Call for Works

Announcing the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival

June 14-21, 2020

Last updated: November 30, 2019

The New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (NYCEMF) solicits works for its festival in June 2020. The event will take place in the heart of New York City at New York University and the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, from Sunday June 14 through Sunday June 21, 2020. Details of the festival are shown below.

I. Music and Video

Composers or performers are invited to submit works in any style of electroacoustic music in any the following categories:

  • Electroacoustic music for fixed media alone, with up to 16 channels of sound.
  • Works involving live electronics, including computer processing and laptop orchestras, or live coding, with up to 8 channels.
  • Works combining musical instruments or voices with live or fixed media electronics, up to 8 channels.
  • Video and multimedia works.
  • Installations involving music or video

Submission deadline: December 31, 2019.

Entry fee: None.

  1. Individuals may submit one or two concert works. Individuals may also submit proposals in other tracks (installations, papers, etc.). Works of any length may be submitted, but to be as inclusive as possible, we are more likely to select shorter works, If submitting two works, at least one work should be under 6 minutes.
  2. Works in progress are acceptable if a substantial portion of the work is complete. If accepted, the final duration of the work cannot exceed the duration specified at the time of submission.
  3. Please upload high quality MP3 stereo mixes for your audio, including multichannel works. For videos, we prefer lower resolution files.
  4. Composers may submit works for any instrumentation, but if the submitter is unable to provide the performer(s), additional costs will need to be paid for each performer provided by NYCEMF. Only works with no more than four performers can be considered, unless the submitter is able to provide the entire ensemble.
  5. Performers (artists that are not the composer of the work) may also submit up to two works with the agreement that they will play them if selected.
  6. Works that have been performed at a previous NYCEMF festival are not eligible for submission unless it has been substantially revised.
  7. Works must be submitted online through our Conference Management Toolkit (CMT).
  8. All submissions should be anonymous. Please make sure that no artist markings are recognizable.
  9. NYCEMF will provide in each performance space a mixing console, speaker system, microphones, cables, and a computer and audio interface for the playback of fixed media audio/video. Composers of interactive works will be responsible for providing their own computer, audio interface, and any specialized peripherals.

Performers

The performers for NYCEMF 2020 will include: Madeleine Shapiro, cellist; Esther Lamneck, clarinet and tarogato; Marianne Gythfeldt, clarinetist; Patti Cudd, percussionist; Maja Cerar, violinist; Keith Kirchoff, pianist; Enzo Filippetti, saxophonist; Eleonora Claps, soprano and performer; Lucia Bova, harpist; Arturo Tallini, guitarist; Jocelyn Ho, pianist; Beatrix Wagner, flutist; and duo Be.Mad (Madeleine Shapiro, cello, and Beatrix Wagner, flute).

16-channel Spatialization Lab

A special venue will be equipped with an array of 16 speakers, 8 in the usual surround sound configuration and 8 at a higher level, allowing sound to be spatialized in three dimensions. We solicit works that will take advantage of these resources, and we encourage works that use the full 16-channel capability as well as the diffusion of works with fewer channels. We will allow composers whose works are played in this space additional tech time to plan their diffusion. Only fixed media works or video will be played in this space, not works involving musical instruments.

II. Papers

We encourage the submission of papers on research topics including but not limited to the following areas:

  • 3D Audio
  • Acoustic Ecology
  • Acoustics of Music
  • Acoustics, Space, and Sound Distribution
  • Aesthetics, Theory, History and Philosophy
  • Algorithmic Composition
  • Analysis of Electroacoustic Music
  • AR & VR
  • Archiving & Preservation of Electro-acoustic Music
  • Artificial Intelligence and Music
  • Computational Musicology
  • Composition Systems and Techniques
  • Digital Audio Signal Processing and Audio Effects
  • Distributed, Telematic, and Mobile Music
  • History of Electroacoustic Music
  • Improvisation and Technology
  • Languages for Computer Music
  • Live Coding
  • Mathematical Music Theory
  • Music Education
  • Music Information Retrieval
  • New Interfaces for Musical Expression
  • Notation and Scores
  • Perception and Cognition
  • Piece plus Paper Presentations
  • Software and Hardware Systems
  • Sonification
  • Sound Synthesis
  • Studio Reports
  1. The call is open to all researchers regardless of nationality, age or career stage or area of expertise.
  2. Formats include long papers (4-6 pages), short papers (4 pages), and posters (4 pages) with optional demos.
  3. All research must be submitted online as a PDF file through the Conference Management Toolkit (CMT).
  4. All submissions should be anonymous: please make sure that no author names are recognizable.
  5. The reviews are anonymous: once accepted, camera-ready papers will need to include author names.
  6. For conference presentation and publication proceedings, at least one author or co-author must register. A presenter only needs to register once and may be presenting more than one work at the festival.

Submission deadline: December 31, 2019.

Submission fee: None.

III. Installations

We invite submissions of installation works for exhibition at the conference. Categories include but are not limited to:

  • Audience Participation Installations
  • Data-driven Installations
  • Happenings
  • Interactive Installations
  • Multimedia Installations
  • Performance-based installations
  1. The call is open to all artists/composers regardless of nationality, age or career stage.
  2. Works presented at previous NYCEMFs are not allowed unless significantly evolved.
  3. Works must be submitted online, through the Conference Management Toolkit (CMT).
  4. All submissions should be anonymous: please make sure that no artist markings are recognizable.
  5. For presentation, the artist or at least one of the collaborators must register. A presenter only needs to register once and may be presenting more than one work at the conference. All necessary equipment, with the exception of loudspeakers and projectors, must be provided by the artist.

Submission deadline: December 31, 2019.

Submission fee: None.

IV. Workshops

We invite submissions of workshop proposals at the conference. Categories include but are not limited to:

  • Auditory Display and Sonification
  • Computer Music Composition
  • Computer Language-Based: ChucK, CSound, Live, MAX, Supercollider, etc.
  • Improvisation and Technology
  • Laptop Orchestra/Live Coding
  • Music Information Retrieval
  • New Instruments for Musical Expression
  • Preservation and Access to Electro-Acoustic Music
  • Robotics and Music
  • Soundmapping
  • Sound Reinforcement
  • Sound Synthesis
  • WebAudio
  • Other
  1. The call is open to all regardless of nationality, age or career stage.
  2. Formats include full day, half day, and quarter day.
  3. Proposals must be submitted online, through the Conference Management Toolkit (CMT).

Submission deadline: December 31, 2019.

Submission fee: None.

V. Curated Concerts

Proposals are also invited for the presentation of an entire half of a concert, not to exceed 50 minutes in duration of music. These concerts represent an opportunity for an individual, organization or institution to put together an entire concert consisting of works of their choice. The concert should be organized around a theme or idea, and they may include works of historical importance as well as more recent works. A performer may also propose a concert that he or she will play.

NOTE: The registration fee for curated concerts will be three to four times higher than individual registration.

Submission deadline: December 31, 2019.

Submission fee: None.

VI. Review and Post-Review of Submissions

All submissions will be subject to peer-review.

For accepted works, the final audio and video files or paper presentations must be uploaded by May 1, 2020.

VII. Other Information

Children’s Program

We also plan to continue the highly successful iIMPACT Kids Program that we had last year. More information regrading this program developed by NYU’s iMPACT team will be posted to our website.

Registration

Submitters whose works are selected are required to confirm participation in the Festival by May 1, 2020. Registration is required for all persons whose works are programmed at NYCEMF 2020. We expect that the registration fee will be approximately $200, but there will be an early registration discount.