On February 19 and 20, the composition program of the Department of Music hosted one of the most respected figures in the world of contemporary classical music, the French/German composer and composition professor at Dresden University of Music, Mark Andre.
As part of this residency, organized in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut İstanbul, Prof. Andre gave two seminars: “Compositional Interstice as Sound/Time Category,” in which he discussed his composition “Üg” (for ensemble and electronics); and “Compositional Breathing as Transcendental Transformation,” focusing on his work “Hij2” (for 24 singers and electronics).
The seminars concerned the musical and extramusical ideas that form the basis for the pieces, as well as the compositional processes and techniques employed by the composer in each of them. As a spectral composer, Prof. Andre concentrates on concepts such as the attitude and transformation of sound through space and time, which is executed by the meticulous analysis of sounds, categorizing them according to their identical or distinctive attributes.
During Prof. Andre’s visit, students in the composition program also had the opportunity to take private lessons with the composer, which included energetic, instructive discussions on works previously written by the students.
The Department of Music will be hosting other prominent figures from the world of contemporary classical music in the near future.
Aida Shirazi, alumna of the Department of Music composition program