Anna Troisi

From Wikitia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Anna Troisi
Add a Photo
BornItaly
GenresExperimental, electroacoustic, data-driven sound
Occupation(s)Composer, sound artist, academic
InstrumentsLive electronics, cello, prepared piano
Years active2000–present
Websiteannatroisi.org

Anna Troisi is an Italian composer, sound artist, performer, and academic working in experimental music, electroacoustic performance, and data-driven soundscapes. Her work has been performed at events including Transmediale, FutureFest, and Cloud Chamber (see below). Her 2016 performance piece OB-scene has been cited in academic literature on xenofeminism and sonic cyberfeminism.[1] Troisi received the UK’s National Teaching Fellowship in 2022.[2] and teaches subjects related to creative computing, music, and technology.[1]

Biography

In a 2022 interview with the University of the Arts London’s Teaching and Learning Exchange, she described how her interdisciplinary interests in technology and music inform both her creative work and pedagogy.[2]

Troisi’s creative practice involves the use of custom electroacoustic instruments and interactive systems. According to her professional profile at the University of the Arts London, over the past 15 years she has worked with empirical datasets, including seismic, physiological, and environmental data, as compositional material in sound art and performance.[1]

Compositions

2024 – Milli svefns og vöku (Tra il sonno e la veglia) – Chamber ensemble composition commissioned by Nordic Affect, funded by the Icelandic Ministry of Culture's Music Fund. Premiered at Mengi, Reykjavík, on 15 November 2024. The piece was inspired by the novel Your Absence is Darkness by Jón Kalman Stefánsson and evokes a solitary, reflective atmosphere through its triple meter and warm string textures. The national broadcaster RÚV described it as “a beautiful piece” and noted that “each phrase reached outward like a voice calling into the darkness, in hope of a reply that will likely never come.” [3] Instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Harpsichord.

2023 – Méiyǒu shālù (Without Killing) – Acousmatic composition commissioned by the Confucius Institute for Dance and Performance. Premiered at Goldsmiths, London, on 24 November 2023.[4]

2020 – Hyperdrone #2 – A chamber work drawing on data and ideas from the 2015 installation Hyperdrone. Commissioned by the Loudspeaker Orchestra and performed by Lydia Kavina.[5] This work was developed from the earlier sound installation Hyperdrone (see below).

2018 – Norm Contaminated – A soundscape created by Troisi as part of Brownsea: An Imaginary Island, an installation by Neal White exploring the psychological and political dimensions of land use, oil extraction, and environmental imaginaries on Brownsea Island[6]. The piece was commissioned by Arts Catalyst with support from the Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England.[7]

2016 – OB-scene – Live audio/visual performance using a photoplethysmograph sensor to sonify biological data.[8] Performed at Transmediale and at FutureFest 2016 as part of the curated programme Future Love by Ghislaine Boddington. [9]

2010 – Nebbia alla Valle – Performed by Electroshop ensemble at Nuova Consonanza Festival (Rome). Instruments: Sound sculptures, theremin, trumpet, bass clarinet, live electronics.[10][11]

Technology-driven performances

Cloud Chamber (2011/2013)

An interdisciplinary performance co-created by Alexis Kirke, Eduardo Miranda, Antonino Chiaramonte, Anna Troisi, and John Matthias. The piece features a live duet between a violinist and subatomic particles within a cloud chamber. Utilizing custom electronic instruments, the performance enables real-time interaction where the violin’s music influences particle behavior and vice versa. The visual aspect includes projected tracks of radioactive particles, making the quantum world observable to the audience. Cloud Chamber premiered at Plymouth’s Peninsula Arts Contemporary Music Festival in 2011 and was later performed at scientific venues, including the California Academy of Sciences in 2013, as an example of interdisciplinary work combining music and particle physics.[12][13]

OB-Scene (2016)

In this audio-visual performance, Troisi uses biotechnology to transform physiological data from the human body into sound and visual output. OB-Scene centers on the real-time sonification of biological data from a custom-built vaginal photoplethysmograph sensor.[8] During the performance, data on physiological responses are captured and processed by Troisi’s software, generating responsive sound and projected visuals in the space. [14]

The piece explores intimacy and technology, aligning with xenofeminist art discourse, by integrating biological data into an audio-visual performance based on the live sonification of physiological signals.[15]

The work has been described in academic literature as engaging with themes of cybernetics and gender, using technology to mediate the relationship between performer and device. [15]

Interactive installations and data-driven projects

Keen-Skin (2015)

Troisi developed Keen-Skin (2015) as an interactive installation exploring the relationship between tactile sensation and brain-computer interfaces. In the installation, participants wear wireless EEG headsets while touching each other’s skin (such as hand, face, or neck). A custom software system streams and analyzes their brainwave data in real time, producing a sound environment shaped by the participants’ neural responses. The work was presented at events including the 2015 Digital Research in Humanities & Arts conference[16] and the Transmission Symposium on brainwave art in the same year. [17]

HyperDrone (2015)

HyperDrone (2015) is a data-driven sound installation developed by Troisi in collaboration with Neal White and Rob Smith. The work processes seismic data gathered from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization’s (CTBTO) global monitoring network and maps it to acoustic vibrations. These are transmitted through a large resonant structure made from a recycled radome mounted on a tensegrity frame. The structure emits low-frequency drones and physically vibrates in response to global seismic activity.[18] The installation was first exhibited outdoors at Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridge in July 2015, [18] and later featured in exhibitions at Dyson Gallery, Royal College of Art (March 2016). [19] HyperDrone was also exhibited at Objectif Exhibitions in Antwerp from November 2015 to January 2016, as part of the show Sites of Excavation and Construction, curated by Neal White and Tina O’Connell.[20] This project later informed Hyperdrone #2, a 2020 composition using similar data structures for live performance with theremin and prepared piano.

Collaborations and live appearances

Troisi has participated in collaborative and live performances within the experimental music scene, integrating electronic processing, cello, and voice in improvisational settings. In 2001, she toured with American composer Carla Bozulich (Evangelista tour in Italy - 2007) and guitarist Nels Cline, contributing electronic and instrumental elements to their ensemble.

Troisi has engaged in live performance and collaborative projects within the experimental music scene, combining her technical methods with improvisational contexts. She has also collaborated with Israeli composer Yuval Avital, on sound art projects. Troisi’s performance practice includes live electronics, cello, and voice, often in experimental or improvisational contexts.[21]

According to her biography published by Cuore di Pietra, Troisi has performed at experimental music festivals in Europe and the United States. She participated as a vocalist in Phil Minton’s Feral Choir at the 2004 Angelica Festival in Bologna, a project centered on non-verbal vocal improvisation.[21]. In the same year, she took part in the No Net Festival, a free improvisation event in the United States organized by saxophonist Jack Wright, performing in ensemble with Ricardo Arias, Mazen Kerbaj, and Charles Cohen. After a residency at Fondazione Pistoletto’s Cittadellarte, Troisi performed at the Trialogo Festival 2007 in Biella, Italy, in a cross-cultural ensemble that included Middle Eastern and European musicians​ [21]

Troisi’s practice spans artistic performance and research. In 2018, she published an article in the journal Organised Sound describing her performance piece OB-scene, a live sonification of biological data gathered via a medical probe.[14] The piece was later cited by philosopher and music theorist Robin James as an example of feminist sound art informed by xenofeminism, situating it within the context of “sonic cyberfeminism.” James quotes Troisi’s framing of the work as “affiliated with an emerging movement of women and technology called 'XenoFeminism (XF)'. [22]

Her collaborative role in the performance project Cloud Chamber was noted in local media coverage and reviewed in the music journal The Strad.[23]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Anna Troisi – Professional Profile". University of the Arts London. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Meet Doctor Anna Troisi, National Teaching Fellowship Winner". University of the Arts London. 2024-10-16. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  3. ↑ "Nordic Affect og Norðuróp sýna enn og aftur að þau eru einn áhugaverðasti tónlistarhópur landsins" [Nordic Affect and Norðuróp once again show they are among the most interesting musical groups in the country]. 27 November 2024.
  4. ↑ "Great Sounds Seek Silence: Méiyǒu shālù (Without Killing)". 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  5. ↑ "Theremin Centenary Concert (w. Lydia Kavina) – Loudspeaker Orchestra Concert". Music & Sound at Greenwich. University of Greenwich. 14 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2024-04-28.
  6. ↑ N., White (March 2018). "Brownsea: An Imaginary Island (An Island of the Imaginary)". westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2025-01-24. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  7. ↑ "Test Sites: Assembly". Arts Catalyst. Archived from the original on 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Troisi, Anna (2019-12-01). "OB-scene, a Live Audio/Visual Performance for Photoplethysmograph and Female Body". Organised Sound. 23 (3): 270–276. doi:10.1017/S1355771818000171. ISSN 1355-7718.
  9. ↑ "Future Love, Curated by Ghislaine Boddington for FutureFest 2016". Internet of Bodies. Body>Data>Space. Archived from the original on 2024-05-19. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  10. ↑ "Roma: Electroshop, concrete sound workshop". CIDIM. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  11. ↑ "Roma: Electroshop, concrete sound workshop". www.cidim.it (in italiano). Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  12. ↑ "Innovative composer takes particle physics duet to San Francisco". The Devon Daily. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  13. ↑ "Cloud Chamber: A Performance with Real Time Two-Way Interaction between Subatomic Particles and Violinist". Leonardo MIT Press Direct. 46 (1): 84–85. 2013-02-01.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Troisi, Anna (December 2018). "OB-scene, a Live Audio/Visual Performance for Photoplethysmograph and Female Body". Organised Sound. 23 (3): 270–276. doi:10.1017/S1355771818000171. ISSN 1355-7718.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Invasive Media". FLUX. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  16. ↑ Troisi, Anna (2015-09-01). "Keen-Skin". ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
  17. ↑ "Transmission Symposium 2015". Transmission Symposium. Sheffield Hallam University. Archived from the original on 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Hyperdrone / Hypersensor – Wysing 2015 – Office of Experiments". Archived from the original on 2025-05-19. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  19. ↑ "The Hyperdrone (Dyson Gallery, 2016)". GALA University of Greenwich. University of Greenwich. January 2015. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  20. ↑ White, Neal. "Sites of Excavation and Construction". WestminsterResearch. University of Westminster. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Anna Troisi – Cuore di Pietra". Cuore di Pietra (in italiano). Retrieved 2025-05-21.
  22. ↑ James, Robin (2021-03-01). "Sonic Cyberfeminisms, Perceptual Coding and Phonographic Compression". Feminist Review. 127 (1): 20–34. doi:10.1177/0141778920973208. ISSN 0141-7789.
  23. ↑ "Violin meets subatomic particles in Cloud Chamber duet". The Strad. Retrieved 2025-05-21.

External links

Add External links

This article "Anna Troisi" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.

Retrieved from "https://wikitia.com/index.php?title=Anna_Troisi&oldid=217632"