If there are CIRMMT members from Montreal who need transport to/from Sherbrooke, please contact cirmmt.info[AT]mcgill[DOT]ca to discuss options.
Registration
To register for this free event, please fill out this MS Form.
Registration deadline: Friday 28 February 2025
AGORA: Artisans–Guitare–Ondes–Recherche–Acoustique
This symposium aims to bring together different professions around a central theme, the guitar. Internationally renowned luthiers from Quebec, professional musicians (mainly from the École de Musique - UdS), and specialists in acoustics and structural radiation will meet for a first day devoted to scientific and technical exchanges. The second day will be open to the general public and will create momentum for scientific communication and outreach (laboratory visits for families, presentation of results discussed on the first day). Multidisciplinarity is at the heart of this symposium, where mechanical engineering and music school students interact with luthiers and violin-making schools. We hope to encourage interaction between CEGEPs and universities and interdisciplinary work.
Invited speaker
Carolina Espinoza, Assistant Professor at Universidad de Chile.
Her research interests revolve around the study of the relationship between materiality and sound from its physical-mathematical and perceptual foundations to its artistic scope. She interacts with researchers and artists with whom she can develop inter and transdisciplinary explorations in art/science frontiers, in a continuous search for conceptual, technical and methodological crossings. She is especially interested into the spectral manipulation of the sound of musical instruments using metamaterials, which will be mostly the subject of her talk.
March 14, day 1: Preliminary program
10:00–10:30am: General introduction to the day
10:30–11:00am: Three luthiers' points of view – Which are the missing tools for acoustic or mechanical characterization of a guitar, and at what stage of its construction?
11:00am–12:00pm: Five student/researcher presentations – Which tools/methods are emerging from acoustics/vibration research that could apply to guitar crafting?
12:00-1:00pm: Lunch (buffet with vegetarian/vegan options) - discussions
1:00–1:45pm: Plenary lecture - Geometric and material modifications to guitars involving wood metamaterials: towards the timbral design of musical instruments (Carolina Espinoza, Universidad de Chile)
1:45–3:30pm: Semi-professional or professional musicians will demonstrate different guitar models, with parallel binaural and ambisonic recording (at the School of Music or Faculty of Engineering, in parallel with a tour of the premises).
3:30–4:30pm: Playback of recordings via bone conduction headphones, traditional headphones, and in an ambisonics room - discussions
4:30–5:00pm: Afternoon snack (vegetarian/vegan options)
5:00–6:00pm: Round-table discussion between all participants. Assessment of the day and outlook for AGORA 2026.
March 15, day 2: Preliminary program
On Saturday, the general public will be invited to listen to the recordings made on Friday March 14, meet luthiers and their guitars, listen to mini-concerts given by semi-professional or professional musicians given the premises of the School of Music and the Faculty of Engineering.