Mathemusical Conversations

mathematics and computation in music performance and composition

Joint international workshop of the National University of Singapore

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and the Institute for Mathematical Sciences

in collaboration with the Centre for Digital Music at Queen Mary University of London, and the Sciences and Technologies for Music and Sound Research Lab at the Institut de recherche et coordination acoustique/musique, at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, and at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie

Singapore, 13-15 February 2015

Website: http://bit.ly/MathemusicalConversations

Mathemusical Conversations brings together world experts and emerging scholars in mathematics and music for discussions of how these fields intersect, and computational approaches combining the two. This workshop will focus on research in performance and composition, which serves as the foundation both for understanding human creativity and for enabling future music technologies.

Ancient philosophers such as Pythagoras, Leibniz, and Diderot have long drawn profound connections between mathematics and music. In the liberal arts education of medieval universities, music was considered one of the quadrivium—four mathematical science subjects taught after the foundational trivium—alongside arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. Today, the connections between mathematics and music have renewed relevance. The rise of computing devices and the ensuing digitization of music has led to new ways to represent, create and perform music, to study and understand it, and to make scientific discoveries as to how music is made and why. At the core of this digital music revolution, are mathematical and computational techniques that drive scientific advances.

Almost every subfield of mathematics—including number theory, algebraic geometry, topology, geometric analysis, probability, statistics and mathematical physics—as well as modeling technique—including optimization, stochastic systems, game theory, and network analysis—has contributed to these advances in digital music research. Every step of the music process, from composition (including improvisation, a form of real-time composition) to performance, from conceptualization to perception and cognition, can be modeled and studied using mathematical and computational means.

The workshop's six thematic sessions featuring 24 internationally-renowned speakers, and concerts are designed for appeal to a broad audience. The sessions will focus on mathemusical engagement, geometries, canons, shaping performance, creativity, and educating the mathemusical. The event will interest researchers in the mathematical music sciences, as well as mathematicians and scientists in general, musicians interested in the mathematical sciences, and the general public.

The Mathemusical Conversations workshop celebrates the understanding of the essence of music through mathematics, and the presentations and discussions will be published in a book to serve as a reference for the state of the art in mathematics and music thinking.

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Call for Abstracts

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A series of poster sessions will give workshop attendees an opportunity to present and discuss their research pertaining to mathematics and music. Work in any field related to the workshop proceedings is appropriate, including the following:

Mathematical topics:

algebra

analysis

arithmetic

combinatorics

computational models

creativity

field theory

geometry

logic

mathematics education

optimization

probability and statistics

set theory

topology

Musical topics:

analysis

composition

counterpoint

creativity

harmony

improvisation

listener modeling

music education

musicology

perception and cognition

performance

structure

synthesis

theory

For abstract submissions, please follow this link:

http://bit.ly/MathemusicalConversations-PosterSubmission

Abstracts should not exceed 500 words and should emphasize how the work is connected both to music and to mathematics. Submissions will be subject to double-blind peer-review by three members of the Scientific Program Committee.

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Important Dates

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Abstract submission deadline: Monday, 28 July 2014

Notification of acceptance: Monday, 1 September 2014

Workshop dates: Friday, 13 February 2015 - Sunday, 15 February 2015

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Organizers

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Original Protagonists

Bernard Lanskey (National University of Singapore)

Bernard Tan (National University of Singapore)

Louis Chen (National University of Singapore)

Program Chairs

Elaine Chew (Queen Mary University of London)

Gérard Assayag (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique)

Publication Chair

Jordan B. L. Smith (Queen Mary University of London)

Poster Chair

Katerina Kosta (Queen Mary University of London)

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Contact

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Please send enquiries to [log in to unmask], with “[Mathemusical]” in the subject line.

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Katerina Kosta,

Ph.D. Candidate,

Centre for Digital Music,

Queen Mary University of London