Lec­ture Se­ries on Mu­sic of Our Time

Lecture series on music of our time consist of visits of composers and other artists discussing their practice, works, and questions related to these.

Flutist and researcher Livia Schweizer will discuss the potential of non-conventional notation, particularly the use of text and graphic scores, as a medium to foster intercultural collaboration and community projects in contemporary music. She will illustrate her ideas through her work with scores by Pauline Oliveros, Annea Lockwood, and Raven Chacon. The lecture will also present projects developed in Helsinki and Brazil as part of her doctoral research at the Global Music Department. The lecture is held in English.

Livia Schweizer is a flutist, improviser, and educator based in Helsinki, whose work explores the intersection of improvisation, intercultural collaboration, and non-conventional music notation. She is currently a doctoral researcher at the Sibelius Academy’s Global Music Department. Livia performs actively in contemporary and collaborative projects in Finland and abroad, she is co-founder of the Earth Ears Ensemble and Suut-ensemble.

Changes are possible.

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

Lec­ture Se­ries on Mu­sic of Our Time

Lecture series on the Music of Our Time is a study module of the Study Programme of Composition and Music Theory at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, that gathers interesting domestic and international composers and other artists reflect their new works and their practice. 

The Thursday afternoon lecture series was already launched in the 1960s under the name composition seminar. New compositions were talked publically and there was polemic discussion concerning them. The current name ’Aikamme musiikin luentosarja’ was established in the 1980s. 

Several composers from Finland and abroad have gave visiting lecture in the series, such as Aulis Sallinen, Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Kalevi Aho, Jukka Tiensuu, Olli Mustonen, DJ Orkidea etc. Among international guests, there have been i.a. Krzysztof Penderecki, John Adams, Steve Reich, Chaya Czernowin, Per Nørgård, Louis Andriessen, Mark Andre, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Phill Niblock, Brett Dean, Sunleif Rasmussen and Tom Johnson. 

Alongside composers, many other professionals of contemporary music and art, musicians, writers, visual artist, directors and choreographers have discussed their work. Among these are writer Veijo Meri, neurologist Matti Bergström, violinist Pekka Kuusisto, and docent in Japanese esthetics Minna Eväsoja. 

During all these years the lecture series has been hosted i.a. professors Einojuhani Rautavaara and Paavo Heininen, lecturers Tapani Länsiö, Juhani Nuorvala and Riikka Talvitie, and composers Pasi Lyytikäinen and Matthew Whittall. Currently it is curated by composer, permanent part time teacher in music theory Niilo Tarnanen. 

Welcome to discuss recent topics of contemporary music!