Discoveries, discussions, and exchanges

ManiFeste, the IRCAM multidisciplinary festival and academy, is a gathering of creative artists in Paris, combining music with other disciplines. This year, the IRCAM team welcomed 106 participants, returning to the success of the years before crisis, organizing a joyful and multifaceted edition, where young composers, singers, instrumentalists, sound engineers met, discussed, worked together and networked!

The academy's team concocted a program that gave again a special attention to the composers whose pieces were performed in the ManiFeste festival, such as Aida Shirazi, Ariadna Alsina Tarrés, Sofia Avramidou, Roque Rivas, with interventions from the Ensemble Intercontemporain musicians, and guest composers Isabel Mundry and Edith Canat de Chizy, involved in the ELAN award competition for orchestra, and Francesco Filidei who led the composition workshop for chamber music. Not mentioning, IRCAM researchers lectures and a presentation of IRCAM's Cursus by young composers Anna Arkushyna and Henri Colombat who are currently attending the Cursus.

This year, the ULYSSES network endorsed 3 young participants of our academy as well as the ULYSSES ensemble:

# ULYSSES Journeys

Supporting careers of young talents on their journey to becoming mature professionals. By offering concrete working experiences – workshops and residencies with relevant tutors and always in cooperation with other young or confirmed artists – in different production contexts, among which the young artists can define their own journey. By putting them on the path leading to professional commissions with European-wide tour dates.

This year, in the academy ManiFeste, we had the pleasure to welcome 2 composers and 1 vocalist endorsed by the ULYSSES network, who were involved in 2 different workshops.

Voice and Electronics Improvisation Workshop

This workshop was intended for singers of all backgrounds—lyric artists and vocal performers—eager to learn both contemporary vocal languages and computer music. Participants improvised together in voice/electronic duos and in groups, alternating between the role of an improv singer and an electronic performer. Through guided improvisation games, participants progressively tested and interacted with electronics and discover the latest improvisation software developed at IRCAM: OMAX, SOMAX2 and DYCI2.

On Saturday, June 24, 2023, as part of the festival ManiFeste-2023, Paolo Leonardi performed both voice and electronics in different scenarios during the concert given in the incredible venue of IRCAM, the Espace de projection. What an amazing evening!

Paolo Leonardi (forground) during dress rehearsal in Ircam, Espace de projection, Paris, June 24, 2023

Chamber Music Composition Workshop

Led by Francesco Filidei, the Ensemble Intercontemporain offered a composition workshop without a conductor. The participants were free to choose one of the eight ensembles offered. This workshop paid particular attention to the construction of a form in time and to the solicitation of memory.

Rick van Veldhuizen danse raide for violin, viola, cello, piano & and Carolina Cerezo Dávila Trío no1: Superficie vibrante for piano, violin, cello were premiered in Espace de Projection at IRCAM on Saturday, July 1, 2023. Congrats!

Carolina Cerezo Davila and Rick van Veldhuizen in IRCAM

Ensemble intercontemporain performing Rick van Veldhuizen danse raide, Ircam, Espace de projection, Paris, July 1, 2023
© Quentin Chevrier

Ensemble intercontemporain after Carolina Cerezo Dávila Trío no1: Superficie vibrante performance, Ircam, Espace de projection, Paris, July 1, 2023
© Quentin Chevrier

# ULYSSES Ensemble

Through the ULYSSES Ensemble, the ULYSSES network took a major step forward in 2017, directing its efforts towards young performers - while remaining focused on the music of today. A new ensemble of young musicians living in Europe is formed each year and travels through several academies and festivals affiliated with the ULYSSES network. In 2023, the ULYSSES Ensemble travels from June to July from Divertimento to the ManiFeste-2023 academy and the Royaumont Foundation.

This year, the ULYSSES Ensemble was made up of 8 musicians: Teresa Costa, flute (Portugal), Riccardo Acciarino, clarinet (Italy), Yannael Ortega, trumpet (France), Juliette Dournaud, piano (France), Nikki Huang, percussion (Taiwan), Solanch Sosa, violin (Cuba), Nora Vetter, viola (Switzerland), David Moran, cello (Australia).

The young musicians from the ULYSSES and Next ensembles, along with the Ensemble intercontemporain, conducted by Lin Liao, Centre Pompidou, Paris, July 1, 2023
© Quentin Chevrier

In ManiFeste, Taiwanese, Germany-based, conductor Lin Liao led a master class for the ULYSSES Ensemble with the complicity of soloists from the Ensemble intercontemporain who advised the young musicians and performed three works with them, including two with electectronics elaborated in collaboration with IRCAM computer music designers, Géranomachie by Greek composer Sofia Avramidou and Assemblage by Chilian composer Roque Rivas. ULYSSES ensemble musicians also reran Mikel Urquiza’s piece for small ensemble, they will have premiered during the first stop.

Yannaël Ortega, Jasmine Daquin (from ensemble Next), Jean-Philippe Wurtz, Nora Vetter, Juliette Dournaud, Nikki Huang, Teresa Costa, Riccardo Acciarino, David Moran, Solanch Sosa

After ManiFeste stop, we attended final concert of the ULYSSES ensemble on Sunday, July 9 in Royaumont under the baton of Jean-Philippe Wurtz. Nice job!

Do not miss our next application calls for ManiFeste-2024, the academy
ÉLAN award 2024 International Composition Competition for Orchestra call is already open
https://ulysses-network.eu/competitions/elan-award-2024/
Other composition workshop calls will around from September 26, 2023
ULYSSES ensemble 2024 application call should open in October/November 2023