Manifeste 2014, the Academy

First reading by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under the baton of Hyun-Jin YUN.



"about" [Zr0]: a fallacy of a thread's grey trace, for orchestra (2014)

Architect and musician, currently involved in ambient and improvised electronica music projects

composer / arranger / violinist / multi-instrumentalist

Stylianos Dimou is a distinguished Greek composer renowned for his expertise in acoustic, electroacoustic, and acousmatic music. In addition to his compositional work, he is an accomplished conductor, accordionist, and electronic music improviser. Dimou’s contributions to the field have earned him numerous awards and recognitions, supported by prestigious international organizations such as the Fulbright Program, the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative, Ernst Mach weltweit, Federal Ministry of Culture and Media of Austria, SWR Experimentalstudio, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and Cité Internationale des Arts.

Dimou's musical education began with advanced studies in Music Composition at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, where he completed his BMus and MMus under the guidance of Prof. Christos Samaras. He further developed his compositional skills at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, earning an MA in Composition while studying with notable composers Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Robert Morris, and David Liptak, and exploring advanced electronic music with Allan Schindler "(deceased)".

In 2017-18, Dimou participated in the prestigious Cursus program at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) in Paris, where he received professional training in Composition and advanced Electronic Music, under the mentorship of Mikhail Malt. He subsequently served as a Composer and Music Researcher at the OeAD organization, affiliated with the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria.

Dimou’s dedication to artistic excellence led to his selection as Composer in Residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris during the fall of 2019, an opportunity extended by The Embassy of Greece. He earned his Doctoral Degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University, where he conducted advanced artistic research and pursued graduate studies as a Dean’s Fellow. His doctoral studies were guided by Prof. George Lewis, Prof. Fred Lerdahl, Prof. Georg Friedrich Haas, and Prof. Brad Garton, specializing in Composition, Music Theory, and Computer Music.

Stylianos Dimou is a tenured Associate Professor of Composition at the Grieg Academy, University of Bergen, Norway, within the Faculty of Fine Art, Music, and Design. He specializes in both acoustic and electroacoustic music, with teaching interests that encompass Composition (acoustic, mixed electroacoustic, and acousmatic), Music Technology, Music Theory, and Analysis. Dimou teaches across undergraduate and graduate programs, fostering students' exploration of contemporary compositional practices.

Dimou's research explores the creative symbiosis between human performers and technological systems across various artistic mediums and performance practices. His work emphasizes sonic hybridity and spatial immersion, with a focus on the integration of interactive sound systems, digital signal processing, and multichannel audio. His research delves into the complex structural relationships between chromatic and microtonal aggregations in intricate sonic architectures, with a particular focus on the music of Georges Aperghis. By investigating the intersections of instrumental and electroacoustic elements, Dimou seeks to create cohesive artistic frameworks that expand the boundaries of contemporary music.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Bergen, Dimou served as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Peloponnese, Greece - Spring 2024 -, where he taught sound design, interactive sound systems, digital signal processing, and immersive audio. He also held the position of Research Assistant Professor in the Academy of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University - Spring 2021 to Fall 2024 -, where he taught Composition, Music Technology, and Electroacoustic music. His work at these institutions emphasized the integration of technology into music performance, with a particular focus on live interactivity and the creative possibilities offered by technological innovation in the compositional process.

Among Dimou’s most distinguished accolades are the Ulysses Network / IRCAM Award for Artistic Excellence (2018-2019), 1st Prize at the 2nd International Composition Competition "Amici della Musica di Cagliari," and 1st Prize at the International Prize for Composition "Luigi Nono" (3rd edition). He also won 2nd Prize in the 24th Annual Martirano Award, 1st Prize with the Audience’s Prize at the Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik (2012), and the Prize for orchestral music at the 5th [‘tactus] Young Composers Forum (2013). Dimou was a finalist for the Roche Young Commissions at the Lucerne Festival Academy (2013), judged by Pierre Boulez. His academic achievements include the Charles S. Miller Prize (2029) from Columbia University and the Wayne Brewster Barlow Prize from the Eastman School of Music.

https://stylianosdimou.com/biography

sculptures sonores
Le fil du temps se remplit à l'infini d'instants... Mon souhait serait d'habiller ces tout petits moments comme on costume un petit théâtre : les vêtir d'un rien, d'un silence, d'une chaise vide, d'un coussin tendre, d'un son soyeux, d'un plein et d'un délié, du son d'un mouvement du corps en action, d'un geste de la voix, de l'harmonie qui se compose entre tout ça, d'une construction de l'espace objet et de l'espace sonore, d'une composition qui se déploie à la minute qui passe... mon souhait serait d'habiter un moment du présent qui se donne. 

Pour d'écrire mon travail créatif : il se construit sur deux axes de réflexion : le premier prend toujours en considération la relation à autrui, tandis que le second souligne et dénote les gestes qui opèrent alors en corrélation. L'autre être qui peut nous écouter, nous voir, nous sentir, nous parler, nous recevoir, nous montrer, nous donner... et à chaque fois je note, dénote, transcris les gestes, les actions... et finalement les histoires qui se construisent entre nous... pour ce faire mon travail s'appuie sur une production plastique, musicale, écrite, où la performance de l'instant présent livre aux souvenirs des traces aussi précieuses que les objets qui sont échangés. D'une simple conversation du regard, au partage d'une bulle de savon, d'un poème de la vie courante écrit sur les lignes de la main (ou le contraire d'un poème de la main écrit sur les lignes de la vie courante) à une parole en l'air, d'un prospectus à une mise en question taggée, d'un rêve illustré à une réalité décrite, je suis tour à tour Marchand d'idées, Marchand de sables, directeur du musée de la mémoire et de l'oubli, chercheur au centre de découverte des gestes inutiles et des actes sans conséquences, fonctionnaire au centre administratif de la vie par voix thérapeutique, démonstrateur au centre de soin esthétique, acteur avec la compagnie du temps, donneur de voix, prêteur de geste, poète des présents que l'on fait.



https://www.facebook.com/dof.service
https://soundcloud.com/mafucage
https://www.mixcloud.com/palmer-eldritch

"about" [Zr0]: a fallacy of a thread's grey trace, for orchestra (2014)

Stylianós Dimou