11-13 May 2016, The Art of Voice Synthesis

Synthetic speech is part of modern everyday life. Artificial voices do not only occur in multifaceted technological uses, but they also feed back into researching the natural human voice. Moreover, artists, musicians and composers find a source of inspiration in the artificial sound of such voices. Our conference inquires both the richness of the human voice and the limits and surplus of its theoretical modelling and mechanical and digital imitation. We are specifically interested in modelling and synthesizing so-called "extended vocal techniques" - all sounds the human voice can produce, exceeding conventional singing and speaking. The conference will cover the history of the artificial voice, extended vocal techniques, aspects of theoretical modelling and technical realization, and the role of the artificial voice in contemporary music. Academics, scientists and artists will come together to exchange ideas and insights in three days of presentations, meetings, workshops and a concert. With a group of international experts we will place the artificial voice in a broad perspective of historical, technical, socio-cultural, artistic and musical investigation.

For more information, see http://www.artificialvoice.nl/