Suguru Goto / 後藤 英
Suguru Goto is a composer/performer, an inventor and a multimedia artist and he is considered one of the most innovative and the mouthpiece of a new generation of Japanese artists. He is highly connected to technical experimentation in the artistic field and to the extension of the existing potentialities in the relation man-machine. In his works the new technologies mix up in interactive installations and experimental performances; he is the one who invented the so called virtual music instruments, able to create an interface for the communication between human movements and the computer, where sound and video image are controlled by virtual music instruments in real-time through computers. Lately, he has been creating the robots, which perform acoustic instruments, and he is gradually constructing a robot orchestra.
He was born in Japan. After he studied composition and piano in Japan, he moved to the United States to continue his studies at New England Conservatory in Boston. He preceded his post-graduate studies at Technical University Berlin and HDK in Berlin, Germany and Paris University in France. He studied composition with Lukas Foss and Earl Brown in U.S.A, and with Robert Cogan at New England Conservatory and Dieter Schnebel in Berlin, Tristan Murail and Philippe Manour at IRCAM, Paris.
He has been internationally active and has received numerous prizes and fellowships, such as Koussevitzky Prize, BSO fellowships, the first prize at the Marzena, Berliner Kompositionaufträge, a prize by the IMC International Rostrum of Composers in UNESCO, Paris, DIRECAM, French Cultural Minister, Music Theater Award 2008 in Berlin, "OFQJ-dance and new technology prize" at Bains Numérique #4, International Festival of digital art of Enghein-Les-Bains, in France, in 2009 and so on. His works have been performed in major festivals, such as Resonaces/IRCAM, Sonar, ICC, Haus der Kultures der Welt, ISEA, NIME, AV Festival, STRP Festival 2009, Venice Biennale, etc.
In 1995, his first opera "NADA (Media Opera)" was performed in Shauspielhaus, Berlin. At the same year, he moved to Paris in order to realize a project at IRCAM, Paris. In 1996, his "VirtualAERI" was given the first performance at Espace de projection, IRCAM. In 1998, he was invited to perform at Sonar, Barcelona. In 1999, he was invited to perform at ICC in Tokyo. In 2003, his concert was given at Pompidou Center, in Paris. In 2006, his “RoboticMusic” was commissioned by AV Festival in Newcastle, England and was enthusiastically received by the large public, as well as the mass medias. He has been producing computer music and researching at the group "Gestural Controller" in IRCAM, Paris since 1995. Lately, he has been working for Brass instrument robots with Artificial Mouth at IRCAM, as well. In 2007, he was Artist in Residence at ATLab, Ohio University, in USA. He was now Artist in Residence at Academy of Media Arts, Cologne, in Germany. His "RoboticMusic" was shown at the 53rd Venice Biennale 2009 in Italy.
Goto's works have been shown in Canada, England, Germany, France, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Roumania, Spain, Slovenia, Swiss, Ukraine, Japan, and U.S.A. His works are published by "Edition Wandelweiser GmbH"(Germany). His "Giseion to Gousei" is recorded on CD, which is available from Akademie der Künste label (Germany) and his "Temps tressé III" from ALM Records (Japan).
http://gotolab.geidai.ac.jp/
