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A composer, performer, and sound installation artist who designs and builds her own instruments, Laetitia Sonami has been named the 2007 David Tudor Composer-in-Residence at Mills College. Since 1991 she has developed and adapted new gestural controllers to musical performance and composed works with these materials. Her unique instrument, the lady's glove, is made out of black lycra and is embedded with sensors which track the slightest motion of each finger, the hand and the arm. The performance thus becomes a small dance where the movements shape the music. Sonami's sound installations combine audio and kinetic elements embedded in every day objects such as lamp bulbs, kitchen gloves, and bags.
Current performances include "I.C. You," a live film in collaboration with video artist Sue Costabile, shot and scored from two suitcases, a bowl of water, and a piece of ice, "The Appearance of Silence (the invention of perspective)," a solo performance with the lady's glove, and "AIR" with a new instrument, the Bellow.
Sonami has performed in numerous festivals across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan, including the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, the Bourges Music Festival in France, the Sonambiente Festival in Berlin, the Interlink festival in Japan, Bang-on-a Can, The Kitchen and Other Minds, S.F. Her awards include the Alpert Award in the Arts (2002), Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts Award (2000), the Civitella Ranieri Fellowship (2000), Studio Pass-Harvestworks residency (2001), and a Creative Work Fundaward (2000).
During her residency, Sonami will work with Mills College students to collaboratively create "Chairs," an installation project. Students from various classes and disciplines will create listening spaces using chairs as site, instrument, and point of departure. "Chairs" will be presented on Saturday, November 17, 2007. Sonami will perform "The Appearance of Silence (the invention of perspective)," her solo work with the lady's glove, on Saturday, November 17 at 8:00 pm in Lisser Hall.
For more information on Sonami see www.sonami.net.
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