- Michael William Gilbert
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Michael William Gilbert Born August 17, 1954 Origin New York, New York, United States Genres Electronic music
World Music
Avant-garde rockOccupations Musician, Computer Research Analyst Instruments Synthesizer
Percussion
Flute
GuitarYears active 1978–present Labels Gibex Recordings
Palace of LightsWebsite Michael William Gilbert website
MySpace: Michael William GilbertMichael William Gilbert (born 1954) is an American music composer working in the genres of electronic music and world music.
Biography
Michael William Gilbert was raised in Connecticut and Brussels, where he first heard the music of Africa and East Asia, as well as the electronic music of Edgard Varèse and Pierre Henry. Once he returned to the U.S., Gilbert studied electrical engineering at MIT and electronic music at Boston School of Electronic Music, where he later worked as an instructor and director of custom synthesis systems. He went on to become a teacher and technical director of electronic music for several colleges, including Smith College, Hampshire College and the University of Massachusetts.
He is currently a computer research analyst at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, where he is engaged in investigating internet media technologies, streaming protocols, multimedia, and supporting the Office of Information Technologies' provision of Internet services.
Gilbert's first album, Moving Pictures, was released in 1978 by Gibex, the label that released his subsequent work through the '80s. His follow-up album, The Call (1981), included percussionist David Moss, among others. Gilbert has since collaborated with a variety of accomplished musicians including master percussionist Tony Vacca.
Two subsequent releases on compact disc, Light in the Clouds and Point of Views. A collaboration with percussionist Tony Vacca, acoustic bassist Salvatore Macchia, and synthesist Roy Finch, The Light in the Clouds brings together African, Jewish, Christian, and Shinto musical traditions. Point of Views is a recording realized with a MIDI-based studio, with collaboration by Tony Vacca.
His previous CD, Other Voices, includes both unreleased works with contributions by Tony Vacca and Roy Finch, and more recent compositions.
He has just finished recording a new CD, I Can See from Here, a mix of jazz, folk, electronic soundscape, world music, and electro-acoustic ambient. It features a collaboration piece with guest guitarist Peter Kaukonen, San Francisco Bay Area guitarist, who has played, toured, and recorded with Black Kangaroo, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Johnny Winter.
Gilbert's music has been played in concerts and festivals in North America and abroad and has been used by choreographers in conjunction with modern dance works. Among these choreographers are Susan Waltner, Valerie Feit, Jan Wodynski, and Paula Josa-Jones. Gilbert has also scored films by independent filmmakers, and worked on music for "The Nightingale Princess", a film by Chris Dreisbach, Owen Granich-Young, and Daniel Gilbert.
Discography
- Moving Pictures (Gibex 001), 1978
- The Call (Gibex 002), 1980
- In The Dreamtime (Palace of Lights 02/2000), 1982
- The Light in the Clouds (Gibex 003), 1986
- Point of Views (Gibex 004), 1988
- Other Voices (Gibex 005), 2000
- I Can See from Here (Gibex 006) 2010
Categories:- American composers
- Living people
- 1954 births
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