Lecture Series on Music of Our Time: Stephen Webb
Musical material as a means to a (different) end
Stephen James Webb will give an overview of his artistic practice, examining how he combines elements of music, live art, and visual art to develop hybrid forms of artistic expression. Particular attention will be given to how his studies in live art have informed his compositional thinking, generating new approaches, devices, and solutions to compositional challenges. Through examples from recent works, including his violin concerto for Tami Pohjola, the opera The Mouthpiece for the Finnish National Opera, and his ongoing transdisciplinary piano concerto in collaboration with soloist Robert Fleitz, Webb will explore how these different disciplines intersect and transform one another in his work.
Stephen James Webb is a misfit composer and interdisciplinary artist creating surreal performances and compositions that embrace the bizarre realities of 21st-century life. Emerging from tech-fueled nostalgia and digital-age immediacy, his often melancholic and humorous works function as a “glitch” between traditional and digital cultures, merging high-art conventions with pop culture references. At the heart of his practice is a concern with societal disengagement in a time of profound social upheaval.
The lecture is held in English.
Changes are possible.
Further information: Niilo Tarnanen, niilo.tarnanen@uniarts.fi
Lecture Series on the Music of Our Time
The Lecture Series Music of Our Time is organised by the Composition and Music Theory department of the Sibelius Academy. In the series, leading contemporary professionals present and discuss their work and compositions. Five lectures open to the public are held in the auditorium of the Helsinki Music Centre on Thursdays from 13:15 to 14:45. The language of the lectures is English.
The Thursday afternoon lecture series began already in the 1960s under the name Composition Seminar. At that time, new compositions were publicly presented and often debated in lively and polemical discussions. The name Lecture Series on the Music of Our Time became established in the 1980s.
Over the years, the series has hosted numerous Finnish and international composers, including Aulis Sallinen, Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Kalevi Aho, Jukka Tiensuu, Olli Mustonen and DJ Orkidea. International guests have included, among others, Krzysztof Penderecki (who visited to receive the Sibelius Prize), the American minimalists John Adams and Steve Reich, as well as Chaya Czernowin, Per Nørgård, Louis Andriessen, Mark Andre, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Phill Niblock, Brett Dean, Sunleif Rasmussen and Tom Johnson.
In addition, many other professionals working in contemporary music and the arts have spoken about their work, including musicians, writers, visual artists, directors and choreographers. Guests have included, for example, the writer Veijo Meri, the neurologist Matti Bergström, the violinist Pekka Kuusisto and docent of Japanese aesthetics Minna Eväsoja.
Over the years, the series has been hosted by professors such as Einojuhani Rautavaara and Paavo Heininen, lecturers Tapani Länsiö, Juhani Nuorvala and Riikka Talvitie, and composer Matthew Whittall. The series is currently coordinated by composer and music theory teacher Niilo Tarnanen.
Welcome to join the discussion on current questions in contemporary music!
Stephen James Webb will give an overview of his artistic practice, examining how he combines elements of music, live art, and visual art to develop hybrid forms of artistic expression. Particular attention will be given to how his studies in live art have informed his compositional thinking, generating new approaches, devices, and solutions to compositional challenges. Through examples from recent works, including his violin concerto for Tami Pohjola, the opera The Mouthpiece for the Finnish National Opera, and his ongoing transdisciplinary piano concerto in collaboration with soloist Robert Fleitz, Webb will explore how these different disciplines intersect and transform one another in his work.
Stephen James Webb is a misfit composer and interdisciplinary artist creating surreal performances and compositions that embrace the bizarre realities of 21st-century life. Emerging from tech-fueled nostalgia and digital-age immediacy, his often melancholic and humorous works function as a “glitch” between traditional and digital cultures, merging high-art conventions with pop culture references. At the heart of his practice is a concern with societal disengagement in a time of profound social upheaval.
The lecture is held in English.
Changes are possible.
Further information: Niilo Tarnanen, niilo.tarnanen@uniarts.fi
Lecture Series on the Music of Our Time
The Lecture Series Music of Our Time is organised by the Composition and Music Theory department of the Sibelius Academy. In the series, leading contemporary professionals present and discuss their work and compositions. Five lectures open to the public are held in the auditorium of the Helsinki Music Centre on Thursdays from 13:15 to 14:45. The language of the lectures is English.
The Thursday afternoon lecture series began already in the 1960s under the name Composition Seminar. At that time, new compositions were publicly presented and often debated in lively and polemical discussions. The name Lecture Series on the Music of Our Time became established in the 1980s.
Over the years, the series has hosted numerous Finnish and international composers, including Aulis Sallinen, Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Kalevi Aho, Jukka Tiensuu, Olli Mustonen and DJ Orkidea. International guests have included, among others, Krzysztof Penderecki (who visited to receive the Sibelius Prize), the American minimalists John Adams and Steve Reich, as well as Chaya Czernowin, Per Nørgård, Louis Andriessen, Mark Andre, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Phill Niblock, Brett Dean, Sunleif Rasmussen and Tom Johnson.
In addition, many other professionals working in contemporary music and the arts have spoken about their work, including musicians, writers, visual artists, directors and choreographers. Guests have included, for example, the writer Veijo Meri, the neurologist Matti Bergström, the violinist Pekka Kuusisto and docent of Japanese aesthetics Minna Eväsoja.
Over the years, the series has been hosted by professors such as Einojuhani Rautavaara and Paavo Heininen, lecturers Tapani Länsiö, Juhani Nuorvala and Riikka Talvitie, and composer Matthew Whittall. The series is currently coordinated by composer and music theory teacher Niilo Tarnanen.
Welcome to join the discussion on current questions in contemporary music!