Pedro Louzeiro
Pedro Louzeiro, composer, was born in 1975, in Lagos, Portugal. Currently a PhD candidate in Évora University, Portugal, he is doing research in the field of dynamic notation systems with focus on mediated soloist-ensemble interaction, under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Bochmann and Dr. António de Sousa Dias. He was awarded a PhD Studentship by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). He received his Master’s Degree in composition from Évora University, in 2013, and his Bachelor’s in Music Education from the Lisbon College of Music, Portugal, in 2002. He was awarded 2nd prize in the II International Composition Competition “Goffredo Petrassi” (Rome, Italy, 2012) and was distinguished with honourable mentions in the X International Composition Competition “Carl von Ossietzky” (Oldenburg, Germany, 2010) and the IV International Composition Prize “Fernando Lopes-Graça” (Cascais, Portugal, 2014). He has carried out several performances with “Comprovisador” system, which he develops in the scope of his PhD programme, presenting his work in international conferences such as: Sound and Music Computing (SMC2016, Hamburg, Germany, and SMC2018, Limassol, Cyprus), Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research (CMMR2017, Matosinhos, Portugal), Internacional Computer Music Conference (ICMC2017, Shanghai, China) and International Conference on Technologies for Music Notation and Representation (TENOR2018, Montreal, Canada). His most relevant works as a composer include a concerto for trumpet and symphonic band called “Proclamação”, commissioned for the commemoration of the 1st Centenary of the Portuguese Republic and premiered in Lagos, Portugal, and “Água – a Seiva da Terra”, a symphonic poem commissioned to mark the World Water Day, premiered in Faro, Portugal.
Louzeiro, Pedro. 2018. The Comprovisador’s Real-Time Notation Interface (Extended Version). In Music Technology with Swing, ed. Mitsuko AramakiMatthew E. P. DaviesRichard Kronland-MartinetS lvi Ystad, 489 – 508. ISBN: 978-3-030-01691-3. Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-01692-0_33
Louzeiro, Pedro. 2018. “Improving Sight-Reading Skills Through Dynamic Notation – the Case of Comprovisador”, Trabalho apresentado em TENOR – International Conference on Technologies for Music Notation and Representation, In Proceedings of the International Conference on Technologies for Music Notation and Representation, Montréal.
Louzeiro, Pedro. 2017. Real-Time Compositional Procedures for Mediated Soloist-Ensemble Interaction: The Comprovisador. In Mathematics and Computation in Music, ed. Octavio A. Agustín-Aquino Emilio Lluis-Puebla Mariana Montiel, 117 – 131. ISBN: 978-3-319-71826-2. Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-71827-9_10
Louzeiro, Pedro. 2017. “Mediating a Comprovisation Performance: the Comprovisador’s Control Interface”, Trabalho apresentado em Proceedings of the 43rd International Computer Music Conference, In Proceedings of the 43rd International Computer Music Conference, Shanghai.
António de Sousa Dias – http://www.degois.pt/visualizador/curriculum.jsp?key=2439204695528609
The present thesis is intended to contribute to a reflection on new ways of combining improvisation and composition aspects in a performance context, with special focus on the use of dynamic notation (animated in real-time), through research based on artistic practice. To define this practice, we have chosen the term Comprovisation (in Portuguese: Comprovisação), a term that can be understood as a musical performance context in which elements of composition and improvisation coexist in aesthetic interdependency. In order to carry out this practice, a system – Comprovisador – was designed to enable mediated soloist-ensemble interaction using machine listening, algorithmic compositional procedures and dynamic notation, in a networked environment. As a soloist improvises, Comprovisador’s algorithms produce a score in real-time that is immediately sight-read by an ensemble of musicians, creating a coordinated response to the improvisation. This interaction is mediated by a performance director who does so by manipulating algorithmic parameters. Implementation of this system requires a network of computers in order to display notation (separate parts) to each of the musicians playing in the ensemble. More so, wireless connectivity enables computers – and, therefore, musicians – to be far apart from each other, enabling space as a compositional element. Through the development of Comprovisador and the performative practice it enables, a number of surrounding issues were researched and studied, namely, the use of composition algorithms in a real-time notation system, the suitable resources for mediating a comprovisation performance, and the effectiveness of a graphical synchronization strategy within a dynamic notation interface. Further studies were made in order to assess the applicability of this system in an educational context regarding improvement of sight-reading skills. The findings of this research and their impact on the system’s ongoing development – and, ultimately, its musical use – will be discussed in the scope of this dissertation.
