SYNTHposium

Symposium for those who share a common interest in the history, design, or musical practice of synthesizers.

The synthesizer is an instrument with a long history that has played an important role in popular and experimental music from the late 1960s onwards. The Synthesizer Research Network (SyReN) will initiate dialogue and collaborations between musicians, academic researchers, non-academic scholars, software and hardware engineers, composers, and other expert groups.

Suggested themes or questions for critical discussion fall into three key areas:

Synthesizer practice: performance, composition, sound design

    How has synthesizer performance practice evolved over time, within specific genres?
    To what extent is the full potential of specific instruments exploited by musicians?
    Do specific categories of synthesizer have archetypal sounds and styles of performance practice that can be defined?
    What gaps currently exist in our knowledge of synthesizer practice?

Industrial design and musical practice

    Do variations in synthesizer design have an impact upon musical practice?
    Why are certain parameters or functions used more than others by musicians?
    What are the musical impacts of changes to synthesizer specifications?
    What gaps exist in our knowledge of synthesizer design?

Exploring the history and music of the synthesizer

    Has the perception of the synthesizer changed over time within different academic, professional, industrial, and enthusiast communities?
    How may our view of the synthesizer be augmented by broader cultural studies, including (but not limited to): race, disability, gender, sexuality and social class?
    What gaps currently exist in synthesizer scholarship and musicology?
 

Free registration here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/select/jmvavrrddoqr