New Notations Symposium @ IRCAM

The New Notations Symposium at IRCAM explores current notational practices in the writing for new instruments and media. The aim is to study the changes in notational strategies that are brought forward with new music technologies, where graphics, animation, and algorithmic techniques offer extended compositional possibilities. Musical notation and instruments evolve in parallel, and we find that in much contemporary work, the notation system becomes part of the instrument, or even an integral part of the musical piece itself. Processor-based media enable dynamic score systems that are applied to generate musical events in real-time or respond to instrumental performances in ways traditional media are not capable of.

Furthermore, with the increased analytical power gained with machine listening technologies, we find that auxillary notations of timbre, gesture, and affect become important aspects of the "writing" of a musical work. Contemporary composers study this potential of new notation, and this symposium looks into the design of new instruments from ergonomic and timbral perspectives and studies how musical notation develops in concert with these changes.

Symposium topics include musical notation for new instruments, secondary notation, graphic or algorithmic notation, live and animated notation, usability, sustainability and legacy, tradition, issues of learning, audience communication, and more. The symposium consists of presentations, performances, and discussions. It is an open event, as long as space is available. For people interested in participating in the symposium, please fill in the registration form below.