The scientific engineering of feedback between humans and technology, composers and machines, has pushed the field of electroacoustic music since its origins in European radio studios. A pair of lectures by Theodore Gordon and Kari Watson reminds us how these relationships continue to shape the contemporary experimental music landscape. Together, the lectures connect a selection of works performed during the Darmstadt at 80 Festival, including Stockhausen’s Kontakte (1958–60), Herbert Brün’s Mutatis Mutandis (1968), Angharad Davies’ Empty Spaces II (2023), the New York premiere of Anthony Braxton’s Thunder Music (2023), and Watson’s own work, Fuse (2026). The event will also feature a performance by electric guitarist Yaron Deutsch and be moderated by part-time faculty member, Nick Hallett.

Theodore Gordon: Cybernetic Transparency, Cybernetic Opacity
Kari Watson: In Search of Seams. Cyborg Emergence in My Recent Work

Organized by Nick Hallett and Zach Layton, curators of NYC’s Darmstadt: Classics of the Avant-Garde, together with Thomas Schäfer, director of the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, and George Lewis, Artistic Director of the International Contemporary Ensemble, the festival bridges generations of experimental sound. Envisioned in partnership with a consortium including Roulette Intermedium, The New School, Fridman Gallery, International Contemporary Ensemble, Ramapo College, and the Goethe-Institut.

Presented by the Contemporary Music Program within the Arts Department at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School.