School of Creative Arts

Achievements and Distinctions

Pedro is a composer/digital artist working in electroacoustic music, digital media and installation. His approach to music making is informed by the use of improvisation and interdisciplinary structures. He has been involved in several collaborative projects with visual artists and has created a large body of work exploring the relationships between architecture and music in creating interactive performance and installation environments. This includes a series of commissioned pieces for soloists and live-electronics which take as a basis the interpretation of specific acoustic spaces.

In the duo laut with saxophonist Franziska Schroeder he investigates the extension of interfaces and control in interactive performance practices. His electroacoustic music is featured in various CD sets (Sonic Circuits IV, Discontact III, Exploratory Music from Portugal, ARiADA). His work as an improvisor has been released by Creative Source Recordings. Pedro conducts research in the field of digital media, interactive sound and composition.

His writings reflect his approach to design and composition by articulating creative practice in a wider understanding of cultural theory. Pedro was Visiting Professor at Stanford University (2007) and was the Music Chair for the 2008 International Computer Music Conference. He has been Director of Research at the Sonic Arts Research Centre and is now Director of Education at the School of Music and Sonic Arts, Queen’s University Belfast.

Guest Professor - Universidade Católica, Porto (2010)
Guest Professor - ESMAE Portugal (2009)
Guest Editor - Contemporary Music Review (2008)
Visiting Professor at Stanford University (2007)
Sound and Music Computing Confrence 2009 - Music Chair
International Computer Music Conference 2008 - Music Chair
Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music - Artistic Director
AHRC Peer Review College (2007-)
Cynet-Art, Dresden Prize (2003)


Research Interests

Sonic arts, composition, improvisation, installation, sound and architecture, new media, music and cultural theory, notation, network performance.

Current Work

European Network Performance project - (Co-me-di-a)
Commission from Miso Music Portugal
Distributed Notation

Selected Publications

• Rebelo, Pedro (2010) “Notating the Unpredictable” Contemporary Music Review 29, no. 1 (2010): 17 – 27
• Rebelo, Pedro (2009) “Dramaturgy in the Network,” Contemporary Music Review 28, no. 4 (2009): 387.
• Schroder, Franziska. Rebelo, Pedro (2009) “Sounding the Network: The Body as Disturbant” Leonardo Electronic Almanac
• Rebelo, P. Green, M. Hollerweger, F. (2008) A Typology for Listening in Place. Mobile Music Workshop
• Schroeder, F. Renaud, A. Rebelo, P. Gualdas, F. (2007) Addressing the Network: Performative Strategies for Playing Apart. International Computer Music Conference pp. 133 - 140
• Schroeder, F. Rebelo, P. (2007) Wearable Music in Engaging Technologies AI & Society Volume 22 , Issue 1 (July 2007)
  Pages: 85 - 91
• Bennett, P. Ward, N. O'Modhrain, S. Rebelo, P. (2007) "DAMPER: a platform for effortful interface development" NIME '07: Proceedings of the 7th international conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, ACM, New York, June 2007, pp. 273-276
• Rebelo, P. Schroeder, F. (2006) Performing the Order: The Messiness of Play. Performance Research Journal 2006
• Rebelo, P. (2006) Haptic Sensation and Instrumental Transgression. Contemporary Music Review Vol. 25, No. 1/2, February/April 2006, pp. 27 – 35. Routledge
• Renaud, A. Rebelo, P. (2006) Network Performance: Strategies and Applications. NIME 2006
• Rebelo, P. Renaud, A. (2006) The Frequencyliator – Distributing Structures for Networked Laptop Improvisation. NIME 2006
• Davis, T. Rebelo, P. Natural Selection: A Stethoscopic Amphibious Installation. Proceedings of Generative Arts Conferenece, Milan. 2005.
• Rebelo, P. Music Prosthesis (2005) Leonardo Electronic Almanac. http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/LEA/ Multimedia Performances Annette Barbier and Marla Schweppe. eds.
• Van Walstijn, M. Rebelo, P. (2005) The Prosthetic Conga: Towards an Actively Controlled Hybrid Musical Instrument. International Computer Music Conference Proceedings

Practice-led Research 

• Cipher Series (2010) Graphic Scores
•  Miso25 (2010) Stereo Tape
  Commissioned by MisoMusic Portugal for their 25th Anniversary
• Illusion of Control (2009)
  Uilleann Pipes, saxophones and 3D visuals
  Pedro Rebelo (composition), Brian Cullen (visuals), Franziska Schroeder (saxophones) and Ivan Goff (Uilleann Pipes).
• Exposure 4. (2009-10)
  Saxophone Quartet and Live Electronics
  Commissioned by the Quasar Saxophone Quartet, Montreal
• may there be… (2008)
  Pedro Rebelo (Piano), Franziska Schroeder (Soprano Saxophone), Guilherme Rodrigues (Cello) and Ernesto Rodrigues (Viola)
• Netrooms: The Long Feedback (2008-)
  Participative Network Piece
• 2 Plates (2008) Networked Sound Installation
• With Michael Alcorn
  2 Places (17th January 2008 - 1st March 2008), Ormeau Baths Gallery/University of Limerick
• Disparate Bodies (2007) Network Performance
• Strings Apart (2007) Network Music Performance for two pianos (Pedro Rebelo and Mark Applebaum)
• Shadow Quartet (2007) for string quartet and four prosthetic violins
  Commmissioned by Miso Music Portugal for The Smith Quartet
• FAINT (2007) Double CD of Improvised and Electroacoustic Music
  with Franziska Schroeder (Saxes) and Steven Davis (Drums)
• Improvised Piano Duo (Pedro Rebelo and Chris Brown)
  First Performance: 19.01.07 Maybeck House, Berkeley CA
• Fragmentos (2007) Soprano Sax and Electronics
  Commissioned by Pablo Coello
  First Performance: 14.02.07 Santiago de Compostela
• An Instrument of Dissection (2006) Stereo
  First Performance: 1.04.06 Itinéraire de Nuit, Espace Adenauer Maison Internationale, Paris - Project Circuits
  Other Performances: 30.04.06 Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music
  14.04.07 Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival
  18.08.07 Futura Festival France
• Project Belfast (2005) Audio-Visual
  Commissioned by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society
  First Performance: 24-26.10.05 Belfast Festival at Queen's

A more extensive list can be found here.

Research Grants

Distributed Notation
Sound and Locative Media
Network Performance/Network Dramaturgy

Research Students

Music & Sonic Arts

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