SMC Summer School 2025 : The auditory gardener : creating Ambisonic landscapes

A three-day summer school that introduces you to Ambisonics in theory and practice, and allows you to realize a 3D audio project in the field of electronic music, sound design in the context of sleep research, sonification of particle compositions of Graz’ air, storytelling for audio stories, or spatial music production.

You will work in teams, and present your project in Dom im Berg. Participation includes theory lessons, hands-on exercises with free software and presentation of DIY hardware, feedback and support of your project, the presentation, and 3x lunch/ 5x coffee breaks.

The summer school will take place at the IEM, Inffeldgasse 10, Graz, with a maximum of 50 participants.

If this sounds interesting, please register!

Organizers

Matthias Frank, Katharina Groß-Vogt, Lukas Gölles, and Stefan Riedel

Requirements

You will need to bring your laptop with Reaper installed and headphones.

Instructors

Preliminary program

Summer School Venue

IEM - Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, Inffeldgasse 10, 8010 Graz, Austria

Day 1 - Monday July 7 - Soil preparation
8:15 Registraion IEM CUBE
8:45 Opening IEM CUBE
9:00–12:00 Theoretical lessons
9:00–9:45 Psychoacoustics and Spatial Hearing IEM CUBE
9:45–10:45 Ambisonics IEM CUBE
10:30–10:45 Coffee break
11:00–12:00 Immersive Sound Reinforcement IEM CUBE
12:00–13:00 Lunch @Mensa
13:00–14:30 Listening and discussion of examples of Ambisonic pieces, music mixes, sonifications and soundscapes. IEM CUBE
14:30–15:00 Coffee break
15:00–15:30 Presentation of ideation workshops IEM CUBE
16:00–18:00 Hands-on introduction to the IEM Plugins. IEM CUBE

Day 2 - Tuesday July 8 - Seed sowing
8:30 Choice of ideation workshop IEM CUBE
9:00–13:00
Option Ⓐ Sonic Interaction Design for Sleep Sandra Pauletto 8-12 participants (cancelled)
Option Ⓑ Artistic workshop Marko Ciciliani and Jakob Gille max. 8 participants IEM Produktionsstudio
Option Ⓒ Sonification of Air Particles in Gra z Katharina Gross-Vogt and Sofia Vallejo max. 12 participants IEM Hörsaal Petersgasse
Option Ⓓ Spatial Music Production Matthias Frank and Lukas Gölles max. 12 participants IEM CUBE
Option Ⓔ Storytelling for Audio Stories Astrid Drechlser max. 12 participants IEM Lehrstudio
Option Ⓕ Art Installations Winfried Ritsch max. 5. participants IEM Seminarraum
10:30–10:45 Coffee break
13:00–14:00 Lunch @Mensa
14:00–18:00 Working on team projects supported by IEM staff tba

Day 3 - Wednesday July 9 - Watering and harvest
9:00–10:30 Presentations of DIY 3D audio hardware
(Ambisonics Microphones, Headphone-Tracker, Headphones, Line Arrays, …)		 IEM CUBE
10:30–11:00 Coffee break
11:00–13:00 Rehearsal in CUBE + Peer Feedback tba
13:00–14:00 Lunch @Mensa
15:00–16:00 Common soundcheck and technical set-up Dom im Berg
16:00–18:00 Individual rehearsals Dom im Berg
19:00 Concert and closing Dom im Berg

Summer School Tracks

Ⓑ Artistic workshop

Instructors: Marko Ciciliani, Jakob Gille (IEM)

How to approach spatialization of sound from the point of view of composition? What movement is potentially already present in a sound and how can it be expanded and transformed in a musical context?

In the artistic workshop we will work on spatialization of sound as a musical means of expression. While creative approaches stand in the foreground, this will go hand in hand with the use of technological means as well as reflections of psychoacoustic concerns, in order to bring artistic concepts to their best possible effect.

Ⓒ Sonification of Air Particles in Graz

Instructors: Katharina Gross-Vogt, Sofia Vallejo (IEM)

Which nano and micro particles can be found in the air of Graz? Are they anthropogenic, typically consisting of only few, pure elements, or are they natural, i.e. typically more diverse? Which differences can we hear between probes from clean and heavily polluted sites? In this workshop, we will work with recent data provided by the NanoMicroLab Graz of the University of Graz.

We will prepare the data for you to use with SuperCollider or Pure Data, and give an overview of sonification algorithms. In teams, you will develop your own particle composition.

Ⓓ Spatial music production

Instructors: Matthias Frank, Lukas Gölles, Stefan Riedel (IEM)

This workshop offers a practical introduction to spatial music production, with a focus on both the artistic and technical dimensions of working with immersive audio. Participants will become familiar with current tools for spatial composition, explore recording techniques tailored to spatial formats, and develop approaches for crafting compelling and nuanced spatial mixes.

You can bring stems of your own music productions or use material provided by us. Depending on the setup, demonstrations and hands-on exercises will be conducted using either binaural playback over headphones or multichannel loudspeaker systems.

Ⓔ Storytelling for audio stories

Instructors: Astrid Drechsler (FH University of Appield Sciences, Graz)

Sound design helps create an immersive atmosphere, bringing the narrative to life. It adds emotional depth, enhances storytelling, and elevates the listening experience.

What to expect in the workshop:

Ⓕ Art Installations

Instructors: Winfried Ritsch (IEM)

From the MAVE (Moveable Auditory Virtual Environment) with directional speakers and virtual acoustics, to playing an instrument in an Ambisonics setup in a spatial environment, sound installations with embedded controllers are explored and implemented for the Sound Installation Parcour at SMC25.