VCUarts Qatar to Launch Innovative Sound Design Course Next Semester

VCUarts Qatar will be launching an innovative new course – “Fabrication of Sound” – in January 2021, for the Spring semester.

The course, which is open for cross-registration for students from other Education City universities, will explore the acoustic qualities of various materials, allowing learners to experiment and design their own creative audio-based works using materials both within and outside of a studio setting.

“Fabrication of Sound” will be led by VCUarts Qatar faculty members Simone Muscolino, Director, Art Foundation, and Ryan Browning, Associate Professor, Art Foundation, along with VCUarts Qatar’s new Innovative Media Studio (IMS) director, Joshua Rodenberg. 

In addition to the aforementioned VCUarts Qatar faculty, students attending this class will benefit from the experience of visiting Paris-based artist Tarek Atoui. Atoui, a world-renowned composer and sound designer, will be interacting with the class on several occasions during the semester, and will visit Doha towards the end of March, 2021, to run a week-long workshop where he will compose the students’ work into a performative sound installation.

Explaining the details of the new course, Muscolino said that the elective was designed for students with varying degrees of experience in sound design, irrespective of their university specializations.

“While there will be considerable support from faculty for students who lack prior knowledge or experience in sound design, the course also caters to students who already possess a basic understanding, and who want to explore the technological side of the curriculum more deeply,” he said.

And, Browning added, “The course is interdisciplinary and will offer instruction in several areas such as sound, design, material, electronics and so on. We will be using technology-based hardware including motors and sensors that allow some interactivity with the object.

“The program will be especially useful for students who want to learn how to build things with their hands, those interested in 3D design and sculpture, and those keen to explore interactive technology that has applications in emerging media trends.”

From a technical perspective, sound design is the process of creating audio tracks for a variety of platforms such as, but not limited to, film, television and radio production, video games, theatre, and live performances. Sound designers regularly edit or ‘mix’ previously composed or recorded audio, as well as create sounds from scratch, using audio production tools such as specialized software and synthesizers.

For further information on the course, please contact [email protected]