University of Minnesota School of Music                     Noel Zahler, Director                            Announces       the 2005 Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art,                     Douglas Geers, Director         West Bank Arts Quarter, University of Minnesota                      Twin Cities Campus                     February 17-20, 2005 CALL FOR COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, and PRESENTERS Submission Deadline: November 22, 2004 (postmark) The University of Minnesota School of Music is proud to present the 2005 Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art, February 17-20. The festival will be held at the West Bank Arts Quarter on the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. Now in its third year, the Spark Festival showcases the newest groundbreaking works of digital music and art. Last year¹s festival included innovative works by over sixty international composers and artists. Leading scholars and technology specialists also presented papers relating to new technology and creativity. Spark invites submissions of new works incorporating new media, including electroacoustic concert music, experimental electronica, theatrical and dance works, installations, kinetic sculpture, artbots, video, and other non-traditional genres. Spark also invites submission of scholarly papers on technical and aesthetic subjects related to the creation of new media art and music. Topics of particular interest include: multi-media software and hardware development, interactive software and hardware, the use of artificial intelligence in music and the arts, spacialization, score following, machine listening, compositional applications of timbre/time, compositional tools and psychoacoustics. All accepted papers will be published as part of the Spark proceedings. MUSIC SUBMISSIONS Music submissions will be accepted in four categories: 1. Concert works: Electroacoustic works with and without performers.  Performance venues will accommodate 2-8 channel works and works with video.  Although there is no strict limit of duration, pieces of twelve minutes or less are encouraged. 2. "Club" works: Experimental electronic performances in a "club-style" venue.  Selected performers will be given sets of 15-30 minutes.  Performance venue will accommodate stereo sound and video. 3. Installations: [See "Visual Art Works" below] 4. DJ battle: A select number of DJs will be selected to compete in a one-evening event in which two winners will be selected: (1) most virtuosic and (2) most unique.  Note that prizes will be symbolic (not pecuniary!) in nature.  VISUAL ART WORKS Visual submissions will be accepted in three categories: 1. Installations and gallery works: A number of installation and gallery exhibitions will be mounted in various spaces on the UMN campus.  Please include technical and space requirements with submission. 2. Video: Video works will be screened at multiple Spark events. Videos featuring digital music compositions (two-channel) are welcome, but this is not required. Although there is no strict limit of duration, pieces of twelve minutes or less are encouraged. 3. Theater/Dance:  Theatrical and dance works incorporating new technologies are welcome at Spark 2005. Please include performance venue and technical requirements with submission. PAPERS Paper and lecture/demonstration submissions that deal with topics relating to new technology and creativity are encouraged, including intermedia composition, performance, human-computer interaction, software/hardware development, aesthetics, and history. Paper and lecture/demonstration submissions will be accepted in two categories:    1.      Standard length: Twenty-minute presentation, allowing for five minutes of Q/A.    2.      Short length: A feature unique to the Spark festival is Symposium Fast Forward, a presentation of five-minute presentations followed by five minutes of Q/A.  The idea of Symposium Fast Forward is to create an academic presentation equivalent to speed chess, in which ideas are presented quickly and succinctly, with time following for discussion. Both students and professionals are encouraged to submit presentations of this type. Standard submissions should consist of a two-page abstract with bibliography.  Camera-ready papers will be due on January 3, 2005.  Short length submissions should submit a one-paragraph abstract. Individuals may submit a maximum of one paper and one lecture/demonstration, and accepted papers and lectures/demonstrations will be submitted online. and More information about the submission process will be available soon on the Spark 2005 website when the online submission procedure has been activated. All accepted papers will be published as part of the Spark proceedings. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Applicants are invited to submit one work per category in up to two categories for consideration for presentation. Student works are encouraged. Please download a submission form from www.spark.cla.umn.edu and follow the instructions for submitting works. Limited performing resources will be drawn from the University of Minnesota, but applicants are encouraged to provide their own performers if possible. More information about available performers will be posted on the www.spark.cla.umn.edu in the near future. Composers and artists whose works are selected for inclusion are encouraged to attend the festival. TECHNICAL DETAILS Selected works will be announced by December 10, and travel and accommodations information will be posted on www.spark.cla.umn.edu by the same date. Submission deadline is November 22 (postmark).  For more information, and to obtain submission forms, please visit the Spark 2005 website at http://spark.cla.umn.edu. Questions can be directed to the conference hosts at sparkfst@umn.edu. 2005 SPARK FESTIVAL SUBMISSIONM FORMS available at: http://spark.cla.umn.edu -- Noel Zahler, DMA Director Professor School of Music University of Minnesota 200 Ferguson Hall 2106 Fourth Street South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 Telephone: (612) 624-7060 email: nbz@umn.edu