This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the performances, held in the music studio at the American Academy in Rome, of the Syn-ket, one of the first portable electronic music synthesizers in existence, invented and constructed by the Italian audio engineer Paolo Ketoff. At the Academy, the Syn-ket provided the catalyst for a series of fertile exchanges between a talented group of international musicians, including John Eaton, Larry Austin, and Alvin Curran, encouraged by Otto Leuning, Composer-in-Residence at the Academy in 1964–65. Their improvisational performances figured into a wider network made up of the Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, which included figures such as Franco Evangelisti and Ennio Morricone, and Musica Elettronica Viva, founded by Curran and Frederic Rzewski. Morton Subotnik, one of the pioneers of American electronic music, also performed in Rome in 1965, proof that the city offered a particularly favorable environment for American musicians and composers as they expanded the limits of live electronics.

American Electronics in Rome pays tribute to an important chapter in the history of music at the American Academy in Rome. At the same time, it explores the repercussions of the experimental approach developed there, which continue to pervade contemporary electronic music and live performance. The event—held on November 14 at the Villa Aurelia, on the grounds of the American Academy in Rome—is composed of afternoon and evening sessions, including a roundtable discussion, live performances, and DJ sets

Featured performers: Balance, Alvin Curran, J-Cush/Lite City Trax, Annie Gosfield (2016 Resident) with special guest Chris Cutler, Lory D, Ron Morelli, Teho Teardo, Ceccarelli & Roccato, and Vipra.

AER is sponsored by the American Academy in Rome, conceived in collaboration with NERO, and curated by Francesco de Figueiredo and Valerio Mattioli, with the special participation of Nuova Consonanza.

The event is made possible in part by the Andrew W. Imbrie Memorial Fund.

Free entry with booking required: neromagazine.it/AER2015 (limited spaces available). Picture identification is required for entry into the American Academy in Rome.

Program

5:00pm

Roundtable discussion with Annie Gosfield, Alvin Curran, Francesco Antonioni, and Valerio Mattioli.

6:00pm

Performances by Ceccarelli and Roccato, Teho Teardo, Alvin Curran, Annie Gosfield, and Chris Cutler.

10:00pm

Performances by Vipra, Balance, J-Cush, Ron Morelli, and Lory D.