The Irish Sound, Science and Technology Association (ISSTA) held its second annual Convocation on August 1-2, 2012 at the Cork School of Music and St. John’s College in Cork.
ISSTA is an Irish based resource organisation that showcases and brings together practitioners integrating fields of music, sound, science and technology based on the island of Ireland. It serves musicians, researchers, scientists, engineers and artists by promoting art, music and research in Ireland, and outwardly to an international community/audience.
The four categories featured at this years convocation included; Musical Works, Sound Art/Installations, Academic Papers/Posters and Workshops.
Submissions for this year’s open section were asked to respond to the following brief: Noise has become ubiquitous in most of our lives. As listening is an imaginative activity, so noise is a cultural construct, and has always been a presence in our music, communication and environment. From Russolo to the post-digital arts, noise has been increasingly accepted into the realm of artistic practice as valid and evocative material. This Convocation will draw upon both science and art, theory and practice, in exploring these spaces and focuses on how contemporary science and technology affects the concept of noise. The open submission categories were reserved for compositions or performances intended for a concert hall paradigm, which took place at the Cork School of Music. The selected musical works had to include science or technology in some way. The composer and/or performers had be Irish or based in Ireland. Examples of acceptable submissions that were included:
- Circuit Bending
- Computer Music
- DJ/Scratch Music
- Electroacoustic Composition – fixed-medium or realtime
- Laptop Performance
- Mixed Composition for electronics and performers
- Noise Music
The Convocation also hosted workshops, academic paper and poster sessions and a selection of curated sound art/installations, which were located at St.John’s College, Cork.
ISSTA 2012 participants included: Anthony Carcone, Christian Cherene, Bernard Clarke, Edward Costello, John D’Arcy, Massimo Davi, Jane Edwards, Simon Fay, Mikael Fernstrom, Gerard Gormley, Claire Guerin, Kerry Hagan, Felipe Hickmann, Damián Keller, Karel von Kleist, Jenn Kirby, Victor Lazzarini, James Leahy, Eric Lyon, Tom Lysaght, Brona Martin, Thomas McConville, Stephen McCourt, Patrick McGlynn, Scott McLaughlin, Harry Moore, Mark O’Connor,Katie O’Looney, Tomas Ó Póil, Bren O Ruaidh, Robin Parmar, Darragh Pigott, Marcelo Soares Pimenta, Karen Power, Gavin Prior, Marcelo Queiroz, Lisa Reburn, Robin Renwick, Malachy Ronan, Nick Roth, Robert Sazdov, Softday (Mikael Fernström and Sean Taylor), Eleanor Stewart, Sean Taylor, Joseph Timoney, Toymonger (Andrew Fogarty and Gavin Prior), Annemieke J.M. Van Den Tol, Robert Voigt, and Susan Walsh
Live audio recording of Harry Moore and Kate O’Looney playing at ISSTA 2012.
Some photos from Robin Parmar.
Further details of the programme and events from this year’s convocation.
