Sylvain Pohu, videomusic and improvisation

For the second time, Sixtrum will perform Beat by Sylvain Pohu during the January 19 concert. The premiere of the piece was given during the Elektra Festival last April 2010.

Based on the interaction between music and video, Beat also allows msicians to imrprovise, not only sounds, but also images. The composer thus explores another aspect of the medium, as he explains in this video.

Sylvain Pohu

Composer, improviser and guitarist, Sylvain Pohu is a founding member of the contemporary jazz ensemble [iks] and, since 2007, is also its artistic director. Having released seven albums since its formation, the ensemble has participated in a great number of internationally well-known jazz festivals. As an electroacoustic composer and improviser, Sylvain Pohu has participated in numerous festivals and in 2005 was awarded SOCAN's 3rd place Hugh-Le-Caine award – electroacoustic composition category – as well as the Public's Choice award in 2007 at the international electroacoustic composition competition SCRIME , held that year in Bordeaux.

Another dimension of Sylvain's work is the design and production of sound installations and vidéomusique pieces. Also an active member of the Ligue d'improvisation musicale de Montréal (Montreal Musical Improvisation League), he has been a team leader since 2004.

Parallel to the aforementioned activities, Sylvain is currently researching the role of improvisation in the compositional process and in real-time processing in conjunction with a master's degree whose aim is to explore the expressive possibilities of improvised electroacoustic music.