Akousma: An augmented concert

Ana Dall’Ara-Majek is a composer and sound artist based in Montreal. She is interested in the interaction between instrumental, electroacoustic, and computational thinking in musical composition. Her favorite themes include microorganisms and imaginary landscapes that blend modular synthesis with field recording. She is active in electroacoustic/mixed music and gestural instrument performance. She regularly performs as a thereminist with the ILÉA ensemble and the duo blablaTrains, and as a soloist with her invented instrument, the PhotoTable. Her albums have been released on Kohlenstoff Records and Empreintes DIGITALes, and her scores published by Babel Scores and Editions Henri Lemoine.

Kevin Gironnay creates acousmatic and mixed music; he also produces music for installations, video, and dance, and performs in improvised music projects, both solo and in collaboration. His work focuses on taming chaotic elements to transform them into music through concrete and/or conceptual processes—hence his love of improvisation. His music is equally shaped by his interest in molding musical ideas across micro- and macro-formal levels—hence his love of composition. In 2016, he founded the Ensemble ILÉA, a mixed improvisation group combining acoustic and electronic instruments. He is an associate member of CIRMMT (Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music, Media, and Technology). In 2020, he co-founded Virage Sonore, a podcast production company. His works have been performed in Canada, the United States, China, and across Europe. Newfoundland soprano Amy Grainger is a natural storyteller. A George Cédric Ferguson Scholar from 2016 to 2018, she earned a postgraduate degree from UdeM in 2019 under the direction of Rosemarie Landry. In addition to her performing activities, Amy works in development at the Opéra de Montréal and seizes every opportunity to sing and develop as an artist.

Nicola Giannini is an artist-researcher creating immersive sound experiences. His practice lies at the crossroads of experimental music, sound art, collaborative practices, and public-space creation. By exploring interactions between people, sound, and context, he conceives sound spaces as ephemeral architectures where intensity and lightness, the real and the surreal, the natural and the synthetic intertwine. His works have been presented across North and South America, Australia, and Europe. He holds a doctorate in composition from the Université de Montréal and is currently a FRQSC funded postdoctoral researcher at UQAM and McGill University.

Since 2009, the Catalão–Thibault duo has been exploring intersections between percussion and electronic music. Versatile percussionist João Catalão moves fluidly between contemporary music, jazz, and pop, while Dominic Thibault develops a practice as a composer and electronic improviser centered on human–machine interactions. Together, they have evolved from traditional mixed music to freer forms in which improvisation relies on pre-established structures and composed sonic materials. Their artistic approach seeks to unite acoustic and electronic timbres while experimenting with new notational practices that integrate improvisation. This long-standing collaboration has continually nourished and transformed their respective artistic trajectories.