Peter van Bergen Presents

with the Artists

and guest curator Farzaneh Nouri

and through the Cooperation of the

LOOS/STUDIO LOOS

Zaal3

2nd Annual

The Hague International Sound Art Festival

Arsis vs Thesis

October 19 & 20, 2024

20:00 – 23:00

The 2nd Annual Hague International Sound Art Festival invites audiences to explore the captivating contrasts of sound through the theme "Arsis vs Thesis."

The concept delves into extreme opposites, like fast versus slow, high versus low, and heavy versus light, using sound as a powerful medium for expression.

The festival brings together these stark dichotomies to craft a sonic experience that challenges perceptions and invites reflection. Audiences will witness performances that transition from serious to cheerful, from short bursts to elongated compositions, highlighting the dynamic range of sound art.

It’s a celebration of contrast, where boundaries blur, and sound shapes meaning in profound, unexpected ways.

SOUND ART THE HAGUE

LOOS Foundation and Zaal 3 offer the ideal environment for sound experimentation and artistic exploration. LOOS’ innovative approach, combining traditional instruments with cutting-edge technology, makes them a leader in sound art, perfectly aligned with the festival’s theme of contrast. Meanwhile, Zaal 3’s commitment to supporting emerging talent and cross-disciplinary work creates a vibrant platform for sound artists to push boundaries. Together, they form a dynamic partnership, enriching The Hague’s artistic landscape.

What Is Sound Art?

Sound art is a diverse and interdisciplinary form of art that primarily utilizes sound, acoustics, and auditory elements as its medium of expression. It breaks away from traditional notions of music by emphasizing the artistic and aesthetic qualities of sound itself, rather than focusing solely on melody, harmony, or rhythm. Sound artists often work with various sonic elements, including field recordings, found sounds, electronic synthesis, spoken word, and more, to create immersive and thought-provoking experiences.

Event Schedule

Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024

Premiere: “Wim T. Schippers shines by absence.”

film, text, poetry, composition, improvisation, fixed media, performance, singing

Cast:

Titus Muizelaar - performance, vocals,

Wim T. Schippers - lyrics, film, fixed media

Paul Koek - performance, percussion, vocals

Gerard Bouwhuis - performance, piano, keyboard, vocals.

Patricio Wang - performance, bass guitar, vocals.

Peter van Bergen - composition, performance, vocals, wind instruments, electronics

Cristiano Melli - fixed media

Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti - performance

Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024

Guest curator: Farzaneh Nouri

Agita Reke - live electronica

Ji Youn Kang - live electronica

Bjarni Gunnarsson - live electronica + projection (20 minutes)

Panic Screen (Nikos Charalambous & Guillermo Martín-Viana) - live improvisation

The Artists

  • Willem Theodoor "Wim T." Schippers is a Dutch artist, comedian, television director, and voice actor. During the 1960s, he worked mostly as a visual artist, associated with the international Fluxus-movement.

  • Peter van Bergen is artistic and business director of LOOS. He is a composer, improviser, interpreter and PhD researcher at the Free University of Brussels in the field of interdisciplinary experimental new music. He founded LOOS in 1982 and Studio LOOS in 2005. His research concerns "Improvisation, Interactivity, Instability: Artistic Transformations" (IOMAIM Research) in which improvisation between people is transformed into collaboration between man and machine. As an improviser, he worked with musicians such as Cecil Taylor, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, George Lewis, Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton. As a composer he wrote for mainly the legendary LOOS Ensemble, various soloists, ASKO Schoenberg, the Volharding. He also worked closely with numerous composers and artists such as Louis Andriessen, Cornelis de Bondt, Huib Emmer, Martijn Padding, Gilius van Bergeijk, Guus Janssen, Paul Koek, Johan Simons, Krisztina de Chatel, Karin Post, Wim T. Schippers, Titus Muizelaar.

  • Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti is a vocalist, composer, performer and maker based in Amsterdam. Born in Bolivia and raised in Brazil, she weaves her sonic and performative practices inspired by her latinx roots. For the last years she has been creating work autonomously and as part of the vibrant and outspoken music, performance and theater scenes in the Netherlands. Her last album MESTIZX was released in May 2024 by International Anthem and Nonesuch Records (US). Her practice involves a multimedia approach which stems from her deep connection to Andean ritual, with the aim of creating celebratory and shape-shifting sonic performances.

  • Paul Koek (1954) studied percussion at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He was involved in the founding and was a member of several ensembles, including Hoketus (Louis Andriessen) and LOOS (Peter van Bergen). Additionally, he collaborated with various artists such as Benjamin Verdonck, Peter Greenaway, Dick Raaijmakers, Heiner Goebbels, Bob Wilson, and others.

    Since 1991, he has been teaching Music Theater at the ArtScience Interfaculty of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. In 1984, Paul Koek joined Johan Simons, and together they founded Hollandia, which was then a small theater company that exclusively performed on location. Within Theatergroep Hollandia, he established the Veenstudio, a workshop that allowed for the specific development of ideas on music theater. Together with Dick Raaijmakers, he created, among other works, the legendary performances Der Fall/Dépons (1993), The Fall of Mussolini (1995), and Hermans Hand (1996).Paul Koek (1954) studied percussion at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He was involved in the founding and was a member of several ensembles, including Hoketus (Louis Andriessen) and LOOS (Peter van Bergen). Additionally, he collaborated with various artists such as Benjamin Verdonck, Peter Greenaway, Dick Raaijmakers, Heiner Goebbels, Bob Wilson, and others.

    Since 1991, he has been teaching Music Theater at the ArtScience Interfaculty of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.

    In 1984, Paul Koek joined Johan Simons, and together they founded Hollandia, which was then a small theater company that exclusively performed on location. Within Theatergroep Hollandia, he established the Veenstudio, a workshop that allowed for the specific development of ideas on music theater.

    Together with Dick Raaijmakers, he created, among other works, the legendary performances Der Fall/Dépons (1993), The Fall of Mussolini (1995), and Hermans Hand (1996).

  • Electronic, electroacoustic music composer and performer from Riga, Latvia. Currently focusing on electroacoustic and multimedia projects, working as a composer and performer. Notably worked also in the field of art performances, like poetry event, sound design for an art exhibition and film. Artistic practice encompasses fixed media, live performances, multimedia performances, and sound installations. As a composer, have been collaborating with acoustic, contemporary music ensembles, like L’Ensemble Multilatérale (Paris), Fractales (Belgium), Names (Salzburg), Ensemble for New Music Tallinn (Tallinn), Latvian Radio choir (Riga), Sinfonietta Riga (Riga). As a performer, have been member of an electroacoustic experimental project/group Systema Solaris (Riga), participant in Venice Biennale Musica College as an experimental performer, and also today a member of electronic duo flowerpower. Performed in festivals "Skaņu Mežs", "Tallinn Music Week - Skaņu Mežs & Üle Heli", "Ung Nordisk Musik Reykjavík", "Afekt (Tartu)".

  • Guillermo Martín-Viana (Sevilla SP, 1995) is a multi-faceted creator: drummer, visual artist, creative coder and composer, with a profound interest in improvisational games. He has performed on stages all around Europe, Central America and Asia, presenting works ranging from contemporary jazz to performative-improvisational-videogames. His love of sound and space unites his art, as evidenced by more than 15 recordings and multimedia productions. With his various projects such as Songs of Rage and Impotence, Panic Screen, 1LL0~ and FunFin Orchestra, he is known for creating immersive audio-visual experiences that emphasise interaction with the audience. His latest project, ALMO, focuses on simultaneous multimedia improvisation as a tool for personal expression and collective creation.

    Nikos Charalambous is a guitar player born in Limassol, Cyprus, in 1991. He began playing guitar around the age of 15, largely teaching himself in those early years. Initially drawn to rock and metal music, he formed his own band, composed original songs, and eventually started performing in rock clubs and festivals around the island. Over time, his musical interests expanded into jazz, with a particular focus on the improvisational aspects of the genre. In 2017, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in jazz and pop guitar performance from ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem. He furthered his studies, earning a master's degree in jazz guitar from Codarts Rotterdam in 2020. Nikos not only leads his own groups, showcasing original compositions, but also serves as a sideman for various projects spanning jazz, pop, and free improvisation. His diverse experience includes performances for dance, film, opera, and art productions in Germany, Belgium, Poland, Cyprus, and the Netherlands.

  • Cristiano Melli (b. 1980, Campo Grande, Brazil) is a composer, researcher and dramaturgist based in The Hague. He studied under esteemed composers such as Almeida Prado, Cornelis de Bondt, Gilius van Bergeijk, Yannis Kyriakides and Calliope Tsoupaki, earning degrees from The Royal Conservatorium of The Hague. His works have been performed worldwide, including at the Lucerne Festival and Rio de Janeiro’s Bienal of Brazilian Contemporary Music. Melli is a Senior Researcher at Studio LOOS and has received numerous commissions, including the prestigious Lucerne Festival (Switzerland). In May 2024 his work ENTRADA from I LIV'D AS BEFORE, for carrillon and 20 brasses, was part of the celebrations of the 600 years of the Grote Kerk Tower, the Pride Den Haag Festival and also performed at the Leidse Hofjes Festival. His upcoming projects include premieres by the Rhythm Method string quartet in New York as well as projects with Teatro Oficina Uzyna Ozona (Brazil) and an opera with libretto by Arthur Japin. Melli’s music is published by DONEMUS and other international publishers. As dramaturgist, his next projects are a production of Wagner's Lohengrin in Malmö and Glass's Einstein on the Beach in Stockholm (both in Sweden).

  • After completing his conservatory education in The Hague, Gerard Bouwhuis primarily established himself as an interpreter of contemporary music. Composers such as Louis Andriessen, Guus Janssen, Rob Zuidam, Martijn Padding, and Cornelis de Bondt have written new works for him. In recognition of his exceptional contribution to contemporary Dutch music, he was awarded the Theo Bruins Prize in 2003. Bouwhuis is a highly sought-after guest with leading Dutch music ensembles, including Asko|Schönberg and the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble. He has also contributed to productions by the National Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Krisztina de Châtel's dance company. He was a member of Hoketus, the Ebony Band, the Xenakis Ensemble, and the group LOOS. In 1978, he formed Het Pianoduo with Cees van Zeeland, and they toured internationally to the UK, Canada, South America, and the United States. Bouwhuis frequently collaborated with conductors like Reinbert de Leeuw, Oliver Knussen, and Peter Eötvös. In 2005, he co-founded the ensemble Nieuw Amsterdams Peil with violinist Heleen Hulst. He is also a member of the musicians' collective SPLENDOR.

  • Bjarni Gunnarsson is an Icelandic Composer and Computer Scientist from Reykjavík, Iceland. He’s interested in process-based sound and algorithmic composition. How sound and software interact and the relationship between algorithms and musical behaviour. He creates compositions that put into foreground behaviours, actions, fluid sound structures, fuzzy materials, or forms. His recent research focus includes the construction of persistent synthetic environments, creative uses of digital interrupts, and machine-listening observers that react to computer-generated sound.


    Bjarni has presented his research at conferences such as ICMC (International Computer Music Conference), ICLC (International Conference on Live Coding), SMC (Sound and Music Computing) and xCoAx (Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X). He has performed in festivals such as Tectonics, Rewire, Today's Art, Sonar and Presences Electroniques and released music on labels such as Vertical Form, Thule, Uni:form, Spezial Material, Trachanik, LMALC, Shipwrec, 3LEAVES, Granny, Tartaruga, SUPERPANG and SØVN. Collections of his solo works can be found on the releases “Safn 2006-2009” (2010), "Processes & Potentials" (2013), "Paths" (2016), "Lueur" (2018), "Volume & Void" (2020), "Cendres" (2020), "Anticlines" (2021) and "UPICS" (2023).

  • Leonie Roessler - Composer and Performer raised in Germany and the US, now based in The Hague, Netherlands.  Leonie captures her environment with field recordings, which she uses for radio pieces, sound installations, and instrumental compositions. Part of her work is purely sound-based, however the theme of marginalization has become increasingly present in her radio works. She runs the radio branch of Studio LOOS in The Hague, co-curates On Air - On Site Festival, and co-manages Iranian record label Noise à Noise. Her works have been released through Musica Dispersa (Spain/UK), and Noise á Noise (Iran), Biodiversitàs, Syrphe, and have been physically archived in the British Library.

  • Patricio Wang. Chile/Netherlands (1952), studied Composition and Guitar at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Since 1977, he has been composing music for his own projects, on commission from various ensembles and soloists, and for film, theater, music theater, and dance (he composed the music for Krisztina de Châtel's Thron, Sequence, and Rooms). He has been a member of several ensembles, including Hoketus, founded by Louis Andriessen, ensemble LOOS, Amankay, Quilapayún, and Catch Electric Guitar Quartet. He is highly sought after as an instrumentalist for performances of contemporary music by ensembles such as Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, New York Philharmonic, and Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble.

  • Ji Youn Kang is a South Korean composer, performer and sound artist based in The Hague. She achieved her Master’s degrees in Sonology from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and in Composition from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Most of her pieces have been composed for both traditional and non-traditional instruments ranging from works for solo instruments to large orchestral pieces. One of her main interests lies in researching the relationship between musical and physical spaces that she has been exploring with a variety of multichannel systems such as the Acousmonium and Wave Field Synthesis systems. She is also active as a solo performer seeking for ways to combine three different sound areas on stage; acoustic instruments, analog and digital sound with DIY analog synthesizers and live processing on a laptop. 

LOOS is both a performers’ lab and a foundation known as the LOOS foundation. It explores innovative performing techniques, bridging traditional instruments with cutting-edge technology.

These disciplines are subject to separate or combined exploration, both in relation to production and presentation, emphasizing reflection on practice and aesthetic expression as a whole.

Studio LOOS, established in 2005, serves as a hub for experimental music and artistic research in The Hague, The Netherlands.

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LOOS Foundation activities are made bpossible with the support by De Gemeente Den Haag.

Zaal 3 is the smallest and most surprising theatre of Het Nationale Theater, situated right next to Studio LOOS, the DCR studio's and art space Nest. Zaal 3 is a laboratory for new makers and talent development, offering a safe space for both artists and the audience to freely explore and come to new insights.

The focus is on theatre and performance, with crossovers to visual arts, music, poetry and philosophy. Recurring highlights are projects from the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. November 2023 will mark the 10 year anniversary of Zaal 3!

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