summer contemporary music creation + critique

Quick Info

By Term

• Summer 2013
• Summer 2014

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Program Overview

Almost a century since Igor Stravinsky scandalized the Parisian music scene with the premiere of The Rite of Spring, the French capital remains a hotbed for musical and acoustic innovation, attracting composers and performers from across the world. Now it’s your time to join them.

Blending theory and intensive practice, the Paris summer study abroad program gives students interest in contemporary music and composition, hands-on access to cutting-edge acoustic technology at an institution renowned for its research, and experimentation in music composition.

Study abroad in Paris and you will:

• Engage and collaborate with participating students and IRCAM composers, researchers, visiting performers, and scholars
• Use group and solo exercises to topics
• Listen to interact with well-known artists and composers at Paris’ AGORA music festival

Set against the backdrop of the AGORA concert series, this is an amazing opportunity for budding music composers to interact, experiment, and explore with peers and professionals alike.

The CIEE Difference

Coursework

Study. Experiment. Create. Engage in classroom and hands-on work in a unique, three-track curriculum:

• First Steps: Become familiar with the MAX/MSP music application, working with “patched” sound samples and voice modulation
• Culture of Music Creation: Attend concerts and events linked to the AGORA festival at the host Institute de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM)
• Overview: Train in other IRCAM composition software with the aim of producing an original electronic composition

Cultural Immersion

Engage with an international community of renowned composers and musicians. The study abroad program is scheduled during the Paris’ AGORA festival, providing a wealth of opportunities to attend concerts, conferences, exhibitions, and happenings around multi-media and new music technology and composition. There will also be a weekend outing to Metz to see the new Centre Pompidou.

Studio

Learn by doing. Spend the majority of the program creating and composing, training, and applying skills in sound synthesis, patching, and sound sculpting. Upon completion of the program you’ll have year-long access to the ICRAM’s Forum software data base, allowing you to use composition applications while at your home university.

Dates, Deadlines & Fees

We want to make sure you get the most out of your experience when you study abroad with CIEE, which is why we offer the most inclusions in our fees.

• Tuition and housing
• Pre-departure advising and optional on-site airport meet and greet
• Full-time program leadership and support
• Field trips and cultural activities
• CIEE iNext travel card which provides insurance and other travel benefits

Please note, program dates are subject to change. Please contact your CIEE Study Abroad Advisor before purchasing airfare. Click the button to view more detailed information about dates and fees.

Program

Application Due

Start Date

End Date

Costs

Summer 2013 (4 wks)

04/01/2013

05/29/2013

06/29/2013

$5,250

Program Date Notes

Program Fees

In addition to the items outlined below, the CIEE program fee includes an optional on-site airport meet and greet, full-time leadership and support, orientation, cultural activities, local excursions, field trips, pre-departure advising, and a CIEE iNext travel card which provides insurance and other travel benefits.

Participation Confirmation *

$300

Educational Costs **

$1,998

Housing ***

$2,850

Insurance

$102

This breakdown has been prepared from the program budget for the purpose of calculating eligibility for financial aid. During the course of program operations, actual figures may vary. It should not, therefore, be used as a basis for calculation of refunds. CIEE reserves the right to adjust fees at any time.

Students required to study on CIEE programs through a School of Record will be charged a $340 administrative fee in addition to the Program Fees listed.

* non-refundable

** direct cost of education charged uniformly to all students

*** includes breakfast and lunch daily

Estimated Additional Costs

Meals not included in program fee

$400

International Airfare *

$1,450

Local Transportation

$125

Books & Supplies

$100

Personal expenses

$750

The estimated additional costs indicated are intended to assist students and parents in budgeting for those additional living and discretionary expenses not included in the program fee. Actual expenses will vary according to student interests and spending habits.

* round-trip based on U.S. East Coast departure

Summer 2014

04/01/2014

to be announced

to be announced

Program Date Notes

Program Fees

This breakdown has been prepared from the program budget for the purpose of calculating eligibility for financial aid. During the course of program operations, actual figures may vary. It should not, therefore, be used as a basis for calculation of refunds. CIEE reserves the right to adjust fees at any time.

Students required to study on CIEE programs through a School of Record will be charged a $340 administrative fee in addition to the Program Fees listed.

Estimated Additional Costs

The estimated additional costs indicated are intended to assist students and parents in budgeting for those additional living and discretionary expenses not included in the program fee. Actual expenses will vary according to student interests and spending habits.

Eligibility

• Overall GPA 2.75
• Completion of an introductory level course in electronic music
• Fluency in Macintosh OS X environments
• Familiarity with a sequencer program such as Pro Tools or Logic Audio
• Familiarity with a sound editor like Peak
• Letter of motivation

Recommended Credit

Contact hours for each composition phase is 36 hours for a total of 72. The second Agora phase of the program is 12 hours (including 3 concerts). Total course hours: 84.

Program Requirements

The program is split into three sections:

• First Steps with MAX/MSP, 36 hours over one week
• Culture of Music Creation, Agora Festival, 12 hours over one week
• Overview at the IRCAM, 36 hours over 2 weeks

Study abroad students are required to attend all training sessions and complete all exercises.

About The City

Paris, the capitol of the French Republic, has been a thriving cultural center for centuries. Often considered as an inhabited museum, with such landmarks as the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Opéra Garnier, and, of course, Eiffel Tower, Paris also remains a hot-bed for artistic and cultural creation, attracting artists, writers, and composers from all over the world. From the brilliant simplicity of the Métro and the millennial variety of its architecture to the vast array of its concerts, exhibitions, and cinemas to its thriving neighborhoods where people from every corner of the world meet and mix, Paris is a realm of discovery and enchantment.

Meet The Staff

Brent Keever

Dr. Brent Keever received his B.A. in English and Literary Criticism from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in English and Modern Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has taught and lectured all over the U.S. and France, on such topics as satire and humor, the literary and cinematic representations of sound, mysticism, and technology, and ethics in cartoons. His research interests include the history of critical theory and criticism, film studies, musicology, and modernist poetry and prose. An avid translator and film sub-titler, he has worked with the French children’s literature group, l’école des loisirs, as well as with French politicians. He is currently working on a project that throws into question certain theories about listening and sharing.

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It’s been almost a century since Igor Stravinsky scandalized the Parisian music scene at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées with the premiere of The Rites of Spring. Since then, the French capitol has continued to be a site for musical and acoustic innovation, attracting new music composers and performers from all over the world, pushing the limits of what music and sonic creation can be. The Institut de Recherche et de Coordination en Musique/Acoustique or IRCAM, founded by Pierre Boulez, continues to be a crossroads for international composers and researchers in sound, composition, and music. Imagine spending a June in Paris with the IRCAM, surrounded by the clamor of the city, with access to ground-breaking technology in patch sampling, sound and voice sculpturing, composition software, visual composition and sound production, and to a hive of activity devoted to creating new acoustic universes. Walk outside of classroom at the IRCAM, next to the Centre Pompidou museum, to listen to hip-hop street performances, right next to interactive random musical happenings, but a 5-minute walk to some of the best jazz clubs in Paris . Discover new ways to listen and new ways to create something to listen to in Paris!

—BrentKeever, Resident Director

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Jean-Philippe Primout

Jean-Philippe Primout, Center Coordinator, has an M.A. in Foreign Language Instruction and a second Master’s in European Studies. Jean-Philippe is a professor of French in the CFS program and teaches the Seminar on Living and Learning. He is responsible for excursions and overall coordination of the center. He is also Director of CIEE Paris' Summer Language and Culture program.

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Peter Szendy

Peter Szendy is professor of philosophy at the Université Paris Ouest-La Défense (Nanterre – Paris 10). Considered as one of today’s most important thinkers in the field of music and music critique, Szendy has written widely on the history of listening, the power of music to transmit philosophical ideas, and has explored political ramifications of hearing in such books as Listen: A History of Our Ears and Over Hear: The Aesthetics of Spying. His most recent publication, Kant chez les extraterrestres, explores the role alien perspectives play in the development of Enlightenment humanist thought.

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Where You'll Study

Founded in 1977 by Pierre Boulez, the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique or IRCAM is an institution devoted to research and experimentation in music composition, acoustic performance, and the technological modification of sound. Since its beginnings, it has served as a crossroads for the arts and sciences, conducting ground-breaking research in acoustic and computer technology that has altered the way that we think about the act of music creation and performance. Promoting new works and new composers under the aegis of the Centre Pompidou, the IRCAM is also a world-renowned teaching institution, providing intensive instruction in composition to a select handful of graduate students in composition. Located right next to the Centre Pompidou, directly in front of the mechanical fountain on Place Igor Stravinsky, the IRCAM benefits from the thriving life of the Marais district of central Paris. All classes in the CIEE summer program in Contemporary Music Creation and Critique take place at the IRCAM, and participating students will have full access to the IRCAM’s facilities including its library and mediathèque, as well as classroom space.

Housing & Meals

Study abroad students will live with Parisian hosts who are familiar with the cultural world of the French capitol. Breakfast and lunch will be provided during the week, with lunch offered at a self-service restaurant right across from the IRCAM. Some dinners will be provided during the AGORA festival.

Orientations

You'll attend a three-day student orientation which will cover the basics of living in Paris, safety and security, and the academic program, includes a tour of the IRCAM, and ends with the opening concert of the IRCAM Agora festival.

Internet

You are encouraged to bring a wireless-enabled laptop. All housing has Internet access and the IRCAM is equipped with state-of-the-art IT technology and WiFi.

Academics

Academic Program

The CIEE Paris Contemporary Music Creation and Critique study abroad program is divided into three tracks: 1) an intensive week-long course in the MAX/MSP music application that helps students do “patch” sound samples and voice modulation; 2) a week-long project that focuses on concerts and events linked to the AGORA festival at the IRCAM; and 3) a two-week overview class that trains students in other IRCAM composition software with the goal of producing an electronic composition.

Instruction is hands-on, takes place at a teaching lab at the IRCAM, and class size is limited to 10 students. Assessment is continuous for the first phase, will be tied to the production of a reflection paper for the second phase, and will consist of evaluated exercises and a final composition for the third. Throughout the program, structured encounters will be organized to ensure interaction between participating students and IRCAM composers, researchers, visiting performers, and scholars.

Academic Culture

The MAX/MSP and overview classes in the program blend theory and practice. Students are gathered in small groups and do exercises and “patches” designed to bring together topics covered during the sessions. This continual assessment results in a final report given to the students that evaluates their level. Given the overlapping AGORA concert series, and the many chances to interact with other composers, the IRCAM offers a true forum for budding new music composers—an exploration that will result in the second week with an essay detailing what was observed and heard.

Participating students have a year-long membership and full-year subscription to the IRCAM's Forum software data base. Upon completion of the Paris Contemporary Music Creation and Critique Program, students will be able to use these applications to compose at their home university. Study abroad students also have onsite access to the extraordinary IRCAM library with many original contemporary scores, references, and recordings.

Nature of Classes

CIEE classes at the IRCAM are with other CIEE students. Students have access to all parts of the IRCAM and to the festival activities.

CIEE Community Language Commitment

The Paris CMCC program is instructed in English.

Grading System

In the CIEE IRCAM course, students will be graded according to their exercises, with a final evaluation. This is true for both composition software phases of the program. The AGORA culture and concert phase of the study abroad program will result in an assessment to be discussed with the director and evaluated with the student.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Description

Program Blog

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