Sonic Silhouettes Musical Movement
PhD defense
4 April 2022, 10.30
Investigating the Musical-Gestural Perspective
Artistic presentation and defence of the PhD research ‘Sonic Silhouettes Musical Movement’, conducted by Winnie Huang between 2018 and 2022 through the docARTES programme (Orpheus Institute), the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp (AP Hogeschool) - within the research group CREATIE-, and ARIA (UAntwerp).
PROGRAMME MONDAY 4 APRIL 2022
10:30 - 11:30 / CONCERT PERFORMANCE
11:40 - 12:20 / LECTURE PRESENTATION
12:30 - 13:30 / PHD DEFENCE
Jury: Arthur Cools (chair of the jury), Ine Vanoeveren (supervisor), Peter Reynaert (supervisor), Joost Vanmaele (IPC member), Juliet Fraser (external jury member), Pia Palme (external jury member)
In the contemporary music world of the performing arts, an increasing number of musical-gestural works are being composed and performed. The rise of these pieces, the curiosity in creating them by composers, and the growing demand for these types of performers necessitate investigation from an artistic researcher’s perspective, in the hope of providing insight and agency for future creators, artists, and academics in this field. Through a methodical investigation on various case studies, different in the degree of composer/performer collaboration, Sonic Silhouettes Musical Movement questions the identity and role of the musical-gestural artistic researcher at all the varying degrees of participation during the process of collaboration, composition and performance.
This research aims to examine how musical-gestural pieces are learned and performed through an exploration on the various skill sets, performance practice methods, notational issues, and the physical states a performer adopts, and effectively provide additional knowledge towards an evolving group of artists and the spectrum of creatives around and within.
Finally, this research hopes to explore how the performer inhabits the artistic body in the creation/composition process and during the performance, the presentness; understanding the artistic body’s physical presence, self-awareness, and sensorial interactions while in rehearsal/performance, since dramatic movements seemingly provide some of the strongest contributors for human expression, intention, and focus. Through proactive embodied research, the emergence of new pathways, and the collaborative and transmissive experiences, this critical reflection showcases the expanding nature and collective knowledge gained from the musical-gestural perspective for all participants.
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Researcher
Research project
Sonic Silhouettes, Musical Movement
Investigating the role of the performer in musical-gestural pieces
On the international stage, we are seeing an increasing presence and growing phenomenon of musical-gestural pieces. Musical-gestural pieces feature prominently physical elements for visual aesthetics, explicitly notated by the composer. Notated as musical scores, performed by highly trained musicians, the role of the musical-gestural performer is one that spans multiple disciplines, between music and movement, and requires a multifaceted and highly skilled interpreter with specific capabilities. The rise of this genre, demands investigation from the point of view of the performer providing insight for future artists and academics in this field.
My doctoral trajectory will investigate the collaborative process in musical-gestural pieces. I will develop a performance practice allowing understanding of the skills required, with a focus on notational and practice problematics, and the physical embodiment of the pieces during the process. Research in the genre of musical-gestural pieces will be completed through artistic collaborations with composers in this field, through analysis and examination of the process, and through public performances. Necessary understanding of this phenomenon will create informed composers and performers, and allow the artistic community the unique opportunity to better comprehend this genre, generating broader interest in new musical-gestural works.