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Per Bloland is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music whose works have been described as having an “incandescent effect” with “dangerous and luscious textures.” His compositions range from short intimate solo pieces to works for large orchestra, incorporate video, dance, custom built electronics, and draw on a variety of influences from other art forms. He is increasingly interested in the intersections between literature and music, especially regarding issues of modernity as related to both disciplines.

Bloland is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Music in the TIMARA (Technology In Music And Related Arts) Department at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He serves as the founding director of OINC, the Oberlin Improv and Newmusic Collective, an ensemble dedicated to the performance and study of trans-idiomatic improvisation. Prior to his current appointment, Bloland taught at UC Santa Cruz, Stanford University, and the University of Texas. Bloland received his D.M.A. in composition from Stanford University, where he studied with Mark Applebaum, Brian Ferneyhough, Chris Chafe, and Erik Ulman. While there he also worked extensively at CCRMA. He received his M.M. from the University of Texas at Austin, where he acted as the Electronic Music Studios (EMS) Manager. While there he studied with Kevin Puts, Russell Pinkston, and Bruce Pennycook.

Bloland has received awards and recognition from national and international organizations, including SEAMUS/ASCAP, Digital Art Awards of Tokyo, ISCM, the Eastman Computer Music Center, SCI/ASCAP, the Dal Niente Composer Competition, Taukay Edizioni Musicali, and the Accademia Musicale Pescarese. He has received commissions from the Callithumpian Consort, Insomnio Ensemble, CCRMA (the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics), SEAMUS/ASCAP, the Kenners, and Michael Straus. His music can be heard on the TauKay (Italy), Capstone, Spektral, and SEAMUS labels, and through the MIT Press.

Performers of Bloland’s work include the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, the ICE Ensemble, Bent Frequency, Insomnio, the Callithumpian Consort, Inauthentica, Eliot Gattegno, Margaret Lancaster, Chryssie Nanou, Nicholas Ong, Brian Sacawa, Michael Straus, the Worn Chamber Ensemble, the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, Sebastian Berweck, John Sampen, and Marianne Gythfeldt. His music has been performed at Bourges, Darmstadt, ICMC, SEAMUS, SIGGRAPH, Gaudeamus, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the SCI National Conference, Stanford Lively Arts, the Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival, the Ingenuity Festival Cleveland, and the Bowling Green New Music Festival, among others. His collaborative video piece Graveshift has been widely viewed and acclaimed as part of the Visual Music Marathon.

As a trumpet player he has performed in a number of jazz and funk bands in San Francisco and Austin. He participated in the Bay Area Guided Improv Ensemble for several years, and currently plays in OINC at Oberlin.

As a researcher, Bloland has been investigating the interaction between literature and instrumental music, examining strategies employed by composers in reaction to literary influences. His dissertation, which drew heavily on these studies, involved the composition of a cycle of pieces based on an invented novel. His work with the Electromagnetically-Prepared Piano is the area of research that has received the most exposure. In addition to giving numerous lecture/demonstrations, he has thus far composed two pieces for the device and written one paper (“The Electromagnetically-Prepared Piano and its Compositional Implications,” published in the Proceedings for the International Computer Music Conference 2007).




Condensed Biography | (Full Length Biography)
Download pdf | doc

Per Bloland is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music whose works have been described as having an “incandescent effect” with “dangerous and luscious textures.” His compositions range from short intimate solo pieces to works for large orchestra, and incorporate video, dance, and custom built electronics. He has received awards and recognition from national and international organizations, including SEAMUS/ASCAP, Digital Art Awards of Tokyo, ISCM, and SCI/ASCAP. Performers of his work include the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, the ICE Ensemble, Bent Frequency, Insomnio, the Callithumpian Consort, and Inauthentica, among others. His music can be heard on the TauKay (Italy), Capstone, Spektral, and SEAMUS labels, and through the MIT Press.

Bloland is also the co-creator of the Electromagnetically-Prepared Piano, about which he has given numerous lecture/demonstrations and published a paper. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and serves as the founding director of OINC, the Oberlin Improv and Newmusic Collective. He received his D.M.A. in composition from Stanford University and his M.M. from the University of Texas at Austin.