Music expresses that which can not be said and
on which it is impossible to be silent. ~ Victor Hugo
on which it is impossible to be silent. ~ Victor Hugo
ABOUT
Aura Pon, PhD is a music technology researcher, oboist, composer, digital instrumentalist, and inventor based in Calgary, Canada.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
June 4: I had the pleasure of entertaining the guests at the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta's (ASET) 55th Anniversary Celebration at the Palliser Hotel as a solo oboist.
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News
Sept 13, 2018: Our science-of-music-loving woodwind quintet Perfect Cadence Winds performed a show on "Hacking the Musical Mind" for Telus Spark Science Centre's Adults-Only "Hack-It" night.
June 6, 2018: I convocated with a Doctor of Philosophy in Music with a specialization in Computational Media Design from the University of Calgary. Thank you to my supervisors, mentors, colleagues, friends, and family for all the support that made this possible!
June 4, 2018: The Womba is featured as the "kicker" (no pun intended) in CTV Calgary and National News! The Womba is also being talked about on radio shows and numerous other articles. We have filed for a US Patent and are working to commercialize. More updates can be found on the Womba page.
May 30, 2018: UToday journalist Heath McCoy wrote a feature article on me and the Womba.
January 22, 2018: I successfully defended my thesis, entitled "Designing for the Mindbody in Technology-Mediated Music-Making."
March 23, 2017: I will be presenting our paper "Torrent: Integrating Embodiment, Physicalization, and Musification in Music-Making" at the Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Conference in Yokohama, Japan.
Oct 28-30, 2016: The Womba will appear in the Next Gen Innovators Showcase as part of the ASTech Awards in Edmonton on Oct 28.
Perfect Cadence Wind Quintet will perform my "Pura Vida Suite" in the Instrumental Society of Calgary concert on Oct 30 at 3 pm at St. Stephen's Anglican Church.
August 21, 2016: My Torrent, for Flutes and Water, was performed at the Lucie Jones and the Mount Royal Chamber Flutes at the Calgary Mini-Maker Faire at Telus Spark.
June 17, 2016: My Torrent, for Flutes and Water, was performed at the Serenata Concert by Lucie Jones and the Mount Royal Chamber Flutes at the Rosza Centre, Calgary.
May 7, 2016: The Womba appeared as a display in TEDx Calgary (r)Evolutions.
April 2, 2016: The Womba appeared as a display in MakeFashion 2016 at Telus Spark.
February 2016: I presented my doctoral research at the doctoral consortium Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI) 2016 conference in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
February 11, 2016: Womba and Torrent made a guest appearance at Telus Spark's busiest Adults Only Night yet - with over 2000 visitors. Joseph and I couldn't demo fast enough!
January 31, 2016: Thank you to the fabulous Lucie Jones and Mount Royal Chamber Flutes for their performance of my piece Torrent for Flutes and Water at the Leacock Theatre, Calgary, AB. And a big thank you to Eric Pattison for helping me design and code the complex system that enabled the flutists' muscle tension to control live water sound effects.
September 2015: Thanks to everyone who visited Campus Collisions and Tech Showcase! UToday's Erin Guiltenane wrote a great article on me *blush*. It's been a busy but productive connection week!
September 2015: Find me at the Beakerhead Festival in Calgary at the Campus Collisions with my "Mind+Body+Music" showcase of my research, and at the Tech Showcase debuting a new musical instrument called the Womba.
July 2015: I am officially a PhD candidate in Music, Computational Media Design after successfully completing my candidacy exam process.
April 2015: My "Pura Vida Suite" for wind quintet will be performed by Blythwood Winds.
November 2014: My piece "Mindsets" for violin, brainwave sensor, and digital signal processing will have its Canadian premiere by violinist John Lowry at the Lands End Ensemble's first concert of their "Painting Music" season at the Rosza Centre, EG Hall in Calgary, Canada on November 7.
July 2014: My piece "Mindsets" for violin, brainwave sensor, and digital signal processing will be premiered in Rieti, Italy as part of the Composit New Music Festival. Also, a piece by colleague Simon Fay in which I play oboe and laptop has been accepted to the International Computer Music Conference in Athens, Greece.
May-June 2014: dFusion, an interactive audiovisual installation created in collaboration with Julius Popa, is open at GalleryFM, ICT Building, University of Calgary.
April 2014: The latest in the series of "Songs of the North Woods" pieces commissioned by oboist Colin Maier has been recorded and will appear on his new CD, Fabulist.
April 2014: I premiered Movement III., "End and Beginning," of my piece Being and Becoming for oboe and live electronics at the Music and Words concert at the Rosza Centre, University of Calgary.
September 2012: I was in residency in Mons, Belgium to present an installation on ChoirMob and Vuzik at CitySonic 2012. Vox Tactum premiered my Concordia discors for ChoirMob+Vuzik at the International Computer Music Conference. And my Intertwine was performed by Vox Tactum and special guest Antoine Maisonhaute of Quator Tana at Audio Mostly 2012 in Corfu, Greece. Thanks to my collaborators Nicolas d'Alessandro and Johnty Wang!
August 2012: Songs of the North Woods No. 1, commissioned by oboist-extraordinaire Colin Maier, was premiered by dazzling Quartetto Gelato at Music Niagara on August 5. I finished my thesis "Vuzik: Exploring a Medium for Painting Music" and following my defence on August 28, will be off to Mons, Belgium to present an installation at CitySonic 2012, Ljubljana, Slovenia to present a new piece of mine for ChoirMob+Vuzik called Concordia discors at the International Computer Music Conference, and Corfu, Greece to perform my Intertwine at Audio Mostly 2012, all with my collaborators Nicolas d'Alessandro and Johnty Wang. And starting my PhD this Fall. Whew!
July 2012: I took some time to get back to my oboist roots and took up residency at Banff for their masterclass program, working with the great oboe teacher Richard Killmer.
June 2012: I have been working on a new solo piece for musical outreach concerts for fabulous CPO bassoonist Michael Hope plus narration, entitled The Ugly Duckling, based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen.
May 2012: I attended the New Interfaces for Musical Expression where Nicolas d'Alessandro and I demonstrated the Vuzik+ChoirMob system, and we have a piece and paper presentation accepted at the International Computer Music Conference in Slovenia in September!
April 2012: Thesis-writing time and further explorations of Vuzik as a graphical score composing interface as I expand my Etudes for solo Vuzik with FM and mixed-phase synthesis. Plus, new bassoon solo in the works for CPO bassoonist Michael Hope to be completed in May!
March 2012: I just finished a new solo piece for fantastic oboist Colin Maier, and his virtuosic fellow Quartetto Gelato members Liza McLellan, cello, and Alexander Sevastian, accordion. Stay tuned for its release on Colin's CD!
March 21, 2012: My Intertwine for ChoirMob singing instrument and the Vuzik interactive display was performed by members of the Vox Tactum ensemble (Martin Ritter, Johnty Wang, Naithan Bosse, and Ryan Noakes) at the Sonic Boom Festival in Vancouver. Check out the video!
February 16-17, 2012: Vox Tactum ensemble (Nicolas d'Alessandro, Johnty Wang, Aura Pon, and Martin Ritter) performed my piece Intertwine on the ChoirMob singing instrument and the Vuzik interactive display in the Georgia Tech Margaret Guthman New Musical Instrument Competition, and made it to the top 8 finalists! See the videos of the preliminary performance here, and the final performance here at 2:30.
January 15, 2012: Bassoonist Michael Hope and Kensington Sinfonia performed Romp and Repose at Hope Lutheran Church, 3 pm. Check out the video and recording!
June 6, 2018: I convocated with a Doctor of Philosophy in Music with a specialization in Computational Media Design from the University of Calgary. Thank you to my supervisors, mentors, colleagues, friends, and family for all the support that made this possible!
June 4, 2018: The Womba is featured as the "kicker" (no pun intended) in CTV Calgary and National News! The Womba is also being talked about on radio shows and numerous other articles. We have filed for a US Patent and are working to commercialize. More updates can be found on the Womba page.
May 30, 2018: UToday journalist Heath McCoy wrote a feature article on me and the Womba.
January 22, 2018: I successfully defended my thesis, entitled "Designing for the Mindbody in Technology-Mediated Music-Making."
March 23, 2017: I will be presenting our paper "Torrent: Integrating Embodiment, Physicalization, and Musification in Music-Making" at the Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Conference in Yokohama, Japan.
Oct 28-30, 2016: The Womba will appear in the Next Gen Innovators Showcase as part of the ASTech Awards in Edmonton on Oct 28.
Perfect Cadence Wind Quintet will perform my "Pura Vida Suite" in the Instrumental Society of Calgary concert on Oct 30 at 3 pm at St. Stephen's Anglican Church.
August 21, 2016: My Torrent, for Flutes and Water, was performed at the Lucie Jones and the Mount Royal Chamber Flutes at the Calgary Mini-Maker Faire at Telus Spark.
June 17, 2016: My Torrent, for Flutes and Water, was performed at the Serenata Concert by Lucie Jones and the Mount Royal Chamber Flutes at the Rosza Centre, Calgary.
May 7, 2016: The Womba appeared as a display in TEDx Calgary (r)Evolutions.
April 2, 2016: The Womba appeared as a display in MakeFashion 2016 at Telus Spark.
February 2016: I presented my doctoral research at the doctoral consortium Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI) 2016 conference in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
February 11, 2016: Womba and Torrent made a guest appearance at Telus Spark's busiest Adults Only Night yet - with over 2000 visitors. Joseph and I couldn't demo fast enough!
January 31, 2016: Thank you to the fabulous Lucie Jones and Mount Royal Chamber Flutes for their performance of my piece Torrent for Flutes and Water at the Leacock Theatre, Calgary, AB. And a big thank you to Eric Pattison for helping me design and code the complex system that enabled the flutists' muscle tension to control live water sound effects.
September 2015: Thanks to everyone who visited Campus Collisions and Tech Showcase! UToday's Erin Guiltenane wrote a great article on me *blush*. It's been a busy but productive connection week!
September 2015: Find me at the Beakerhead Festival in Calgary at the Campus Collisions with my "Mind+Body+Music" showcase of my research, and at the Tech Showcase debuting a new musical instrument called the Womba.
July 2015: I am officially a PhD candidate in Music, Computational Media Design after successfully completing my candidacy exam process.
April 2015: My "Pura Vida Suite" for wind quintet will be performed by Blythwood Winds.
November 2014: My piece "Mindsets" for violin, brainwave sensor, and digital signal processing will have its Canadian premiere by violinist John Lowry at the Lands End Ensemble's first concert of their "Painting Music" season at the Rosza Centre, EG Hall in Calgary, Canada on November 7.
July 2014: My piece "Mindsets" for violin, brainwave sensor, and digital signal processing will be premiered in Rieti, Italy as part of the Composit New Music Festival. Also, a piece by colleague Simon Fay in which I play oboe and laptop has been accepted to the International Computer Music Conference in Athens, Greece.
May-June 2014: dFusion, an interactive audiovisual installation created in collaboration with Julius Popa, is open at GalleryFM, ICT Building, University of Calgary.
April 2014: The latest in the series of "Songs of the North Woods" pieces commissioned by oboist Colin Maier has been recorded and will appear on his new CD, Fabulist.
April 2014: I premiered Movement III., "End and Beginning," of my piece Being and Becoming for oboe and live electronics at the Music and Words concert at the Rosza Centre, University of Calgary.
September 2012: I was in residency in Mons, Belgium to present an installation on ChoirMob and Vuzik at CitySonic 2012. Vox Tactum premiered my Concordia discors for ChoirMob+Vuzik at the International Computer Music Conference. And my Intertwine was performed by Vox Tactum and special guest Antoine Maisonhaute of Quator Tana at Audio Mostly 2012 in Corfu, Greece. Thanks to my collaborators Nicolas d'Alessandro and Johnty Wang!
August 2012: Songs of the North Woods No. 1, commissioned by oboist-extraordinaire Colin Maier, was premiered by dazzling Quartetto Gelato at Music Niagara on August 5. I finished my thesis "Vuzik: Exploring a Medium for Painting Music" and following my defence on August 28, will be off to Mons, Belgium to present an installation at CitySonic 2012, Ljubljana, Slovenia to present a new piece of mine for ChoirMob+Vuzik called Concordia discors at the International Computer Music Conference, and Corfu, Greece to perform my Intertwine at Audio Mostly 2012, all with my collaborators Nicolas d'Alessandro and Johnty Wang. And starting my PhD this Fall. Whew!
July 2012: I took some time to get back to my oboist roots and took up residency at Banff for their masterclass program, working with the great oboe teacher Richard Killmer.
June 2012: I have been working on a new solo piece for musical outreach concerts for fabulous CPO bassoonist Michael Hope plus narration, entitled The Ugly Duckling, based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen.
May 2012: I attended the New Interfaces for Musical Expression where Nicolas d'Alessandro and I demonstrated the Vuzik+ChoirMob system, and we have a piece and paper presentation accepted at the International Computer Music Conference in Slovenia in September!
April 2012: Thesis-writing time and further explorations of Vuzik as a graphical score composing interface as I expand my Etudes for solo Vuzik with FM and mixed-phase synthesis. Plus, new bassoon solo in the works for CPO bassoonist Michael Hope to be completed in May!
March 2012: I just finished a new solo piece for fantastic oboist Colin Maier, and his virtuosic fellow Quartetto Gelato members Liza McLellan, cello, and Alexander Sevastian, accordion. Stay tuned for its release on Colin's CD!
March 21, 2012: My Intertwine for ChoirMob singing instrument and the Vuzik interactive display was performed by members of the Vox Tactum ensemble (Martin Ritter, Johnty Wang, Naithan Bosse, and Ryan Noakes) at the Sonic Boom Festival in Vancouver. Check out the video!
February 16-17, 2012: Vox Tactum ensemble (Nicolas d'Alessandro, Johnty Wang, Aura Pon, and Martin Ritter) performed my piece Intertwine on the ChoirMob singing instrument and the Vuzik interactive display in the Georgia Tech Margaret Guthman New Musical Instrument Competition, and made it to the top 8 finalists! See the videos of the preliminary performance here, and the final performance here at 2:30.
January 15, 2012: Bassoonist Michael Hope and Kensington Sinfonia performed Romp and Repose at Hope Lutheran Church, 3 pm. Check out the video and recording!
November 7, 2011: UBC School of Music and the Media and Graphics Interdisciplinary Centre presents Vox, a concert of music featuring gestural control of voice synthesis, at the East Vancouver Cultural Centre at 8 pm. On the program is my Intertwine for mobile device choir and Vuzik interactive display, performed by Vox Tactum ensemble (Nicolas d'Alessandro, Johnty Wang, Aura Pon, Martin Ritter.)
Portrait photography on this site by Nicolas d'Alessandro, 2011