CV
COMPOSITIONS FOR SOLO PERFORMANCES
Compositions listed below are mainly piece intended for live performance – They evolve from their premiere (listed here) over a performance lifespan of two to five years. The pieces need the audience’s ears to find their way…
Am working on uploading pieces to bandcamp … it will happen!
2021 Holding My Breath
2016-2021 The Magnetic Memories Songs cycle started with the creation of my new instrument, the Spring Spyre. It is comprised so far of: Magnetic Memories in the Age of the Oracle (Premiered 2016, Roulette-NYC), Peripheral Vision (with text- premiered at BAM, 2018), Of Lands and Lines (Peacock Lounge, 2019), The Sound of You (streamed for Ars Electronica Kepler Garden 2020), and Song of Tsar (premiered 2021, Vancouver New Music Electric Fields Festival).
2014 OCCAM IX – by Eliane Radigue for Sonami with the Spring Spyre. Premiered SFEMF, SF
2013 Birds without Wings cannot Fly. Premiered Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City.
2012 Untitled – Composition for Spring Spyre: springs, magnets and neural networks. Premiered at CNMAT, Berkeley.
2009-2013 A Historical Moment on a line between A and B – Performance for live electronics controlled by the lady’s glove. Premiered at Obscure, Quebec, CA.
2004-2009 The Appearance of Silence (the Invention of Perspective) for live electronics controlled by the lady’s glove. Premiered at Sounding Beijing, China.
2000-2008 Why dreams like a loose engine (autoportrait) for voice, live electronics, and computer controlled servo-motors. Premiered at Gaudeamus Music Week- Melkweg (NL).
2007 Bellow Activated Electronic Memories, for hacked electronic bellow. Premiered at Grand21, Oakland, CA.
2000-2005 Conversation with a light bulb composition for voice, data sounds and light bulbs. Premiered at the Santa Fe International Festival of Electro-Acoustic Music.
1997-2003 Has/Had for voice and live electronics controlled by the lady’s glove. Text by M. Sumner Carnahan. Premiered at The Kitchen, NYC.
1997-2002 She Came Back, Again for voice and live electronics controlled by the lady’s glove. Text by M. Sumner Carnahan. Premiered at the Kitchen, NYC.
1995-2000 … and she keeps coming back for more for live electronics controlled by the lady’s glove. Premiered at Hertz Hall – University of California, Berkeley.
1995-1999 Wilfred Wants You to Remember Us, for live electronics & the lady’s glove. Commissioned for New American Radio series’95, under the title The Bench. Text by M. Sumner Carnahan.
1980-1994 What Happened II (electronics controlled by the lady’s glove, text by Sumner Carnahan) Story Road (synthesizers & text by M. Sumner Carnahan) Pie Jesu – Sounds from Empty Spaces (electronic inst. and voice), What Happened (electronic inst. and text by M. Sumner-Carnahan), Drole de Dimanche (home-made electronics) Oh-Balihi-Wadou (magnetic tapes and voice)… Migrations (for tape), Dunes (for tape).
COLLABORATIVE PERFORMANCES
2021 Pineapple on a Lonely Island – Electronic music collaboration with Viola Yip, part of Distant pairs series by Issue Project room – Streamed 07.21.
2021 100 Millions – A live video/text/ music collaboration with Paul DeMarinis and SUE-C, commissioned by ESS, Chicago and streamed 07.21.
2021 Persistent Light of a Lenticular Memory – Composition in collaboration with Zeena Parkins, streamed at ESS, Chicago 07.21.
2013-Present Sparrows & Ortolans – Improvisatory duo with James Fei- Premiere CNMAT, Berkeley.
2013 Tunnel of Love with Paul DeMarinis. Premiere Kansas Art Institute.
2013 Something about Magnetic Extractions – Performance /Installation with Jacqueline Gordon. Premiere SF Somarts, SF.
2009-2011 SheepWoman – a live-film performance with video artist SUE-C. Commissioned and premiered at LACE, LA.
2006-2008 I.C.You – a live-film performance with video artist SUE-C. Premiered at San Francisco International Film Festival.
1996 Nga’i pha yul – Composition in collaboration with David Wessel and Tibetan opera singer Tsering Wangmo, for live electronics and voice. Premiered at IRCAM-Paris.
1994 The Manananggal- Women Soignées – musical theatre with performer Marie Goyette and author M. Sumner Carnahan.
1991 Mechanization takes Command – music theatre with Paul Demarinis,
premiered at ArsElectronica, Linz.
COMPOSITIONS FOR FILM AND CHOREOGRAPHY
2015 A dry poem for Mo Electronic composition for a choreography by Molissa Fenley
2013 A Blank Slate Sound design for a film by Sara Eliassen
2013 3 MAJ 25 mn radio on Croatia Naval Yard, for HRT, Croatian Radio Television
2010 Meringue Diplomacy Composition for film by Terri Hanlon
2002 Birds w/o feet (cannot land) Music for a choreography by Molissa Fenley
2001 Vanishing Tower Composition for a video by Terri Hanlon
2000 Two Trees Composition for a choreography by Wendy Rogersç
SOUND INSTALLATIONS
2017 Le Corps Sonore Rubin Art Museum NYC – with Eliane Radigue and Bob Bielecki. Six floors, immersive sound installation.
2015 Le Labyrinthe Sonore Fondation Cartier, Paris – Garden sound installation in collaboration with Eliane Radigue.
2015 Beauty Sessions SOMARTS, SF Sound sculpture, part of Glamorgeddon.
2012 3-MAJ Eight-channels, site-specific audio installation on 3-MAJ shipyard, Rijeka, Croatia.
2011 Sound Gates Rijeka Croatia – Public space installation, in cranes.
2011 Invisible Sea Rijeka Croatia – Public space installation on city pier.
2011 Sounds of War II SOMARTS, SF – Sonic toilet plungers, voices.
2010 Ghost Rivers Installation with construction tubings and sound at the Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley.
2010 Wire Rap IV: If walls could talk Installation for embedded wires and sound, University of the Arts, Philadephia.
2007 Chairs Collaborative installation with the Mills College community, Oakland, CA. Participants were asked to create listening spaces using chairs as site, instrument and space for reflection (http://www.sonami.net/CHAIRS.htm).
2006 Sounds of War Installation with toilet plungers and sounds from war zones at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SF.
2005 Pink Bird Shadows Installation for remote control floats and sound circuits at Lincoln Center, NYC.
2004 Wire Rap II: Amnesia Installation for wires and sound. Walter and McBean Galleries, SF.
2003 Where are you now? Site-specific installation with servo motor, nasturtium, hi-hat and spoons (plastic, wood and silver), Chapel of the Chimes, Oakland.
2002 Celebration 2002 Site specific installation with motorized rubber gloves and American flags and at Walter & McBean Gallery, SF.
2001 BAGS Installation at New Langton Arts, San Francisco, in collaboration with Nick Bertoni, the Tinkers Workshop and East Bay Youth.
2000 Conversation with a light bulb no.5 Sound installation for light bulb filament controlled by sound and resonnator. Walter & McBean Gallery, SF.
CD RELEASES
(Unless indicated, these are all part of compilations – will get to a solo at some point…)
Resistant Pulse – Gravity Collapse / Ratskin Records (Ghost Ship Compilation)
Meta-Gesture / Accidental Records (compilation)
Les Scaphandres / Ambiances Magnétiques (collaboration with Jocelyn Robert)
Messiah Remix / Cantalloupe Music (compilation)
Crachecophage / OHM Avatar (collaboration with Jocelyn Robert)
The Time is Now / Frog Peak (compilation)
Story Road / Tellus Jewel Box 26 (compilation)
What Happened / Nonesuch Records (compilation)
Pie Jesu – Sounds from Empty Places / Music & Arts Prog. of America (compilation)
PUBLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTATION
2021 Sound American SA26 Laetitia Sonami on Occam IX by Eliane Radigue for Spring Spyre.
2020 Relections on Eight years of Instrument Creation with Machine Learning by Fiebrink and Sonami.
2018 Sound American SA6 Requiem for the lady’s glove.
2013 the ear goes to the sound: The work of Laetitia Sonami. Documentary by Renetta Sitoy (65 min).
2012 August MusikTexte 134. Laetitia Sonami.
2011 Schwartzman, Madeline. See yourself sensing, Redefining Human Perception.
2010 Rodgers, Tara. Pink Noises: Women on electronic music and sound. Duke University Press. Interview.
2008 Zorn, John. Arcana III: Musician on Music. Hips Road.
2007 Noisy People, A film by Tim Perkis.
2007 Decaycast #005 Interview.
2006 Uitti, Frances-Marie. Contemporary Music Review: Improvisation (interview). Routledge.
2006 Cycling’74 Interview.
2000 Roulette TV Interview (with Phoebe Legere) and footage.
NOMINATIONS, AWARDS, HONORS
2010 Musagetes Fellowship
2008 Rasmusson Fellowship Nomination
2007 David Tudor Composer in Residence, Mills College
2002 Herb Albert Awards in the Arts
2000 Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts Award
2000 Creative Work Fund Award for BAGS: a collaboration with N. Bertoni
1999 Civitella Ranieri Fellowship
1997 Ars Electronica/ ORF Honorary mention for “Has/Had”
WORKSHOPS & LECTURES (dates provided upon request):
1992-Present Harvard University, Peabody Conservatory, Stanford CCRMA, McGill University, Goldsmith University, UC Berkeley ATC, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon, Oberlin College, Wexner Art Center, MIT, Columbia College, Vassar College, Princeton University, CalArts, Steim Institute Amsterdam, Tinkers Workshop, UC Irvine, Kansas Art Institute, Lincoln Center Outdoors Festival: Homemade instruments day, Obscure/ Quebec,
Simon Frazer U/ Vancouver, UC Berkeley, Bennington College, Rensselaer Polytechnicum Institute, Art Institute of Chicago, Randolph Street Gallery/ Chicago, Mills College/ Oakland, IRCAM-Académies d’été/ Paris, Music Deptartment UC San Diego, Touring Lecturer at Melbourne Univ., Canberra Inst. of the Arts, Sydney Conservatory, Australia
EMPLOYMENT
2018-2021 Mills College-Oakland, Visiting Adjunct Professor
2004-2019 Bard College-NY, Milton Avery MFA, Visiting Faculty
1999-2017 San Francisco Art Institute-SF, Senior Guest Lecturer
2009 Stanford University, Fall, Visiting lecturer Art & Art History Department
2009 California College of Arts-Oakland, Spring, Visiting Lecturer
2003 Cal Arts-Valencia, Fall, Visiting Lecturer
2000 San Francisco State University-SF, Fall, Guest Lecturer
1982-2002 Freelance Recording Engineer / Editor of Music and Educational Programs
EDUCATION
1980 MFA Mills College-Oakland, CA, Center for Contemporary Music