Mission
Réseaux’s main mission is to publicly present the works realized by the artists and production groups active in the field of electroacoustic music using an array of loudspeakers. The works in question can be acousmatic (tape music), mixed (tape and instruments), live (live electronics) or include other art forms, such as video, dance or installation art.
Composers Jean-François Denis, Gilles Gobeil and Robert Normandeau incepted Réseaux des arts médiatiques in 1991, in Montréal. They were the society artistic directors for 17 years, from 1991 to 2008. Nicolas Bernier was then brough in for some fresh air and he stayed till the 2010-2011 season. That same year Réjean Beaucage became the executive director and the next season saw the arrival of Louis Dufort in the artistic director’s chair.
Work Commissions
Since its first concert, Réseaux has commissioned over 45 works, many of which were nominated or winners of Opus awards, just like Chantal Dumas’ Les petits riens (mécanique du quotidien), which received the award in the concert of the year section for 2009-2010.
International network
Electroacoustic music as been quite well represented on the international scale, and it’s the reason why Réseaux had to develop an important network by inviting international level composers to present their work to the public in Montreal. Since it began presenting concerts, Réseaux offered Montreal concert goers more than 100 international composers to discover. Since a large part of these received honors from prestigious international competitions in Austria (Ars Electronica), France (Bourges), Switzerland (Fribourg), Italy (Luigi-Russolo), Belgium (Métamorphoses), Czech Republic (Musica Nova) or in Sweden (Phonurgia-Nova), it is fair to believe that the Montreal concert society Réseaux is well known in the electroacoustic community all over the world. Now the network exists, electroacoustic music is also very much alive and well represented by local composers, and ancient artistic directors Robert Normandeau, Gilles Gobeil or Nicolas Bernier all enjoy an international success that contributes to the good name of Réseaux in the community.
In a few words
- November 1991 – Réseaux’s first concert: Top secret – hommage à Francis Dhomont;
- May 1992 – Opening concert of the new hall (5e salle) at Place des arts;
- February 1996 – L’orchestre de haut-parleurs at the “Musiques-échange Québec-Belgique” festival;
- 1996-1997 – First complete season with the Rien à voir concert series;
- 2003 – Beginning of the iConcerts series, presenting Réseaux commissioned works on its website.
- 2004 – Pulsar: acousmatic concert series presented at the Montreal Planetarium;
- 2005 – Akousma: Concert series presenting the whole range of electroacoustic musics;
- 2007 – Beginning of Le Vivier, an new music community initiative comprising 27 ensembles and organisations, of which Réseaux is one of the founders;
- 2011 –AKOUSMA moves to Usine C and celebrates 20 years of Réseaux!
- 2012 - Francis Dhomont and Annette Vande Gorne give a concert at CIRMMT celebrating 20 years of Réseaux.
The electroacoustic music concert production company Réseaux is unique, not only in Quebec but in all of Canada. Réseaux is the only production company solely devoted to presenting concerts of electroacoustic music featuring the works of Canadian and foreign composers, in equal parts. Because of that, it differs from all the other concert societies devoted to new music or contemporary music. Some of these other organizations do program electroacoustic events from time to time, but that is not their main mission.
Réseaux is the only organization commissioning works from electroacoustic music composers on a regular basis, premiering these works at its concerts, and bringing them back in its regular programming.
Réseaux found a unique niche in the country, a niche several of our colleagues from abroad envy us. Some countries, such as Italy and Germany, have no similar concert society. And if Montreal can rightfully claim to be the North American capital of electroacoustics, it is most certainly due to Réseaux, since it is thanks to us that this music is presented on the Quebec professional scene.
Artistic committee AKOUSMA
- Freida Atban
- Martin Bédard
- Nicolas Bernier
- Louis Dufort
- France Jobin
- Sylvain Pohu
- Patrick St-Denis
Management Board
President : Robert Normandeau – Université de Montréal
Vice-president: Jules Hébert – Productions La Guérilla
Secretary: Véronique Desrosiers – Ecorce Atelier-créatif
Other members
- Cordeau, Yan – directeur artistique (Cirque du Soleil)
- Desvaux, Caroline – directrice de groupe service clientèle (Bleu Blanc Rouge)
- Dufort, Louis – compositeur, Enseignant (CMM)
- Hébert, Jules – directeur dév. des affaires (Prod. La Guérilla)
- Thomas Lavier – McCarthy/Tétrault S.E.N.C.R.L.,s.r.l
- Roy, Alain – directeur du développement tech. (Vision globale)
- Sérode, Anne – chef des émissions (Espace musique)
- Suliman, Roula – directrice de succursale (Banque Scotia)
- Te Kimrang – chef d’équipe senior (Ernt & Young)
Artistic Director, Louis Dufort
The music of Montréal composer Louis Dufort ranges from a cathartic form of expressionism mostly found in his early works to organicism focusing on the inner structure of sound matter in his latest works.
Although he first developed his style through electroacoustic music, he quickly delved into mixed music and multimedia music, which drew attention from a number of extremely diverse Montréal-based organizations.
Dufort’s international profile has been increasing since the early 2000’s. In 2001, he received a mention from Prix Ars Electronica (Austria). In 2005, he collaborated with the German Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM) and, two years later, the Recombinant Media Labs (RML) in San Fransisco and at Berlin’s Transmediale festival in 2011. Some of Marie Chouinard’s projects have also been acclaimed abroad, including Body_Remix, premiered at the Venice Biennial in 2005.
Louis Dufort is the new artistic director of RESEAUX and Akouma festival in Montréal.