ACMC 2008

The Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney, in association with the Australasian Computer Music Association is pleased to be hosting the sixteenth annual conference of the Australasian Computer Music Association - ACMC 2008. The Conference will take place between Thursday 10 July and Saturday 12 July 2008 in Sydney, Australia.

Theme

This year's conference theme 'sound:space', aims to encourage discussion of contemporary issues including:

performance of electroacoustic music, including live electronics, installations, works that involve acoustic instruments, and sound diffusion ('live' space);

music and the internet ('virtual' space);

surround sound in recording, composition and performance ('acoustic' space).

The theme can be addressed through papers, compositions, installations and performances which explore the concept of space in relation to sound and technology.

In his recent taxonomy of space in electroacoustic music, Bertrand Merlier describes the notion of space as multiple realities depending on the context involved. In his view, space can refer to physical phenomena, psychoacoustic phenomena, musical ideas, artistic concepts, aesthetics, and sometimes, even methods or tools of performance. As a result, space can take several meanings depending on context. Here is a list of various descriptives to refine the notion of space, as listed in 'Vocabulaire de l'Espace' (published in 2006):

Space, absolute/relative space, acoustic space, ambiophonic space, architectural space, polyphonic space, composed space, cross-space, listening space, perceived space, external space, extrinsic/intrinsic space, geometric space, illusion space, internal/external space, mental space, ornamental space, landscape space, projection space, projected space, real space, sound space, source space, virtual space, visible space, spacing and space figure.

This opens an array of possibilities with respect to the angle taken in creating a musical work, be it instrumental, electroacoustic, multimedia, interactive etc...

Proposals addressing the main theme are especially encouraged, but may also address aesthetic, compositional, educational, musicological, scientific, and technological aspects of computer music and digital audio.

Papers

The duration of full paper presentations will be 20 minutes. Papers should be a maximum of eight A4 pages.

Studio reports and artist talks are also invited. Paper length should be up to four A4 pages, and presentation time will be 10 minutes.

Time will be given for questions at the end of each paper session.

Note that full papers (not abstracts) must be submitted by the submission deadline

Paper submissions must follow the supplied template: ACMC08_template.doc (option-click).

Completed papers and poster abstracts are to be submitted online via the link provided on the Submission page.

The submission must also include:

a brief biography (150 words maximum);

technical requirements for the presentation;

and full contact details.

Papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings which will be available at the conference.

Posters

Poster presentations are also invited. These might describe current projects, prototypes or work in progress.

Each presenter will be given a board on which to display their work. An hour will be set aside in the program for the presenter to discuss their work with delegates.

Submission is by abstract of length about 250 words, summarising the project. Those selected for presentation will be published in the proceedings.

Completed papers and poster abstracts are to be submitted online via the link provided on the Submission page.

The submission must also include:

a brief biography (150 words maximum);

technical requirements for the poster presentation;

and full contact details.

Musical works

The duration of concert works should not exceed 20 minutes.

The submission must consist of :

CD or DVD containing the work (or sample of the work if a live performance piece);

A Program Note (300 words maximum) also indicating the total length of the work and year of composition;

A brief biography (150 words maximum);

Technical requirements.

Submissions should be mailed to the address provided on the Submission page.

Equipment Provided

The loudspeaker configuration will accommodate Quad, 5.1 and 8-channel compositions, however if you have any specific requirements for your performance please forward these so that they can be incorporated into the set-up.

Works that incorporate acoustic instrumental performers are especially encouraged. These might be arranged from the performers of the Conservatorium of Music. For more information contact the conference organisers.

Installations

Proposals for installations that address the conference theme are invited. The proposal must include:

A brief description of the form of the installation;

Support material, such as links demonstrating previous installations or DVD recording;

A Program Note (300 words maximum) also indicating the total length of the work and year of composition;

A brief biography (150 words maximum);

Plan of the space required for the installation

Technical requirements.

Submissions should be mailed to the address provided on the Submission page.

Undergraduate Works

A concert featuring only undergraduate students is planned for this year's conference. All enrolled undergraduate students are encouraged to submit works to be considered for this concert. The duration of the works should not exceed 10 minutes.

The submission must consist of:

Photocopy of Student card from an Australasian Institution;

CD or DVD containing the work;

A Program Note (300 words maximum) also indicating the total length of the work and year of composition;

A brief biography (150 words maximum);

Technical requirements.

Submissions should be mailed to the address provided on the Submission page.

Workshops

Submissions for workshops that address the conference theme are invited. However, workshops that are viewed as relevant to the ACMA community will also be considered for the conference.

The submission must consist of:

Workshop aims and contribution to the Association (300 words maximum);

Outline of workshop with clear outcomes;

Previous experience with workshop presentations;

Physical, human and technical resources.

Workshop proposals are to be submitted online via the link provided on the Submission page.

For more information, including available resources for running the workshop,
contact the conference organisers.