Research as an Act of Creativity: Composing with Sound, Space, & Technology

What if you could shatter a single sound into thousands of fragments and send them swirling around a room? What if sound could surround you so completely that you couldn’t tell where the music ends and physical space begins?

These are the kinds of questions that drive both scientific inquiry and artistic creation. In this talk, composer Stephen David Beck reveals how the research process—asking “what if” and pursuing answers through experimentation—can be at the heart of creating electroacoustic music. Through examples from his compositions, discover how curiosity about sound, space, and technology leads to unexpected and sometimes surprising results. Whether in the lab or in the studio, scientists and artists share a common approach: they ask questions, test possibilities, and explore the unknown. Join us for a journey into the creative process, where the boundaries between art and science blur and innovation emerges from simply asking “What if?”

About the Speaker

Stephen David Beck (b. 1959) teaches music composition and electroacoustic music at LSU, where he is the Derryl & Helen Haymon Professor of Music. He received his Ph.D. in music composition and theory from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied with Henri Lazarof, Elaine Barkin, Paul Reale, Alden Ashforth, and Roger Bourland. In 1985, he studied computer music at IRCAM with the support of an Annette Kade/Fulbright Fellowship and joined the faculty at LSU in 1988. Since 2003, he has held a joint faculty position at the Center for Computation & Technology, where he established the cultural computing group and led the development of the Ph.D. program in experimental music and digital media.

Beck has been active as a researcher and creative artist, with over 35 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, presentations, and talks, 56 compositions, and over $7 million in funded research activities. He has also served as the interim director of the Center for Computation & Technology, director of the School of Music, and most recently as associate vice president of research and economic development. He has since returned to his faculty role, spending time teaching and creating music in his labs at the Digital Media Center.

LSU Science Café is presented in partnership with Campus Federal Credit Union and WRKF.

Registration & Attendance Information

The event is open to the public, and advance registration through Eventbrite is recommended.

LSU Science Café is in-person only (i.e., no live feed) but will be recorded and posted on our YouTube channel.

Please print your registration ticket or have it readily available on your electronic device upon arrival.

Doors open at 5 PM. Event begins at 6 PM.