IMERSD Sound Lab
5th IMC World Forum on Music
The IMERSD Sound Lab was a curated session during 5th IMC World Forum on Music in November 2013 in Brisbane. The project involved a room of international musicians playing together for the first time blurring the lines between composition, improvisation and performance. Led by Eugene Skeef and Tenzin Choegyal, with special guests including Aunty Delmae Barton, William Barton and Dheeraj Shrestha.
Founded by UNESCO in 1949, the International Music Council (IMC) was charged with the promotion of musical diversity and accessibility across cultures. Since then, the IMC has evolved into a dynamic network of organsiations and individuals exploring contemporary music-making worldwide. The activities of the IMC pivot on the World Forum on Music, an international conference designed to unite the IMC network and develop ideas for the future. Launched in Los Angeles in 2005, the conference has traversed the globe. The most recent event was hosted in Brisbane, Australia, in November 2013.
From the outset, the 5th World Forum on Music (WFM5) challenged the preconceived format of a conference by programming a large number of performances, public events, interactive installations and virtual projects. Among these were the 1001 Voices — YouTube Project, a venture designed to engage a global audience twelve months prior to WFM5 and create accessibility for those that couldn’t physically attend the event. Participants in the YouTube project responded to the Forum’s overarching theme — Sustaining Music, Engaging Communities — and explored the future of music from their personal perspectives, which culminated in a video installation that was featured in the foyer of the Queensland Conservatorium at Griffith University throughout the forum.
Over 1,000 people attended the event. 600 people registered for WFM5 and one or more of its twelve satellite conferences happening simultaneously in Brisbane.
The conference program featured sessions on the following subjects: education, life-long learning and the training of the professional musician; community, society, and conflict resolution; tradition, innovation, and sustainability; advocacy, policy, and funding; and technology, creativity, and the music industry. All of the sessions were intertwined with artistic laboratories and networking that was representative of the ‘ecosystem’ of today’s music.
The driving forces behind the program, Professor Huib Schippers and Dr. Danielle Bentley, intentionally avoided the standard format, opting for a program that allowed greater room for creative discussion, collaborations across borders, and the sharing of expertise. The plenary sessions featured a group of world leaders who framed the ideas of each conference strand and inspired debates. The group included one of Australia’s leading didjeridu players William Barton; Dr Shubha Chaudhuri, the Director of the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology of the American Institute for Indian Studies in New Delhi; innovative digital artist Nora Farell; and world-renowned musician and peace advocate Eugene Skeef.
The performances and installations were a highlight for many delegates and solidified as the core of the program from the moment of the opening ceremony. The IMC President, Professor Frans De Ruiter, provided a persuasive summary on the value of this event in his opening remarks, alluding to the fact that we are all searching for the intangible magic that music brings, yet it is often clouded by industry or by an artistic capitalism that contradicts the goals of the IMC. For Professor De Ruiter, the forum is about finding that magic “that moment that we forget to breathe” and taking it back into the local and national networks to continue the conversations and ideas for the future.
The IMERSD Sound Labs were opportunities to cultivate the magic of music and explore the conference themes through intuitive sonic collaborations.
Visit the World Forum on Music official website for further information worldforumonmusic.org/
The IMERSD Sound Lab program was curated by Leah Barclay
IMERSD (Intermedia, Music Education & Research Design) is a 5.1 surround-sound recording studio, multimedia post-production suite and audio research laboratory at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.
From the outset, the 5th World Forum on Music (WFM5) challenged the preconceived format of a conference by programming a large number of performances, public events, interactive installations and virtual projects. Among these were the 1001 Voices — YouTube Project, a venture designed to engage a global audience twelve months prior to WFM5 and create accessibility for those that couldn’t physically attend the event. Participants in the YouTube project responded to the Forum’s overarching theme — Sustaining Music, Engaging Communities — and explored the future of music from their personal perspectives, which culminated in a video installation that was featured in the foyer of the Queensland Conservatorium at Griffith University throughout the forum.
Over 1,000 people attended the event. 600 people registered for WFM5 and one or more of its twelve satellite conferences happening simultaneously in Brisbane.
The conference program featured sessions on the following subjects: education, life-long learning and the training of the professional musician; community, society, and conflict resolution; tradition, innovation, and sustainability; advocacy, policy, and funding; and technology, creativity, and the music industry. All of the sessions were intertwined with artistic laboratories and networking that was representative of the ‘ecosystem’ of today’s music.
The driving forces behind the program, Professor Huib Schippers and Dr. Danielle Bentley, intentionally avoided the standard format, opting for a program that allowed greater room for creative discussion, collaborations across borders, and the sharing of expertise. The plenary sessions featured a group of world leaders who framed the ideas of each conference strand and inspired debates. The group included one of Australia’s leading didjeridu players William Barton; Dr Shubha Chaudhuri, the Director of the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology of the American Institute for Indian Studies in New Delhi; innovative digital artist Nora Farell; and world-renowned musician and peace advocate Eugene Skeef.
The performances and installations were a highlight for many delegates and solidified as the core of the program from the moment of the opening ceremony. The IMC President, Professor Frans De Ruiter, provided a persuasive summary on the value of this event in his opening remarks, alluding to the fact that we are all searching for the intangible magic that music brings, yet it is often clouded by industry or by an artistic capitalism that contradicts the goals of the IMC. For Professor De Ruiter, the forum is about finding that magic “that moment that we forget to breathe” and taking it back into the local and national networks to continue the conversations and ideas for the future.
The IMERSD Sound Labs were opportunities to cultivate the magic of music and explore the conference themes through intuitive sonic collaborations.
Visit the World Forum on Music official website for further information worldforumonmusic.org/
The IMERSD Sound Lab program was curated by Leah Barclay
IMERSD (Intermedia, Music Education & Research Design) is a 5.1 surround-sound recording studio, multimedia post-production suite and audio research laboratory at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.