© Ircam-Centre Pompidou, photo : Quentin Chevrier
IRCAM is taking part for the first time in the European Craft Days
On Saturday, April 11, IRCAM opens its doors for an exceptional afternoon of talks, workshops, and an exhibition. On this occasion, discover the professions at the heart of the institute’s creative work and the impact of digital instrument making on their practice. Four interactive talks in the Stravinsky room will give you the opportunity to spend a special moment with the people who shape Ircam and to engage in conversation with them. Younger visitors can step into the shoes of instrument makers in the Digital Lutherie workshop and sound engineers in the escape game Panic in the Control Room. Finally, the exhibition Synthesized Music (Musique de synthèse) will immerse you in the early days of sound synthesis in France, which contributed to the development of digital instrument making as we know it today.
Stravinsky room | Free admission
3:00 PM | Sébastien Naves sound designer
4:00 PM | Claudia Jane Scroccaro composer
5:00 PM | Malena Fouillou computer music designer
6:00 PM | Julia Griner sound designer
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM - Studios, Level -2 | Ages 8–12 | Free, reservations required
Try your hand at instrument making by prototyping an unusual musical instrument. This workshop invites participants to explore instrument creation by unleashing their imagination and creativity. Over the course of two hours, build your own unique instrument using everyday objects, and bring it to life using a clever electronic setup.
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM - Studios, Level -2 | Ages 13 and up | Free, reservations required
Our sound engineer has mysteriously disappeared just before the soundcheck. Without her, the concert cannot begin! It’s up to the participants to recover her audio tracks, reconnect the system correctly, adjust levels, experiment with effects, and complete the final mix before the audience arrives. But beware: she has left behind some strange notes and… very personal methods!
2:00 PM – 7:00 PM - Gallery, Level -2 | Free admission
In 1957, at Bell Labs in New Jersey, Max Mathews developed the first computer sound synthesis software. French composer and researcher Jean-Claude Risset worked twice in this laboratory before playing a key role in developing this field in France in the early 1970s. Where, how, and by whom was the first synthesized music in France created? This exhibition explores the history of digital sound through the lens of pioneering research conducted in the 1970s across various French institutions, from the Paris region (GAIV, GRM, Ircam, CEMAMu) to Marseille (LMA and GMEM).
Exhibition organized as part of the RAMHO project (Musical Research and Acoustics in France: an Oral History), coordinated by François-Xavier Féron (CNRS – STMS) and Vincent Tiffon (Aix-Marseille University – PRISM).
Curato François-Xavier Féron (CNRS - STMS)
Scientific Committee Jean-Louis Giavitto (CNRS - STMS), Waël Hindo (University of Strasbourg), Vincent Tiffon (Aix-Marseille University – PRISM), Corsin Vogel (ENS Louis-Lumière)
Graphic Advisor Arthur Canac (ENSAD)
