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New and Experimental Music,
Art & Technolgy

Episode 01: Are Cyborgs Replacing us? A Conversation with Composer Liza Seigido

Liza Seigido, an accomplished composer and multimedia artist, took the spotlight as the inaugural guest on the Soudnologia podcast. We went on an exhilarating journey, exploring her interactive opera Cyborgs are Dancing, and delved into the captivating world of interactive media and technology that greatly influences her artistic endeavors. Seigido shared some of the experiments she conducted while composing her vocal works, including Missa Della Grande Transisione, which was analyzed during the show.

About Liza Seigido

Dr. Liza Seigido is an award-winning composer specializing in electroacoustic composition and interactive multimedia art. She is also a performer, educator, and the founding owner/artistic director of Psyche Electro-Acoustic Opera Company, LLC.

Her recent work in interactive media appeared in Cycling 74’s Newsletter #192. In February 2018, she was awarded a Discovery Grant by OPERA America to fund the development of her opera Cyborgs are Dancing for an electro-acoustic ensemble, dancer, and interactive media. The opera was workshopped on May 4, 2019, and, she was awarded a grant by CMN Arts to fund the world premiere of Cyborgs are Dancing at the Coral Gables Museum on September 18, 2020. The premier was canceled indefinitely.

Her electronic Đàn tỳ bà, powered by the Makey Makey microcontroller and Max/MSP, was featured in Synthopia.com, ADSR, and New Atlas—three online music technology magazines—in December 2016. In 2015, Seigido was awarded the Jennylin Duany Light Bulb Fund Honorary Award by the Miami Light Project, which served to fund the development of her electro-acoustic song, Daphne for live processed mezzo-soprano, live processed cello, and video overlay. She was also commissioned by Brigette Cormier, artistic director of B.C. Dance Co, to build an interactive dance floor and video overlays for “TV NO,” which was premiered in April 2016 in the Rift Black Box Theater in Wynwood. 

With her husband Lawrence W. Moore, Seigido founded the “Kendall Sound Art” new music concert series, which was sponsored by the Miami-Dade Public Library System. This series promoted the work of composers and performers residing in South Florida; it ran between May 2013 through December 2016.

Seigido has taught at Miami International University of Art and Design, as well as Florida International University. Her music has been performed in various locations across the United States, including Prague in the Czech Republic.

Liza’s book recommendation:

Poetics of Music by Igor Stravinsky

Liza Sigido’s Website

YouTube Channel

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Pedja Kovačević
Pedja Kovačević

Pedja Kovačević is a Serbian-born musicologist, concert producer, and music producer who founded Soundologia. He moved to the United States in 2018 and graduated in Music Management and Production from Florida International University's School of Music. Pedja has extensive experience in music education, music business, and audio production. He has taught a course on experimental and electro-acoustic music at FIU's School of Music, overseeing concerts and handling sound and tech duties. He has worked as a program coordinator and music administrator at various music and arts schools in Miami.

As a musicologist and music writer, Pedja has published articles on music and presented studies at international conferences and forums in the U.S., Poland, Greece, and Serbia. His writings explore the relationship between music and other art forms, such as painting, architecture, poetry, prose, and photography. In one of his papers, Pedja presents a new perspective on the aesthetic aspects of sound through Deep Listening, a concept introduced by American composer Pauline Oliveros. Pedja promotes experimental and electronic music and with his guests discuss their experimental music projects.

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