GEO Project

The GEO project (Galata Electroacoustic Orchestra) is inspired by the historical relations between Genova and Istanbul. The general objectives of GEO IP is: 1) to found the Galata Electroacoustic Orchestra, a small group orchestra based on an idea of live collective composition; 2) to merge of the Western Classical tradition of scorebased music and the Improvisational techniques, in particular of Turkish Maqam Music.

As the dialogue between the three Countries (Turkey, Spain and Italy) involved in the IP is an important objective for GEO, we adopted the sealing map (portolano) as a guide metaphor for the project (when a ship docks, the goods – in our case: the musical products – from one country are unloaded and goods from another country are loaded). The expected learning outcomes are related to the acquisition of skills and abilities in the following disciplinary areas: theoretic, ethnomusicological, technological, performing and compositional. The expected outputs of the GEO IP project are: – a concert by the Galata Electroacustic Orchestra at the end of the IP; – a permanent web portal website of the HEI coordinator, with audio and video recordings of the all IP activities (the documentation will be downloadable for free). This output will represent a didactic permanent heritage; – a documentary DVD on the IP experience with the most important selection of the above (lectures, workshops and laboratories; recording of final concert and backstage); – a booklet containing the general program of IP, detailed information on the partners, final report on the educational and artistic outcomes of the project, final evaluation of the project level and photo gallery. Galata Electroacoustic Orchestra is named by the Genoese quarter Galata in Istanbul dating back to the 12th Century where the Tower of Christ is still preserved. Almost all the aspects of the European Culture have been affected by the Arabian culture. In addition the European composers of the classical era (such as Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven) joined to the orchestra unusual instruments for that time (bass drum, triangle, cymbals) but typical of the Turkish military bands, of the Janissaries music. More in general, since the beginning of the 20th century the extra-European music and the traditional folk music become a true source of inspiration for Western composers, and more recently vice versa. Although many studies have been made on the reciprocal influences, the theory, practice and teaching on the true contact points between such different musical cultures are nowadays separately carried out among the different Countries. GEO aims to overcome this deficiency with a multidisciplinary didactical approach to the specific subject and to his current potential, thanks to the support by new technologies. The main aim is to create a “dialogue” among digital and traditional instruments and performance practices. Thanks to the recent improvements in the Computer Human Interfaces field, it is possible to overstep the gap between the high level of interaction in acoustic instruments and the limited interaction (mouse, alphanumeric keyboard, joysticks) in the digital domain. The main path to achieve this will be a study of the musicians gestures. According to our opinion the conceptual and technological tools of the Electroacoustic Music – a truly new musical language based on the idea “to compose THE sounds, not only WITH the sounds” – are fit for creating a contiguity and a linguistic penetration to let ideas and new experiences spring.

Link esterni:

https://galataeaorchestra.wordpress.com/abstracts/

https://sertansenturk.com/uploads/misc/geo_ip.pdf

https://www.upf.edu/web/mtg/news/-/asset_publisher/WM181VyAQipW/content/id/8742005/maximized#.WdYzHyOLS2w