Multicultural Perceptions of Sound Universes
In the dawn of an increasingly globalized world one can feel the clash of different cultures in all its senses, these being Sociological, Artistic or even Biological. Each community located around the world has an associated dimension of acoustic space anchored on its contextual soundscape, its musical traditions or in a broader sense in what could be referred to as its “Sound Universes”. However, in a time where one can travel the world in a matter of days, or be virtually exposed to it in a matter of seconds, these Sound Universes are mutating and evolving to a new paradigm. The Local Sound Universes may become Universal. With no intention to provide definite answers to the challenges ahead, but instead to point into possible directions of development, this presentation will introduce research and practices that addresses this paradox in domains such as Soundscapes, FiIm Sound Analysis, Auditory Iconography, Collaborative Music Performance and Computational Analysis of World Music.
Born in Angola in 1970, Álvaro Barbosa is a Full-Professor of Communication and Media and Vice-Rector for Strategic Development at the University of Saint Joseph in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China. Holding a Doctorate degree in Computer Science and Digital Communication from Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and an Undergraduate degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from University of Aveiro in Portugal, his core academic research is grounded on the field of Sound and Music Technology, which he developed as a researcher at the Barcelona Music Technology Group (MTG) between 2001 and 2006. His R&D work, on experimental Network Music and Interactive Sound Design Systems, was consolidated in 2010 during a Post-Doctoral Research Position at Stanford University in the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). His academic research has been published extensively in peer-reviewed conferences and journals, collaborating with a large number of renowned international Academics. He has also produced, presented and performed various artistic projects worldwide, featuring creative work in Interactive Installations, Electronic and Acoustic Music, Photography, Sound Design, Computer Animation and Audiovisual Media Production. In recent years, his focus as a Scholar and Academic, has been in fostering Systematic Creativity and Design Thinking as essential processes applied to Innovation and Entrepreneurship, by mentoring start-ups, supervising and teaching in Design, Cultural Studies, Media Communication and MBA programs.