Sonia Paço-Rocchia /so.ˈnja ˈpa.so ˈrɔ.kja/, born in 1982 in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, is a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, multidisciplinary artist, improviser,

bassoonist The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

and creative coder.

Biography

After graduating in mixed music composition from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

in 2005, she began her career in Europe, where she was based mainly in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She later moved to the Laurentides region in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Her work has been shown in a dozen countries, including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In 2019, she became the first woman to receive the in the "Creation of the Year" category. Sonia Paço-Rocchia's approach focuses on sounds,

timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...

s and open musical forms. Her research includes the exploitation and expansion of the sound palettes of instruments through playing techniques or live electronics, inventing her own instruments and instrument

automaton An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

s. Her pieces frequently involve a visual or theatrical aspect. Sonia Paço-Rocchia is

- improviser with the . She regularly improvises with chamber ensembles, such as ''The Fantastique Quintet'', ''VibraLib'' and ''ZzCc'' or as a soloist.

Work

Compositions

* ''Justine et les machines'',

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

on a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by Marie-Ève Bouchard, commissioned by the 3 FEMMES prize by Mécénat Musica (2021-2022) * ''Trouée'', a work for

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

(doubling on

piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...

contrabass clarinet The contrabass clarinet (also pedal clarinet, after the pedals of pipe organs) and contra-alto clarinet are the two largest members of the clarinet family that are in common usage. Modern contrabass clarinets are transposing instruments pitche ...

, two Tables de Babel (instrument by ), Orgue de sirène (instrument by ), percussion including an

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

Lame,Instrument invented and designed by Sonia Paço-Rocchia a Stemsaw and a Flex-a-tone on stand, and multi-channel live electronics. This work was commissioned by and , and was nominated as a finalist for the "Creation of the Year" in 2020 (2019) * ''Ode au métal'' is a work for

saxophone quartet A saxophone quartet is a musical ensemble composed of four saxophones, typically Soprano saxophone, soprano, Alto saxophone, alto, Tenor saxophone, tenor and Baritone saxophone, baritone saxophones. Different saxophone family members are employed ...

performing inside an installation, made of large metal pieces augmented with electronics, as well as quadraphonic live electronics. This work was commissioned by the

. ''Ode au métal'' was awarded two , "Creation of the Year" and "Concert of the Year, New Music, Electroacoustic" as well as an Excellence award in performing arts from the . (2019) * ''Si on l'ouvrait'' is a composition for

alto flute The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, pitched below the standard C flute and the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the piccolo. It is chara ...

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, Flex on a stand,

sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

boxes, projection automaton and

quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic, also called quadrasonic or by the neologism quadio ortmanteau, formed by analogy with "stereo" sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are po ...

live electronics. This work was commissioned by the . (2019) * ''Nouvelle vie, nouvelle ville'' is a created for the 375th anniversary of the founding of the city of

. Commissioned by the Pointe à Callière Museum, it is a composition for

brass quintet A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two trumpets or cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass tro ...

(Magnitude6),

musical saw A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is a hand saw used as a musical instrument. Capable of continuous glissando (portamento), the sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin. The musical saw is classified as a plaque frict ...

, Stemsaw,

live electronics,Designed and coded by Sonia Paço-Rocchia train sirens, boats sirens and the carillon of Notre-Dame Basilica. (2017) * ''Said'', live coding performance made with a

live coding Live coding, sometimes referred to as on-the-fly programming,Wang G. & Cook P. (2004"On-the-fly Programming: Using Code as an Expressive Musical Instrument" In ''Proceedings of the 2004 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expr ...

web platform developed by the artist, presented among others places at StudioXX (2017) * ''D’un autre côté'', for

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

cymbalum :See also Carillon and Bell chime'' The cymbalum (plural ''cymbala'') was the name of two historical instruments, medieval European bells hung and struck with a hammer and Greek ''kymbalon'' cymbals. The two instruments may possibly be related, bas ...

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

, five Cubes that are sound triggers and live electronics. A work commissioned by for the ensemble Punctum. (2014) * ''Hommage'', for 32

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

s around the public. (2011) * ''Il temps-te'',

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

and

improvisations Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

avec theatricality, for cornet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet, trumpet and quadraphonic live electronics. (2006) * ''Soupirs'', for solo

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, voice and live electronics. (2005) * ''CAM'', for seven musicians playing

Société de transport de Montréal The Société de transport de Montréal (, STM; ) is a public transport agency that operates transit bus and rapid transit services in the urban agglomeration of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1861 as the "Montreal City Passenger Railwa ...

metro cards, amplification on a

setup. (2001)

Installations

* ''When the Saws are Alone in the Woods'', an automated

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

installed in a

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...

forest that can be visited virtually and interacted with via an online poetic journey in which each choice influences the composition and the video. (2020) * ''Flex'', a

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

, kinetic and

interactive Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but mo ...

installation, an

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...

flexatone The flexatone or fleximetal is a modern percussion instrument (an indirectly struck idiophone) consisting of a small flexible metal sheet suspended in a wire frame ending in a handle. Used in classic cartoons for its glissando effect, its so ...

ensemble playing an

non-linear composition, presented in Curiosités sonores ambulantes (the artist's van-gallery). (2019, 2022) * ''Ode au métal'' is a work for

performing inside an installation, made of large metal pieces augmented with electronics, as well as quadraphonic live electronics. This work was commissioned by the

, visual and

robotic Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

installation with web-interactivity, an installation for automated moving mirrors, projection and non-linear composition presented at Agence Topo (2019) * ''Lames'', site-specific interactive sound installation for automated musical saw ensemble, commissioned by Centre Daïmôn, Hull, for the Interstices 150th of Confederation event (2017), presented at Electric Eclectics Festival, Meaford and at NAISA, South River. * ''Scies'',

sound installation with generative non-linear composition for ensemble of sound automatons made from

circular saw A circular saw or a buzz saw, is a power-saw using a toothed or Abrasive saw, abrasive disk (mathematics), disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an Arbor (tool), arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use ...

blades (2016), presented at Modern Fuel Gallery during Tone Deaf. * ''Hélix'', a site-specific interactive sound installation with up to twenty Helixophone automatons, an instrument based on the

Slinky The Slinky is a helical spring toy invented and developed by American naval engineer Richard T. James in 1943 and successfully demonstrated at Gimbels department store in Philadelphia on November 27, 1945. It can perform a number of tricks, ...

invented by the artist (2013) ''Hélix'' was presented at City Sonic, Mons, Carré 150 during

Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville () is an annual international music festival held in Victoriaville, Quebec that showcases contemporary music. The festival is known for its small scale (usually no more than 20 perfo ...

, Quai 5160, Montréal, PHOS, Espace F,

Matane Matane () is a town on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Matane River. The town is the seat for the La Matanie Regional County Municipality. In addition to Matane itse ...

, Centre d'art visuel d'Alberta,

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, among others.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* Centre d'exposition de Val David, Québec (online) (2020) * NAISA, South River, Ontario (2019) * Agence Topo, Montreal, Quebec (2019) * Centre d’art visuel d’Alberta, Edmonton (2018) * Quai 5160, Verdun, Quebec (2017-2018) * Carré 150, Victoriaville, Quebec (2017) * Transcultures, Mons, Belgique (2013)

Group exhibitions

* Electric Eclectics Festival, Meaford, Ontario (2019) * Traverse, Atelier de l'île, Val David, Quebec (2019) * PHOS, Espace F, Matane, Quebec (2018) * Interstices, Daïmôn, Hull, Quebec (2017) *

, Québec (2017) * Tone Deaf, Modern Fuel, Kingston, Ontario (2016) * Hörlursfestival, Sollefteå, Sweden (2013) * City Sonic and Park in Progress, International sound art festival, Mons, Belgium (2013) * Installation sur le Slinky version pour la Croatie, Vrijeme nakon 2011, Gallery Kortil, Rijeka, Croatia (2011) * Leytonstone Arts Trail, London (2010) * Interactive Sound Installation on Living Room Scale Installation by Takako Jin, during Leytonstone Art Trail, London (2009) * A Cup of Tea Solves Everything, London (2009)

Discography

* Sonia Paço-Rocchia,

Improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

For Bicycle * LIO LEO LEON, Emanem Disc * Cornelius Cardew – The Great Learning * Hutch Demouilpied – Otherness Album *Avant-garde-robe

Awards and recognition

* Finalist for the Artiste de l'année des Laurentides award from the

Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (, CALQ) is a public agency founded in 1994 by the government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Ca ...

* Winner of the Excellence in performing arts award from the for her work ''Ode au métal'', her research and her international outreach * Winner of the Mécénat Musica's 3 FEMMES award 2020-2021 * Finalist in the "Creation of the Year" category of the for her work ''Trouée'' in 2020 * Winner of the , in the category "Creation of the Year" for the work ''Ode to Metal'' in 2019 * Winner of the , in the category "Concert of the year, new and electroacoustic music" for her work ''Ode au métal'' en 2019 * Winner of the Prix Jeune relève in visual art, in 2018 for her work as a whole

External links

Canadian Music Centre, composer's page

RAAV/CARFAC artist's page

References

Notes

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paço-Rocchia, Sonia Experimental composers Avant-garde composers Canadian contemporary classical composers Canadian women classical composers 21st-century Canadian composers Composers for flute Women opera composers Canadian opera composers Electroacoustic music composers Canadian electronic musicians Live coding Free improvising musicians Electroacoustic improvisation Free improvisation Canadian bassoonists Canadian sound artists Interdisciplinary artists Artists from Quebec Kinetic artists Net.artists Canadian digital artists Women digital artists Interactive artists Canadian women installation artists Canadian installation artists 1982 births Living people 21st-century Canadian women composers