Plymouth composer's pieces go head-to-head in 2013 Media Innovation Awards

An innovative composer whose works have wowed audiences across the world has seen two of his pieces nominated for a major arts accolade.

Dr Alexis Kirke’s Sound Wave and Open Outcry make up half the shortlisted nominations in the Installation category of the 2013 Media Innovation Awards.

The Research Fellow in Computer Music at Plymouth University will compete against other pioneering artists and musicians for the award, which will be presented at an event in November.

The awards are designed to recognise creative innovation and talent in the South West, with the 12 categories spawning 31 nominations from across Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Bath, Cornwall and Bristol.

Dr Kirke, who is based within the University’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research, said: “These are the two works I’m most proud of and both have pushed the boundaries of what I’ve been able to accomplish in performance. I’ve already had a great response to both works nationally and internationally, but I am particularly delighted to be shortlisted in these awards as it further highlights the University’s contribution to the region.”

For Open Outcry, Dr Kirke worked alongside Greg B Davies – the Head of Behavioural and Quantitative Finance at Barclays – to create a ‘reality opera’ inspired by the ebb and flow of emotion and money on a stock trading floor.

While in Sound Wave, premiered at the launch of the University’s £19million Marine Building in October 2012, he collaborated with technologist Samuel Freeman and used sensors on his body and computers to ‘conduct’ the facility’s groundbreaking wave tanks.

Dr Kirke’s other works include Many Worlds, a short live-action film whose soundtrack and story arc are generated sub-consciously by the cinema audience, and Cloud Chamber, a duet for violin and subatomic particles that was premiered at the 2011 Peninsula Arts Contemporary Music Festival, but recently performed at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Dr Kirke added: “It is always a huge thrill to take an innovative concept and turn it into exciting reality, and to receive any form of recognition for your work is fantastic. I know I am up against some really groundbreaking pieces, so it’s going to be an interesting night.”

The 2013 Media Innovation Awards will be presented on November 21 during a ceremony in Plymouth’s Royal William Yard. For more information, visit www.mediainnovationawards.com.