musinou | Sound and Music

Sonia Paço-Rocchia is a young artist who took a degree in Instrumental and Electro-Acoustic Composition from the Université de Montréal after a double collegial diploma in natural sciences and music. She studied composition with Michel Tétreault, José Evangelista, Michel Smith, Michel Longtin and Jean Piché. Her work has been presented in Québec, Alberta, England, Bulgaria and Germany.

She enjoys composing for non-conventional instruments (CAM, for seven bus-card players, 2001; Sans escalier, for solo slinky, 2004; Pedalling Under London's Clouds, bicycle solo and projection, 2008), and she readily incorporates improvisation and theatrical action into her pieces (Improvisation sur les cinq sens, for piano, soprano, cello, percussions, tape and real-time processing, highland pipes and toy motor-car, 2004; Eau, for soprano under the shower and processed water, 2005). As she is interested in emerging technologies, she does not hesitate,when artistically necessary, to incorporate real-time processing into her works (Soupirs, for clarinet and accompanying electroacoustics, 2005; Il temps-te, variations and improvisations for cornet, trumpet, trumpet piccolo, flugelhorn, sounds which move in space and stage actions, 2006). She has participated in workshops

on sensors, Max/MSP and FTM, at iRCAM in Paris, and more recently in an interface workshop by Numediart, in Belgium. Sonia Paço-Rocchia is very interested audience participation (À chacun sa balloune, for dozens of balloons played by members of the audience, 2004), cross-over art, and in the sound installation medium (Installation on the Slinky, up to 40 different instruments made with slinkies, 2004; S'enfeuiller, with trees made of sheets of paper, lighting and interaction with the public, 2006).

She performs/improvises using a myriad of readily available sound-makers, invented instruments, voice and/or bassoon, along with real-time processing through gesture-based interfaces. She plays solo and in different ensembles, including London Improvisers Orchestra

Sonia Paço-Rocchia is currently working for dance project, in addition to writing a theatrical piece of music for large flexible ensemble and live electronics.