Dr. Ricardo Dal Farra is a composer and new media artist, educator, historian, and curator working in the intersection of the arts, sciences, and technology. He is a Professor at the Music Department of Concordia University, Canada.
He has been researcher and consultant on electroacoustic music and media arts history for UNESCO, France; director of the Hexagram Centre forResearch-Creation in Media Arts and Technologies, Canada; associated researcher of the Music, Technology and Innovation Research Centre at De MontfortUniversity, in the UK; senior consultant of the Amauta - Andean Media ArtsCentre in Cusco, Peru; coordinator of the international research alliance DOCAM- Documentation and Conservation of the Media Arts Heritage; and director of the Multimedia Communication national program at the Federal Ministry ofEducation, Argentina.
Dal Farra has presented his sound-art, electroacoustic and visual-music works in more than 40 countries, and recordings of his pieces are published in 23 international editions (including CDs by Computer Music Journal and Leonardo Music Journal, by MIT Press). Among others, he received awards and commissions from the Sao Paulo International Arts Biennale, Brazil; theNational Endowment for the Arts, Argentina, the Concours International de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges, France; the Centro di Sonologia Computazionale of the University of Padua, Italy; and the International Computer Music Association.
Funded by The Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science andTechnology of Montreal, he created the largest collection publicly available ofLatin American Electroacoustic Music, including a database with over 2,000recordings of works digitally preserved, composed 1957-2007 by almost 400composers, and 200,000 words (http://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=556).
Dal Farra is founder-director of the international conference series Understanding Visual Music -UVM (held in Canada, Argentina, and Brazil), and founder-director of the international conference series Balance-Unbalance(held in Argentina, Canada, Australia, United States, Colombia, the UK, and TheNetherlands) on how the media arts could contribute to solving the environmental crisis (http://balance-unbalance2018.org). He also has been leading art-science projects, like the three editions of the sound-art international contest organized with the Red Cross Climate Centre and designed multiple art-science-technology educational programs. He is also founder-director of the Electronic Arts Experimentation and Research Centre (CEIARTE) at UNTREF, Argentina.
Dr. Dal Farra was the artistic director of the Mexican electronic arts biennale Transitio in 2015, and a guest keynote at Congreso Internacional de Humanidades Digitales (2016) and SIGRaDi - Ibero-American Digital Graphic(2016), held in Argentina, and HDRio - I Congresso Internacional em Humanidades Digitais (2018), held in Brazil. He is an active member of several editorial boards: Leonardo/ISAST (MIT Press, USA), Organised Sound (Cambridge Press, UK),Journal of Research on Music Education (ADOMU, Argentina), Resonancias - Musical Research Journal (Catholic University of Chile), and organizations such as:Electroacoustic Music Studies Network, Colegio Latinoamericano de Compositores de Música de Arte, and Earth-to-the-Earth. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Fulldome Festival Foundation (Jena, Germany), and ISEA International, formerly theInternational Society for the Electronic Arts.
Selected research projects
Balance-Unbalance (BunB). Art, Science, Technology, Society and the Global Environmental Crisis.
7th BunB: Rotterdam, The Netherlands 2018. http://balance-unbalance2018.org/
6th BunB: Plymouth, United Kingdom 2017. http://balance-unbalance2017.org/
5th BunB: Manizales, Colombia 2016. http://www.balance-unbalance2016.org/
4th BunB: Phoenix, United States 2015. http://www.balance-unbalance2015.org
3rd BunB: Noosa, Australia 2013. http://www.balance-unbalance2013.org
2nd BunB: Montreal, Canada 2011. http://balance-unbalance2011.hexagram.ca
1st BunB: Buenos Aires, Argentina 2010. http://ceiarteuntref.edu.ar/eq-deseq-en
art! x climate. Sound-art miniatures international contest, organized with the Red Cross / Red Crescent Climate Centre.
Understanding Visual Music - UVM. Conferences: UVM Montreal 2011, UVM Buenos Aires 2013-2014, UVM Brasilia 2015. Also, academic and artistic activities in: Planetarium of Buenos Aires - Argentina 2013-2018, Planetarium of Bogotá - Colombia 2018, and Planetarium of Jena - Germany 2017-2018, among several others.
The aural body. Moving sound performance tools and techniques for 3D environments. Concordia University. 2013-2014.
Electronic Arts Education in Latin America. Current situation and trends in Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela. Argentina 2012-2013.
Latin American Electroacoustic Music Collection - The Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science and Technology - Montreal, 2003-2005 and 2007-2008.
Historical aspects of Latin American Electroacoustic Music - UNESCO / Digi-Arts. France, 2002-2003.
EARS Glossary (Spanish version) - MTI, De Montfort University, UK.
Senior consultant for the Amauta Project in Cusco, Peru, since 2005.
Founding Director and principal researcher at Electronic Arts Experimenting Research Centre (CEIArtE-UNTreF) in Buenos Aires. Argentina, since 2002.
BaDArtE - electronic arts database (CEIArtE-UNTreF), Argentina.
redcatsur - a network of artists, scientists, engineers and theoreticians promoting collaboration in art, science and technology around Latin America.
National Ministry of Culture and Education, Argentina - multimedia communication, national standards for new media education,1996-2003.
National Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Argentina - REDI, multimedia educational resources, with GTZ, Germany, and Apple, USA, 2000-2001.
Selected publications
2018 Research-Creation in Latin America. Book chapter. The Routledge ResearchCompanion to Electronic Music: Reaching out with Technology, edited by Simon Emmerson. Ashgate. United Kingdom.
2018 Papers from the 4th and 5th Balance-Unbalance International Conference. Tempe, United States and Manizales,Colombia. Special Section of Leonardo Statements [27 selected papers]. Guest Editor.Leonardo - Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences andTechnology. The MIT Press. United States.Online: July, 2017. Printed version: Part 1 - Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 175-200, April 2018; Part 2 - Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 284-311, June 2018.
https://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/leon/51/2
https://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/leon/51/3
2018 Arte, Educación, y Medios Electrónicos. Experiencias, desafíos y propuestas. Revista Observatório Itaú Cultural nº 24. Brazil.
2017 Investigación-Creación: Arte y Ciencia, Política yEconomía (…o la permanente búsqueda por eludir al Sistema). Book chapter in “Creaciónmusical, investigación y producción académica: desafíos para la música en la universidad” [compiled by Daniel Quaranta], pp. 55-86. Centro Mexicano para laMúsica y las Artes Sonoras (CMMAS) [ISBN: 978-85-5512-310-8]. Mexico. https://cmmas.org/store.php?lan=es&accion=viewDetail&id=2043
2017 Interacciones Electro[±]Acústicas (Entre la composición, la improvisación y la comprovisación) - versión 2015, revisada y actualizada. Updated and revised 2015 version. In Sonic Ideas/Ideas Sónicas journal, year 9 no. 18. Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras(CMMAS) [ISSN 2317-9694]. Mexico. http://sonicideas.org/index.php?vol=9&num=18
2017 Space-time (dis)placement [(Des)locamento Espaço-Tempo].Curatorial text for the Immersphere fulldome festival and exhibition. Brazil. http://immersphere.com.br/en/festival/curators/ricardo-dal-farra/
2016 Aboutthe history of music and technology in Latin America. InterArtive, a platform for contemporary art and thought, Issue #90. Spain. http://interartive.org/2016/06/art-new-media-latin-america-call/
2016 Arte sonoro y acciones humanitarias. EspaciosSonoros: La ciudad como lugar de experimentación, creación e investigaciónplurisensorial. Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. [ISBN: 978-84-617-9814-8].Spain. http://espaciossonoros2016.blogspot.ca
2015 Brisser les paradigms: arts électroniques et actions humanitaires. Circuit, musiques contemporaines. Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal. Canada.
2015 Interacciones Electro[±]Acústicas (Entre la composición, la improvisación y la comprovisación). Updated and revised 2015 version. Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras (CMMAS). Mexico.
2015 Arte, Ciencia y Tecnología como un Ensemble Resonante de Acciones Ambientales Responsables. Caldas University, Colombia and Telefónica Foundation, Venezuela.
2015 Breaking Paradigms: Electronic Arts & Humanitarian Actions. Balance-Unbalance 2015 international conference at Arizona State University, Tempe. United States. http://www.balance-unbalance2015.org/?page_id=228
2014 Interview to Fernanda D’Agostino. CEIArtE-UNTREF. Argentina.
2014 Balance-Unbalance:art and environmental crisis. Leonardo - Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. Vol 47, No. 5. The MIT Press. United States. http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/leon/47/5
2014 Red Cross / Red Crescent Climate Centre and Balance-Unbalance: the 'art x climate' project (co-authored with Dr. Pablo Suarez). Leonardo - Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. Vol. 47, No. 5.
The MIT Press. United States. http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/leon/47/5
2014 Computerart –for all– in times of global crisis? Proceedings of the 4th Computer ArtCongress, CAC4, Brazil.
2014 El archivo de música electroacústica latinoamericana… 10 años después. Artnodes - Journalon Art, Science and Technology. No 13 (2013) Universitat Oberta de Catalunya - UOC[ISSN 1695-5951] Spain. http://journals.uoc.edu/ojs/index.php/artnodes/article/download/n13-dal-farra/n13-dal-farra-es
2013 Balance-Unbalance and our daily uncertainty. Can the Arts Help to Save the World? Proceedings of the Balance-Unbalance international conference 2013 at Noosa, UNESCO’s designated biosphere. Australia. http://www.balance-unbalance2013.org/uploads/1/3/2/6/13266267/balance-unbalance_full_papers_final.pdf
2013
Can the Arts Help to Save the World? Leonardo - Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology [guest editorial]. Vol. 46, No. 2,110. The MIT Press. United States. http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/LEON_e_00524
2013
Concerning Ideas and Facts. Sonic Ideas/IdeasSónicas Journal (bilingual isue on: New Music and Education). Centro Mexicano parala Música y las Artes Sonoras (CMMAS). Mexico.
http://www.sonicideas.org/info.php?vol=5&num=9&secc=notes
2011
Interacciones Electro[±]Acústicas (Entre la composición, la improvisación y la comprovisación). En el límite, escritos sobre arte y tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Lanús. Ediciones UNLa [ISSN 2250-6136]. Argentina. http://www.unla.edu.ar/public/en_el_Limite/index.php?cual=1
2010 Diseñando el Holodeck. Ideas Sónicas/SonicIdeas, Vol. 3 No. 1. Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras [ISSN2317-9694]. Morelia, Mexico.
http://www.sonicideas.org
2009 Alternative models for research/creation in the digital world. II Biennale Argentinean-Czech "e-Golems". Argentina.
2007 The Southern tip of the electroacoustic tradition. Circuit, musiques contemporaines. Canada.
2006 Something lost, something hidden, something found. Organised Sound. UK.
2006 A journey of sound through the electroacoustic wires. PhD Thesis, UQAM. Canada.
2005 'Play it again, South!' [Where all that music was before?] International Computer Music Conference. Spain.
2004 Educación a través de la comunicación multimedial como propuesta de cambio para la comunidad. VI Jornadas de Artes y Medios Digitales. Simposio: Prácticas de Comunicación Emergentes en la Cultura Digital. Córdoba, Argentina.
2004 Some recent actions to preserve, document and disseminate e/a music by Latin American composers. International Computer Music Conference. USA.
2003 An electroacoustic music collection project (or how to open the cage and let them fly). fineArt forum, vol.17-4. Australia.
2003 Módulos y Material de Apoyo para el Trayecto Técnico Profesional en Comunicación Multimedial (Ricardo Dal Farra, Coordinator), National Institute for Technology Education - National Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Argentina.
2001 REDI. Multidisciplinary oriented electronic database with multimedia educational resources. (Project Director and Principal Researcher: Ricardo Dal Farra), National Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Argentina, with support by the German Agency for Technology Education - GTZ and Apple, USA..
1998 Comunicación Multimedial (National standards for multimedia education: multimedia, image synthesis, video, design, sound and music). INET - National Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Argentina.
1997 Music, New Technologies and Latin America. Proceedings of IV Simpósio Brasileiro de Computação e Música. Brazil.
1996 A Southerner's Perspective. Computer Music Journal vol. 20 number 3, The MIT Press. United States.
1996 Electroacoustic and computer music in Latin America. 1996 International Computer Music Conference. Hong-Kong,
1994 Some comments about electroacoustic music (and life) in Latin America. Leonardo Music Journal Vol. 4. United States.
1993 Un Proyecto Educativo Integrador: Producción Musical. Proceedings of VI Tribuna de Música de América Latina y el Caribe - Trimalca. Argentina.
Selected recordings
Red de Arte Sonoro Latinoamericano - RedASLA Vol. 5 - CMMAS, Mexico. 2018.
Ensamble Experimental Latinoamericano [forthcoming - Fondo de la Música del Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, Chile]. 2016.
Red de Arte Sonoro Latinoamericano - RedASLA Vol. 4 - CMMAS, Mexico. 2015.
Accompanying CD/DVD: Ecología desde el Arte Digital - Caldas University, Colombia and Telefónica Foundation, Venezuela]. 2015.
Parte de la Historia. Vol. III. Centro Mexicano para la Música ylas Artes Sonoras - CMMAS. Mexico. 2014.
Accompanying DVD: Los instrumentos musicales autóctonos de América Latina (Native Latin AmericanMusical Instruments) by Frega, Ana Lucía and Luraschi, Graciela María [ISBN 987-987-1256-89-1] Argentina. 2011.
REC. memorias en tiempo real (Memorias delFestival “en tiempo real. nuevos encuentros sonoros 2009”). Fundación EspacioCero. Bogota, Colombia. 2010.
North and South project. Elektron Records. Sweden. 2009.
Leonardo Music Journal Vol. 15. Leonardo/ISAST. International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology . The MIT Press.United States. 2005.
Memoria del Primer Festival de Música Electroacústica - Música para un Nuevo Siglo. Cuenca, Ecuador. 2005.
Bonk. Bonk Festival of New Music, United States. 2004.
Computer Music Journal Vol. 23. The MIT Press. United States. 2000.
Bonk Thy Neighbor. Bonk Festival of New Music, UnitedStates. 1999.
Travels of the Spider. Pogus, United States. 1998.
Desde el otro lado. O.O.Discs, United States. 1998.
VOYS. A journal exploring sign in sound. United States.1997.
The Frog Peak Collaborations Project. Frog Peak Music.United States. 1997.
International Computer Music Association. ICMA - Commission Awards 1994-96. Computer Music Series Volume 25, CDCM - Centaur Records. UnitedStates. 1997.
Panorama de la Música Argentina - Compositores nacidos entre1957-1958. National Endowment for the Arts. Argentina. 1995.
The Aerial #6. Nonsequitur/What Next? United States. 1994.
Leonardo Music Journal Vol. 4. International Society for theArts, Sciences and Technology (ISAST), United States. 1994.
Contemporary Music Review - Live Electronics. UK. 1991.
Música Argentina del Siglo XX - Arturo Gervasoni. Circe. Argentina. 1989.
Música Contemporánea Argentina. Argentina Music Council. Argentina. 1988.
Música Electroacústica en Tiempo Real -Ricardo Dal Farra. IRCO - Cosentino Producciones. Argentina. 1987.
