Contemporary electroacoustic music formed from the sound of wind rushing through invasive alien trees on Western Cape farmland. A composition inspired by the humble pencil. The uhadi bow in the environment of live electronica. A musical consideration of HAL 9000, the sentient computer from Stanley Kubrik’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. These are only some of the musical creations on show at the inaugural Bowed Electrons electroacoustic music festival, hosted by the South African College of Music at UCT.

The South African College of Music, in association with Leonardo Journal’s Laser Nomad project, is pleased to host the inaugural Bowed Electrons electroacoustic music festival. This event will feature full performances and in-depth discussions of recent electroacoustic compositions by some of the leading figures of the South African contemporary music scene.

Bowed Electrons will feature performances of works by resident composers Neo Muyanga, Meryl van Noie, Cara Stacey, Mpho Molikeng, Cameron Harris, Dimitri Voudouris, Miles Warrington, Maxim Starcke, Pierre-Henri Wicomb, Brydon Bolton and Luca Forcucci. These composers will also present daytime sessions on their works and compositional techniques. Those sessions will be augmented by contributions from resident musicologists Prof. Efthymios Papatzikis, Dr Barry Ross, and William Fourie. Specialist performers include Prof. Mzikantu Plaatjies and Frank Mallows.

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