Lec­ture se­ries Mu­sic of Our Time: Lauri Supponen

Following the precarious sound.

Composer Lauri Supponen ponders the societal functions of music and the relationships that sound have with the experience of oneself and one’s possibilities to have an effect on one’s environment. What is the relationship between precarious sound and precarious labour? The lecture includes examples of Lauri’s music from the last ten years.

Composition, for Lauri Supponen, is an act of dreaming of alternative forms of organisation. Hailing from Brussels and Helsinki, he studied composition at The Royal College of Music in London and Universität der Künste in Berlin, graduating from the Sibelius-Academy in 2016. Lauri’s works have been premiered by leading contemporary music ensembles such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern and BBC Singers at festivals around Europe and North America. Supponen’s work happens at the intersection of music, dance, visual art and theatre, nurturing the playfulness and creation that happen in between structures.

Further information: Niilo Tarnanen, niilo.tarnanen@uniarts.fi

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Lecture Series 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.

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