Nicolas Vérin

Nicolas Vérin
Born June 21, 1958
Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, France
Genres Contemporary classical
Occupation(s) Composer
Years active 1981–present

Nicolas Vérin (born 21 June 1958) is a French composer and professor of music. His many influences, from jazz to electronics, from American to French music, give him an unusual style, apart from the main trends of French contemporary music, combining energy and subtleness.[1][2]

While rooted in electroacoustic music and its approach based on composing with sounds rather than notes, he also wrote many instrumental pieces and specialized particularly in music mixing live performers and electronics, whether fixed sound or live processing.[3] At the basis of his work are the musical gesture and the life of sound and its morphology.[4] An improviser himself, his works often leave a creative space for performers, and he has collaborated on many occasions with famous improvisers.

Vérin received commissions from the French Ministry of Culture, Radio France, INA-GRM, Studios, Festivals and Conservatories. He was composer in residence in the Midi-Pyrénées region and was awarded the prize Villa Médicis hors les murs. His music, published by Éditions Jobert and Éditions François Dhalmann, has been performed and broadcast worldwide.

Life and work

Beginnings

Vérin was born 21 June 1958 in Saint-Omer, France. After initial studies with private professors of piano, at the Martenot School and the Brest Conservatory, he obtained his Diplôme de fin d’études from the Conservatoire National de Région de Saint-Maur in piano, studies in chamber music, harmony. At age 12 he started guitar and a year later founds and leads a pop music group. This was to be followed by jazz piano, which he learned mostly on his own, but also with teachers (Matias Pizarro, Jimmy Cheatham, François Couturier).

After his baccalauréat, he followed a summer workshop in Cordes, near Toulouse, by INA-GRM, during which he decided to become an electroacoustic composer. He then studied music and science at the Universities of Paris VI-Jussieu, Brest and Paris VIII-Vincennes, where he obtained a licence de musique (B.A.). During this time, he organized with a fellow student the first electroacoustic music concert in the city of Brest.[5][6] He later attended musical academies Acanthes (Aix-en-Provence 1982), and Darmstadt Ferienkurse (1992).[7]

Thereafter, he entered the electroacoustic music composition class of Pierre Schaeffer and Guy Reibel at Paris Conservatory where he got his degree in 1979. Vérin went on to study 5 years at the University of California, San Diego, where he obtained a Master of Arts (1982)[8] and a PhD (1986)[9] in composition and computer music. His main professors there were Roger Reynolds, Jean-Charles François, Joji Yuasa, Robert Erickson, F. Richard Moore, Bernard Rands, Gordon Mumma, Julio Estrada.[10]

Main career

Upon returning to France, Vérin collaborated as musical assistant with Pierre Henry, for studio work, recording original sounds, processing sounds, and concert performances in major Festivals in France and Germany. The pioneer of Musique Concrète invited him in his studio for a composition in 1988. Vérin is considered one of only two disciples of Pierre Henry.[11][12] and has performed his music in many occasions.[13][14]

In 1988, he was chosen by Jean-Claude Eloy to work at CIAMI (Centre d'informatique appliquée à la musique et l'image, Rueil-Malmaison) in charge of the MIDI studio and the cmusic/CARL environment.

In 1989 he joined the creation department at IRCAM, where he works as a tutor. This involved coordinating the productions of invited composers (Michael Jarrell,[15] Michaël Levinas,[16][17] Frédéric Durieux, Hans-Peter Kunz) and teaching several courses of Computer Music (for the Doctorate Program of Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and IRCAM Computer Music Curriculum) as well as participating in the beta-testing of Miller Puckette's Max programming language.[18]

In 1990, Vérin founded the association Ligys, which becomes a studio coop with composers Christine Groult and Jacqueline Ozanne, active in Paris for productions and a few concerts.[19] After the dissolution of Ligys, he founds in 2007 the association Impulsion.

In 1992 Vérin was appointed Professor of Electroacoustic music at the Conservatoire National de Région of Chalon sur Sâone (Burgundy), where he is tenured in 1998. From 2002 to the present, he is Professor of Composition and Electroacoustic Music at Ecole Nationale de Musique et de Danse d’Evry (Essonne).

From 1992 to 1995, he is composer-in-residence in the Midi-Pyrénées Region. This includes a residence at LIMCA (Lutherie Informatique et Musique Contemporaine à Auch), where he realizes two compositions.[20][21] He is appointed Musical Director for two editions of the Auch Danse/Musique Contemporaines Festival (in Gascony), involving the programming of 8 concerts, some in relation to dance companies. The residence also included studio work at GMEA (Groupe de Musique Electroacoustique d'Albi-Tarn), resulting in an electronic music piece, In Vino musica,[22] given daily for the show Musique des Vignes from October through November 1992 at the Centre Culturel de l'Albigeois.[23]

In 2003-2004, Vérin is invited at IRCAM to do a new version of his work 11 avenue du Midi on the WFS system (sonic holography), installation presented at Nicéphore Days in Chalon 2004 (France), at IRCAM's Festival Résonance 2004[24] and in Leipzig in 2005.

As performer

Besides his compositional work, Vérin has also performed electronic music and improvisation.[25][26][27] He founded Duo Alchemia with Julien Feltrin (recorder), touring in France. With the improvised music trio DSV (Cécile Daroux: flutes, Louis Sclavis: clarinets, Nicolas Vérin: electronics) he performed in France[28] (Festival Agora in 2002[29]), in Russia and USA.[30][31][32] Since the untimely death of Cécile Daroux, the group remains as a duo and renamed itself Ensemble Cécile. He performed with Vinko Globokar as electronic musician in the latter's magnum opus "Laboratorium",[33] in concerts at UC San Diego, Witten, and Cologne.

Vérin appears also as improviser or electronic musician in several CDs (Xe symphonie by Pierre Henry, Préfixes by Michaël Levinas, Congruences by Michael Jarrell, Improvisations préparées with Mirtha Pozzi and Pablo Cueco) and performed with saxophonist Daniel Kientzy, actor Jean-Louis Jacopin, flutist James Newton, saxophonist Steve Coleman, pianist Anne-Marie Fijal.[34] He has performed the electronic part of mixed and acousmatic pieces by Pierre Henry[35] and many others.[36][37] As a pianist, Vérin was accompanist of choirs and singers, played in jazz groups (with François Moutin and Louis Moutin, Philippe Botta and others).

Awards

Prizes

Commissions

Works

Vérin's catalog consists of more than 60 works, ranging from solo instrument to symphonic orchestra, through electronic music (fixed sounds or live), stage music for theatre, dance. Several of his pieces are published by Éditions Jobert-Lemoine (Paris) and Éditions François Dhalmann (Strasbourg).

Main compositions

Recordings

Selected writings

References

  1. ↑ Thion, Michel (1994). "La musique contemporaine en France en 1994", p. 67. Chroniques de l'AFAA n°5, AFAA, Paris. ISBN 286545-120-8
  2. ↑ Contemporary Composers Index
  3. ↑ Solomos, Makis (2000). "Die neuesten Entwicklungen der zeitgenössischen Musik in Frankreich", p.85-86. Musik und Aesthetik vol.4 n°16, Stuttgart
  4. ↑ Classical Composers Index
  5. ↑ Ouest France, Rennes, 31 April 1977
  6. ↑ Le Télégramme, Morlaix, 31 April 1977
  7. ↑ Steenhuisen, Paul (2005). "Darmstadt 1992 - the Understory", p.85 "Circuit: musiques contemporaines", vol. 15, n°3, Presses de l'Université de Montréal
  8. ↑ Master of Arts, UCSD
  9. ↑ PhD Thesis, UCSD
  10. ↑ Éditions Jobert
  11. ↑ Pierre Henry, quoted in Gilly, Cécile and Samuel, Claude (1991). "Acanthes An XV", Van de Velde, Paris. ISBN 2858681732
  12. ↑ Chion Michel (2003). "Pierre Henry", p. 88. Fayard, Paris. ISBN 2-213-6157-0
  13. ↑ Tousignant, François,"Une très grande interprétation". Le Devoir, Montréal, 11 November 1999
  14. ↑ Festival Futura 1998
  15. ↑ Congruences (1989) de Michael Jarrell, Elements d'analyse technique, by Nicolas Vérin, Francis Courtot, Michael Jarrell, IRCAM (Research institute : France) ed. IRCAM, 1990 (41 pages)
  16. ↑ Levinas, Michaël and Castanet, Pierre-Albert (2002). "Le Compositeur Trouvère : écrits et entretiens (1982-2002)",pp. 94-97. L'Harmattan, Paris. ISBN 2747528162
  17. ↑ Levinas, Michaël (1994). "Transients of Attack and Hybrid Sound: Toward a New Mixity", pp. 13-15. Leonardo Music Journal Vol. 4. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  18. ↑ Puckette, Miller (1991). "Combining Event and Signal Processing in Max Graphical Programming Environment". Computer Music Journal, Vol. 15, n°3
  19. ↑ Dallet, Sylvie, and Veitl, Anne (2001). "Du sonore au musical: cinquante années de recherches concrètes (1948-1998)", p. 43. L'Harmattan , Paris. ISBN 2747503402
  20. ↑ Pistorio, Elisabeth."Croisements chorégraphiques et musicaux en Gascogne". Révolution n° 723 pp. 48-49, 6 January 1994
  21. ↑ Wernert, Marie-Laurence. Sud Ouest, 4 October 1993
  22. ↑ Thion, Michel. Révolution n° 673, p. 40. 21 January 1993
  23. ↑ Giral, Espérance. "Musique des vignes - le goût des sens". La Dépêche du Midi, 8 November 1992
  24. ↑ IRCAM Festival Résonance 2004
  25. ↑ L'Alsace, 26 July 1999
  26. ↑ Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, 26 July 1999
  27. ↑ Center for New Music and Audio Technology, UC Berkeley
  28. ↑ B. FZ. "La Perfection de l'improvisation". Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, 8 August 2011
  29. ↑ Dahan, Éric. "Sclavis électronique". Libération, 8 June 2002
  30. ↑ Woodard, Josef. Down Beat, May 2002
  31. ↑ University of California, Irvine
  32. ↑ Center for New Music and Audio Technology, UC Berkeley
  33. ↑ IRCAM Ressources
  34. ↑ France-Musique concert and broadcast of 25 April 2007
  35. ↑ Zvonar, Richard (2005). "A History of Spatial Music". eContact! 7.4, Canadian Electroacoustic Community
  36. ↑ "Trois-Epis : à l'écoute des sons".L'Alsace p. 7, 26 July 1999.
  37. ↑ "Larsen et Cerbère".Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace p. 30, 26 July 1999.]
  38. ↑ Agenda de la musique contemporaine, Centre de Documentation de la Musique Contemporaine, Paris, April 2010.
  39. ↑ Jeux pour l'Oreille, 1997 edition
  40. ↑ Sond'Arte Competition 2009
  41. ↑ Longchampt, Jacques. "Olympiades de composition à Athènes - Lumières d'Italie". Le Monde, p.22. 3 June 1989
  42. ↑ Commandes d'Etat on the CDMC's Website
  43. ↑ Gayou, Evelyne (2007). "GRM, le Groupe de Recherches Musicales. Cinquante ans d'Histoire", p.242. Fayard, Paris. ISBN 9782213635613
  44. ↑ Program notes of GRM's concert in Paris, 5 December 2009
  45. ↑ Lalitte, Philippe (2012). "Histoire d’un brise-glace : le festival Why Note et son public" in Festivals et sociétés en Europe XIXe-XXIe siècles, sous la direction de Philippe Poirrier, Territoires contemporains, nouvelle série - 3 -
  46. ↑ Centre Henri Pousseur
  47. ↑ Olschofka, Felix J. (2009). "A comparative analysis of works for solo violin and violin with electronics", UCSD.
  48. ↑ Forum des Images
  49. ↑ L'heure exquise
  50. ↑ Bonnaure, Jacques. fr: La Lettre du musicien n°98. Paris, January 1991
  51. ↑ Heizmann, Mathias. Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace. 21 July 1997
  52. ↑ Densité 93
  53. ↑ "In vino musica"Les Inrockuptibles. December 1996
  54. ↑ Marty, Eric.“San Francisco Contemporary Chamber Players and CNMAT in concert”. Computer Music Journal. 22:4, p. 76, Winter 1998.
  55. ↑ Ulrich, Allan. San Francisco Examiner, p. B3, 11 February 1998
  56. ↑ Bonnaure, Jacques. fr: La Lettre du Musicien n°175. March 1996
  57. ↑ Heizmann, Mathias. Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace. 18 July 1997
  58. ↑ Roy, Jean-Louis. Euridyce délivrée. Dijon, January 1998
  59. ↑ Electronic Music Festival in Corfu, Greece, 29 October 2010
  60. ↑ Heizmann, Mathias. Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace. 23 July 1998
  61. ↑ Radio broadcast on France-Musique
  62. ↑ INA-GRM Webreport 14
  63. ↑ Gervasoni, Pierre. Le Monde. 29 August 2006
  64. ↑ Gervasoni, Pierre. Le Monde. 30 May 1998.

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