Overseas Seminars
Current Seminars - Greece
Music and Acoustics of Ancient and Contemporary Greece
Study in Thessaloniki with Chris Chafe
Arrival in Thessaloniki: August 30, 2007
Departure from Athens: September 18, 2007
Listening affords a unique path into other cultures and places. On this seminar, participants will take their ears (and computers) to Greece to appreciate sounds that went before and absorb what is there now. This course weaves together several strands associated with the human and environmental sounds of Greece. Topics explored will include musical archeology, environmental soundscapes of the countryside, urban environment, and undersea world, and an introduction to contemporary Greek composition and performance. Aspects of listening itself will be studied, through lectures and readings in psychoacoustics, the science of hearing.
The seminar will be hosted at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Traces of ancient Greek musical practice and acoustical knowledge survive in nearby ruins throughout the region of Macedonia. In the archaeological museum at the ancient city of Dion, students will be able to see the earliest organ (hydraulis). This multi-note instrument is now the subject of intense modeling research by university faculty with whom the seminar group will meet. Lab activities at Aristotle University will include simulating antique instruments with computer modeling. The amphitheaters in the area invite the study of their acoustical perfection and the seminar may include a play or concert in one of these ancient venues.
Nearby areas will be visited for acoustical ecology recording. One purpose is to use these experiences as ear training for non-specialists and musicians alike, and to emphasize the ability to listen "outside" the normal things we attend to and "into" these places. Students will undertake soundscape recordings in three locations: Mt. Olympus wilderness, urban Thessaloniki, and beach areas along the Halkidiki Peninsula. It is practical for participants to become high-quality environmental recordists and to begin to analyze soundscapes with laptop equipment. Hydrophones for underwater work are easily built in kit fashion and will be made by the group.
The legacy of composer Iannis Xenakis is strong and cross-cutting. A leading figure in twentieth-century music, he mixed aspects of mathematics, revolutionary politics, technology and more. His recent passing makes it all the more relevant for students to familiarize themselves with his work. The group will meet performers and composers and learn from "inside" this particular school of composition. Some of Xenakis’ writings will be assigned as course readings.
The seminar group will also visit Athens at the end of the seminar.
Location
The seminar will be hosted at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The class itinerary will incorporate several day-trips within the region of Macedonia, as well as a few days in Athens at the end of the seminar.
Faculty
Chris Chafe is a composer and cellist with an interest in using the computer as an aid to music composition and performance. He is the Duca Family Professor of Humanities and Sciences and director of the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford, where he teaches courses in computer music. His doctorate in music composition was completed at Stanford in 1983. Prior degrees in music were from UC-San Diego and Antioch College. His research includes automatic music recognition, new methods for computer sound synthesis based on physical models, and audio over next-generation networks. He has performed his music in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, and has several CDs in circulation.
Prerequisites
None
Language of Instruction
English
Cost & Travel
Participants pay regular Stanford tuition for Autumn Quarter 2007, as well as an overseas seminar fee of $600 (financial aid is available). The seminar fee covers lodging from the arrival date through the night prior to departure, 19 meals per week, and all seminar activities. Students must arrange and pay for their own round trip transportation to Greece, but not for any travel included in the seminar itinerary. Note: this seminar begins in Thessaloniki and ends in Athens. Some airfare subsidy payments are available through BOSP.