Robert Normandeau
His work as a composer is mainly devoted to acousmatic music, although he composed some mixed works. More specifically, his compositions employ esthetical criteria whereby he creates a ‘cinema for the ear’ in which ‘meaning’ as well as ‘sound’ become the elements that elaborate his works. More recently Robert Normandeau composed a cycle of works of immersive multiphonic music for a dome of loudspeakers. Along with concert music he has composed, for a period of twenty years, incidental music especially for the theatre.
He also worked as artistic director for over twenty years, notably for the concert series Clair de terre (Association pour la création et la recherche électroacoustiques du Québec (ACREQ)) from 1989 to ’93 at the Planétarium de Montréal, and Rien à voir and Akousma (Réseaux) from 1997 to 2006.
He has been Professor in electroacoustic music composition at Université de Montréal since 1999 after completing the first DMus in Electroacoustic Composition (1992), under Marcelle Deschênes and Francis Dhomont. He leads the Groupe de recherche immersion spatiale (Spatial Immersion Research Group, GRIS), which produces sound spatialization software.
He received three Prix Opus from the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM)
Robert Normandeau is an award winner of numerous international competitions, including Ars Electronica, Linz (Austria, 1993, Golden Nica in 1996), Bourges (France, 1986, ’88, ’93), Fribourg (Switzerland, 2002), Luigi Russolo, Varese (Italy, 1989, ’90), Métamorphoses, Brussels (Belgium, 2002, ’04), Musica Nova, Prague (Czech Republic, 1994, ’95, ’98, 2012, ’13), Noroit-Léonce Petitot, Arras (France, 1991, ’93), Phonurgia Nova, Arles (France, 1987, ’88), Stockholm (Sweden, 1992), and Giga-Hertz (Karlsruhe, 2010).
He received commissions from The Banff Centre for the Arts, BBC, CKUT-FM, Codes d’accès / Musiques &
He was a composer in residence in Banff (Canada, 1989, ’92, ’93, 2012), Bangor (Wales, UK, 2008), Belfast (Northern Ireland, UK, 1997), Bourges (France, 1988, ’99, 2005), Huddersfield (England, RU, 2015), Karlsruhe (Germany, 2004, ’05, ’10, ’11), Mons (Belgium, 1996), Morelia (Mexico, 2013), Ohain (Belgium, 1987, 2007), Oslo (Norway, 2015), Paris (France, 1990, 94), and Santiago (Chile, 2013).
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Robert Normandeau has received awards at the following contests
- Concorso internazionale Luigi Russolo di musica elettroacustica, Varèse (Italy): 1989, 1990
- Concours biennal de composition acousmatique Métamorphoses, Ohain (Belgium): 2002, 2004
- Concours de composition du Festival international de musiques sacrées — Fribourg, Fribourg (Switzerland): 2002
- Concours international de musique électroacoustique de Bourges, Bourges (Cher, France): 1986, 1988, 1993
- Concurso de Composición Electroacústica Destellos, Mar del Plata (Argentina): 2017
- Giga-Hertz-Preis, Karlsruhe (Baden-Württemberg, Germany): 2010
- International Rostrum of Electroacoustic Music (IREM): 1990
- Musica Nova International Competition of Electroacoustic Music, Prague (Czech Republic): 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2017
- Música Viva — Concurso Internacional de Composição Electroacústica, Parede (Portugal): 2017
- Prix Ars Electronica, Linz (Austria): 1993, 1996
- Prix international Noroit-Léonce Petitot de composition musicale acousmatique, Arras (Pas-de-Calais, France): 1991, 1993
- Prix Phonurgia Nova, Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône, France): 1986
- Stockholm Electronic Arts Award, Stockholm (Sweden): 1992
