Mara Helmuth

Mara Helmuth was composes music and sonic spaces often involving the computer, focusing recently on environmental issues and wildlife. Her recordings include Irresistible Flux on Esther Lamneck’s Tarogato Constructions, from O on Open Space CD 33 Benjamin Boretz 9×9, Lifting the Mask on Sounding Out! (Everglade), Sound Collaborations, (CDCM v.36, Centaur CRC 2903), Implements of Actuation (Electronic Music Foundation EMF 023), and works included on Open Space CD 16 and the 50th Anniversary University of Illinois EMS collection. Scores are published in Open Space Magazine Issues 19-20 (from O), and Notations 21 (String Paths), edited by Theresa Sauer. Her music has been performed internationally at conferences, festivals, and arts spaces. Her research includes software for composition and improvisation, and has involved granular synthesis (StochGran), wireless sensor networks, user interfaces, performance over Internet2 (Soundmesh), Unity musical game environments, and contributions to the RTcmix music programming language.

She is Professor of Composition at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, and Director of the CCM Center for Computer Music. She previously taught at Texas A&M University and New York University. She holds a D.M.A. from Columbia University, and earlier degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She served on the board of directors for the International Computer Music Association as Vice President for Conferences, newsletter editor, and President, and on the SEAMUS board of directors and newsletter editor. She also plays tennis, and practices t’ai chi ch’uan.