Presentation of the residency Constella(c)tions by the artist Michelle Agnes Magalhaes

  • Can you introduce yourself?

I'm a Brazilian composer, currently living in Paris, active in contemporary music. I've been writing chamber and solo music, as well orchestral and music using electronics devices. I focus on raw sonic materials, creating complex sounds inside forms that are simple and structured. My music explores the limits between gesture and writing, composition and improvisation, as well as new approaches to traditional instruments and instrumentation, questioning both sound production and physicality.

  • Can you present your project Constella(c)tions?

Constella(c)tions is a collection of interactive music pieces that aims to put physical gestures at the centre of musical performances. All the projects are based on web audio tools and mobile technology, using smartphones motion sensors to control sound according to body movements. The works will be presented as a “collective musical game” mediated by mobile technologies. It will be in the form of something intermediate between a public installation and a staged musical piece. The musical scores are intended for all types of public, with or without musical knowledge, and presented in the form of “enigmatic, humorous and poetic instructions”, mimicking user manual and diagrams.

  • What do you expect from this residency? 

Collaborating closely with ISMM team at IRCAM, I would like to discover new ways to approach music, renewing the way contemporary music is too often presented. I hope to deeply engage the audience in terms of listening, sound perception associated to body movements and sound-gesture visual representation. I'm also interested in creating novel uses of smartphones through collective interactive situations that can generate connections between people.