Profile

Biography

Ambrose Field is a composer motivated by innovation and a human approach to digital technologies. Field's recent large-scale piece 'Being Dufay' is a new setting of fragments of medieval song (John Potter, tenor) within lush, contemporary electronic soundscapes. Being Dufay is published by ECM Records (ECM 2071). Being Dufay is currently touring as a live performance (which premiered at Vienna Konzerthaus in January 2009). Field's music is broadcast regularly by the BBC and other international radio stations. In 2006, his critically acclaimed studio album 'Storm!' for Sargasso, London, was awarded an honorary mention at the Prix Ars Electronica, Linz (Europe's largest digital culture forum). Field has also received two further honorary awards from the Prix Ars Electronica in 1997 and 1998 for digital music composition.

Ambrose is particularly interested in the impact of interactive digital technology on musical performance. His piece World Facts (premiered live at the ICA, London, June 2007) employs live data feeds from the internet to influence the real-time composition of a multi-channel, immersive audio piece. Various works from Field's back catalogue also appear on CD from Memnosyne Media (France), Centaur Records (USA), and on compilation disks from the ARS Electronica (ORF/Sony DADC: 1997,1998,2006).

Ambrose's research interests are in Composition, Postmodernism, Crossing Genre and Style Boundaries in Music, and the production of next-generation immersive media. In 2006, Ambrose was invited to work at Recombinant Media Labs, San Francisco (Asphodel), and has previously been resident artist at HFG Karlesruhe, and Hungarian National Radio.

Field has instigated a number of high-profile projects which directly involve partners from Industry. In 2006, he developed the Worldscape Laptop Orchestra, an ensemble of 50 wireless musicians investigating the large-scale application of digital technologies to creativity. The Worldscape project received international acclaim from BBC Radios 3, 4, 5, ABC news, Berlin Style, The Guardian, Der Spiegel and the premier performance was generously supported by Apple Computer, Inc. From 2002-2004 Field's production experience was sought by a well-known manufacturer, for a series of professional audio mastering products.

Dr Field has been actively involved in the review, validation and external examining processes at five other UK higher education institutions. He has lead courses and given guest lectures internationally from China to the USA, including several conference keynote addresses and professional residencies. Field has contributed to a number of books on digital creativity, and was a Director of the UK Sonic Arts Network in the late 1990s.

Departmental roles

• Studio Director

Research

Overview

• Electroacoustic composition and computer music
• Music technology
• Postmodernism
• Music Education

Grants

• Prix Ars Electronica, 2006: Storm!, studio album, Honoury Mention, Digital Music
• Prix Ars Electronica, 1997: Empty Spaces, surround audio work, Honoury Mention, Digital Musics
• Prix Ars Electronica, 1996: Pyrotechnic, surround audio work, Honoury Mention, Digital Musics

Residencies

• Hungarian National Radio 2000 Funded by UNESCO/GMEB
• Mksound 2006 HFG Karlesruhe, Germany
• Listening to Land: Field Recording Course, 2008, Leader Funded by the AHRC, hosted by Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts
• Asphodel Studios / Recombinant Media Labs, San Francisco, USA Feb 2007, with invited lecture: University of California, San Diego

Publications

Compositions

• World Facts (2007) first performance: the ICA, London, June 2006 Multichannel high definition audio performance, in ICAD: ‘The World By Ear’
• Storm! (2002-2006) First performances: Los Angeles Convention Centre, California, June 2002 Studio Album : Sargasso Records, London: SCD28054 BBC Radio 3, Oct 2006
• Expanse Hotel (2000 rev.2003) first performance: Chicago Hilton, Illinois BBC Radio 3, Sept 2003 Recorded on CD: Centaur Records, USA, CDCM32 An alternative version of the work is released on: Memnosyne Media, France: LDC 278072/073
• One hell of a place to lose a cow (2006), Elektra Music Festival, Montreal BBC Radio 3, Sept 2003 Recorded on CD: Cultures Electroniques 17, Memnosyne Media, France: LDC
• NR (2005) For live electronics. BBC Radio 3, July 2005
• Hurrican Ridge (2003) First Performance: Sound Travels: Toronto Island, Canada Recorded on DVD by Sound Travels in 5.1 surround

Recordings

Short and edited works available on:

• Hurricane Ridge: ARS Electronica/ORF/ SONY DADC, Cyber Arts 2007
• Refried Beans: Sonic Postcards Sonic Arts Network, London
• 60 Project, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, 2008, Emprintes Digitales, curated and mixed by Matthew Adkins.

Collaborative performance and experimental works

• 1906: For fifty live, laptop performers and surround video. Worldsape, Department of Music University of York, UK, 2007
• Northern Loop:: Northern Loop: live over the internet between Club Huset, Copenhagen / London. ICMC 2007. With composer Paul Fretwell, London.

Installations

• Aquaduct 0: interactive, video tracking installation with surround audio. 3 day, evolving composition. Commissioned by SightSonic Festival, York, UK
• Frontier-X: interactive, based on data from video survelience. Commissioned by SightSonic Festival, York, UK

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Future Lab: Experimental new media
• Postmodernism; Music and culture
• Electronica, and the early Warp years
• Live electronics and installation
• Composition, digital
• The repertoire of timbre (I, II)
• Sonic Environment
• Practical Project: Worldscape (2008)
• Practical Project: Cagefest (1996)