LAETITIA SONAMI -CV
EDUCATION
1980 MFA - Center for Contemporary Music, Mills College, CA
EMPLOYMENT
Visiting Professor:
1999-Present San Francisco Art Institute, S.F., Faculty
2004-Present Milton Avery MFA Summer Program at Bard College, NY, Faculty
2007-Present Mills College (Individual Lesson Instructor)
2009 fall Stanford University, Visiting lecturer Art & Art History Dept.
2009 spring CCA, Oakland, Guest lecturer
2003 CalArts, Valencia, Guest lecturer
2000 San Francisco State University, SF, Guest lecturer
Workshops and Lectures:
1992-Present Oberlin College, Wexner Art Center, MIT, Columbia College, Vassar College, Princeton U., CalArts, Steim Institute/Amsterdam, Tinkers Workshop, UC Irvine, Kansas Art Inst., Lincoln Center Outdoors Festival: Home-made 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'Eté/ Paris, UC San Diego, music dept. - Touring Lecturer at Melbourne Univ., Canberra Inst. of the Arts, Sydney Conservatory, Australia.
COMPOSITIONS for SOLO PERFORMANCES
Please Note: Performances are listed from the time they were premiered until removed from performance repertoire. During a life span of three to seven years, a piece evolves greatly from first to final version. I am only citing the location for the premiere of each piece.
2009-present “A Historical Moment on a line between A and B” Performance for live electronics controlled by the lady's glove. Premiered at Obscure, Quebec.
2004-2009 “The Appearance of Silence (the Invention of Perspective)” Performance 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 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 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 controlled by the lady's glove. Commissioned for New American Radio series’95, under the title "The Bench". Text by M.Sumner Carnahan.
1980-94 "What Happened II" (electronics controlled by the lady's glove, text by Sumner Carnahan) "Story Road " (synthesizers,text by Melody Sumner-Carnahan.) "Wilfred wants you to remember us" ( electronics and voice,text by Melody Sumner-Carnahan) "Pie Jesu - Sounds from Empty Spaces" (electronic inst. and voice), "What Happened" (electronic inst. and voice, text by Sumner-Carnahan), “ Drole de Dimanche” (home-made electronics) "Oh-Balihi-Wadou" (magnetic tapes and voice)...
COLLABORATIVE PERFORMANCES:
2009- present “SheepWoman”, a live film performance in collaboration with video artist Sue Costabile. Commissioned and Premiered at LACE, LA,
2006-2008 “I.C.You”, a live film performance in collaboration with video artist Sue Costabile. Premiered at San Francisco International Film Festival.
1996 "Mona Lisa", collaboration with Donald Swearinghen, Pamela Z and Japanese video artists Visual Brains Commissioned by the Interlink Festival for a ‘96 tour of Japan.
“Nga’i pha yul” a 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 in collaboration with performer Marie Goyette and author M. Sumner Carnahan
1991 “Mechanization takes Command” a collaboration with Paul Demarinis, Ars Electronica, Linz
COMPOSITIONS for Film and Choerography:
2010 “Careme” composition for film by Terri Hanlon.
2002 “Birds w/o feet (cannot land)” Music for a choreography by Molissa Fenley.
2000 "Two Trees" composition for a choreography by Wendy Rogers.
2000 "Vanishing Tower" composition for a video by Terri Hanlon.
SOUND INSTALLATIONS:
2010 “Ghost Rivers”, installation with construction tubings and sound @ 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”, a 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 for toilet plungers and sounds from war zones @ Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SF
2005 "Pink Bird Shadows” Installation for remote control floats and sound circuits @ Lincoln Center, NYC.
2004 "Wire Rap II: Amnesia" Installation for wires and sound.@ Walter and McBean Galleries, SF.
2003 " Where are you now?” a 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 withmotorized rubber gloves and American flags and at Walter & McBean Gallery, SF
2001 “BAGS” an 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.
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".
CD RELEASES:
"Wilfred..." and "She keeps comings back for more" / Lovely Music (upoming ), Les Scaphandres / Ambiances Magnétiques (with Jocelyn Robert) Messiah Remix / Cantalloupe Music (compilation) Crachecophage / OHMAvatar (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, DOCUMENTATION:
* Rodgers, Tara. 2010. Pink Noises: women on electronic music and sound. Duke University Press. (Interview)
* Zorn, John. 2008. Arcana III: Musician on Music. Hips Road
* Noisy People, A film by Tim Perkis
* Uitti, Frances-Marie. 2006. Contemporary Music Review: Improvisation (interview). Routledge
* Decaycast # 005, 2007. http://decaycast.wordpress.com/2007/06/14/decaycast-005-laetitia-sonami-interview-download-now/ internet interview
* Cycling’74 http://cycling74.com/2006/02/06/a-video-interview-with-laetitia-sonami-performer/ interview
* Roulette TV: http://www.roulette.org/rtv.php dvd