these problems can be addressed through compositional decisions based on auditory perception. Such analysis can help composers to anticipate potential problems arising from different room acoustics or listener positions, ultimately leading to a more consistent and effective listening experience in different venues.
Linked to this, the research provides an overview of auditory perception within hemispheric reproduction systems, building on Kendall's framework that "listeners experience electroacoustic music as full of meaning and significance, and they experience spatiality as one of the factors contributing to its meaningfulness". Drawing on Bregman's auditory scene analysis, specifically stream segregation, the analysis thus focuses on how spatial techniques can address masking effects through spatial separation, as discussed also in Brümmer's work on the decomposition of sound material through spatialisation.
By combining multiple analytical perspectives in the form of spectral analyses, contextualised with spatial analysis tools, this research aims to provide new insights into the relationship between spatial composition and auditory perception in contemporary electroacoustic composition, contributing to the growing body of knowledge on spatial perception and compositional practice in immersive audio environments.
The percussive world of the saxophone
(2025)
author(s): Sean Thompson
published in: Codarts
This research investigates the acoustic potential of key clicks and key slaps on the saxophone, exploring their role in shaping texture, rhythmic drive, and overall musical expression. While these extended techniques are often used sparingly or as novelty effects, this study proposes a more integrated approach by treating them as core musical elements within a compositional framework. By combining key clicks with slap tongue and multiphonics, I explore how these sounds can function not merely as special effects, but as primary tools in my music.
Drawing on both analytical and compositional processes, this project includes the development of an original solo saxophone work that blends these techniques in ways that are musically coherent and performatively engaging. A detailed analysis of how key clicks function acoustically serves as the basis for their structured use within the piece. This categorisation helps clarify the contexts in which these sounds are most effective, offering a practical framework for other performers and composers interested in incorporating the use of this technique.
The outcomes of this research also provide a springboard for further exploration, especially in contexts that involve electronics and real-time sound manipulation. By grounding the study in acoustic experimentation and performative application, this research contributes to the broader discourse on extended techniques for saxophone and contemporary performance practice.
Kroppslig läsning
(2025)
author(s): Aleksandra Czarnecki Plaude
published in: Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH)
Projektet avser att lyfta fram betydelsen av skådespelarens kroppsliga kunskap i förhållande till repetitionsarbete. Som regissör och pedagog och i samarbete med professionella skådespelare ville jag fånga och kommunicera mina arbetsmetoder. Detta med förhoppning om att generera ny kunskap i frågan om skådespelarens fördjupade gestaltningsarbete av dramatisk text med och via kroppen som instrument.
Kroppen är skådespelarens instrument. Jag ser kroppen som ett kärl, en källa att hämta från och ösa ur. Ett instrument som har förmågan förbinda de analytiska tankegångarna med det undermedvetna, med instinkterna och det öppna hjärtat. Min ursprungliga forskningsfråga för detta projekt var att undersöka det glapp som uppstår mellan kroppsliga impulser i ett undersökande led i arbete/improvisation och när det ska överbryggas till en ”färdig” gestaltning av ett dramatiskt verk. Denna frågeställning tog mig vidare till att undersöka en repetitionsteknik som skulle öppna möjlighet för skådespelarna till att öppna sig för och omfamna sin kroppsliga kunskap och kreativitet. Utan att bortcensurera sina uttryck genom textanalys och det logiska tänkandet. Möta en text på kroppsliga villkor. Jag kallar det för ”kroppslig läsning”.
