The SEAMUS Projects & Programs Selection Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 SEAMUS Micro CREATE Grants:
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- Michael Boyd
- Tao Li
- Ralph Lewis
- Enrico Dorigatti & the Spatial Audio Gathering Team
- Rachel Yee
These grants provide funding to SEAMUS members—performers, ensembles, composers, creators, and arts organizations—to support electroacoustic programming, educational initiatives, community-focused projects, and events that advance innovation and social engagement within the electroacoustic community.
Congratulations to all recipients! Details about their projects may be found below, and we wish them great success in these impactful endeavors.
Grant Awardee: Michael Boyd
Project: Susan Bergman Gurrentz ’56 Art Gallery at Chatham University Sound+ Installations
Chatham University’s Music Program and Art, Design, & Communication Department will present multiple sound and multimedia installations from the SEAMUS membership in its new Susan Bergman Gurrentz ’56 Art Gallery during the Fall 2026 semester. A call for proposals will be forthcoming. The exhibition(s) will include opening and closing receptions to maximize visibility and community engagement.
Grant Awardee: Tao Li
Project: Women Amplify the Voice of Electroacoustic music festival, the inaugural WAVE festival
The Women Amplify the Voice of Electroacoustic (EA) music (WAVE) festival aims to hold an annual concert series, taking place for the first time at the University of Oregon in May (Asian heritage month) 2026. Through an international call for score, the festival aims to program 20-30 electroacoustic and multimedia works of diverse format and style by women. As a key underrepresented group in this genre, this festival provides a unique opportunity and a central stage to showcase the creativity and brilliance of women’s contributions. The festival’s concerts will be made free to the public, including students, faculty, and local community members who will benefit from this WAVE of works by women artists.
Grant Awardee: Ralph Lewis
Project: Laptop Ensemble Communities/Community Laptop Ensemble
This grant supports a current research and community engagement project entitled Laptop Ensemble Communities/Community Laptop Ensembles. It funds recurring community laptop ensemble workshops at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, a co-sponsor of this project. This free to the public series will be presented as part of the offerings of All Score Urbana, a community engagement composition workshop series Lewis founded in 2016.
Grant Awardee: Spatial Audio Gathering
Project: SAG – Spatial Audio Gathering
Launched in 2024, SAG was established as a central hub for scholars, artists, enthusiasts, and practitioners in the field of spatial audio. The conference aims to foster communication and exchange between a wide-ranging audience, featuring contributions from both renowned academics and early-career researchers. As spatial audio gains momentum, SAG seeks to create a thriving environment for the circulation of ideas encompassing technical perspectives, artistic applications, aesthetic studies, and philosophical research.
Grant Awardee: Rachel Yee
Project: Sonic Costumes for Immersive Theme Park Storytelling: Developing Interactive Wearables to Enhance Performer, Audience, and Environment Interaction
This project explores the design of sonically interactive theme park costumes that not only enhance visual storytelling but also respond to performer movements to generate or manipulate sound. By combining resonant materials, such as beads or shells, with e-textiles, the project aims to create a wearable instrument that contributes to the narrative and immersive experience during live shows. The research will explore how sonic interaction can transform the performer-audience relationship by allowing guests and the environment to actively contribute to the music, creating a dynamic, participatory layer of storytelling that goes beyond the typical theme park costumes.
