Theocharis Papatrechas

Originally from Greece, Theocharis Papatrechas is a composer, music technologist, and sound artist based in San Diego, CA.  

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Reviewed as presenting "an intimate narrative" and "a sound palette of noises... with beautiful instrumental intensity" (il giornale della musica, Stefano Bozolo), Theocharis's music arises from a search for reasons and sound images that resonate internally. His creative practice masters and utilizes technology to expand sonic possibilities and engage audiences into immersive acoustic experiences.

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His artistic portfolio consists of instrumental, electroacoustic, acousmatic, sound art, and sound installation works that involve acoustic components, pre-recorded media, and generative and interactive processes, employing Dante networking systems and ambisonics in multichannel venues. Renowned groups that have commissioned and premiered his works include the ensemble Intercontemporain, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Mivos Quartet, Vertixe Sonora, Ensemble Schallfeld, East Coast Contemporary Ensemble (ECCE), Divertimento Ensemble, Ensemble Multilatérale. Notable venues, at which works of his have been presented, include IRCAM, CCRMA at Stanford, SEAMUS at Berklee College, Anchorage Museum, SPLICE Institute, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (NYCEMF), Vienna Konzerthaus, SpazioMusica, University of Montreal, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

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In an endeavor to merge sciences and arts, Theocharis has held several appointments at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Postdoctoral Scholar, 2022-23), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Research Associate, 2021-22), and Center for New Music & Audio Technologies (CNMAT) at UC Berkeley (Visiting Composers and Researcher, 2021). His work expands research on acoustics, audio engineering, sound synthesis, and spatial audio, and advances unconventional, multi-modal data rendering techniques with particular focus on sonification of extreme environmental events.

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Theocharis holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition from University of California San Diego (UCSD) where he worked with Rand Steiger, Lei Liang, and Miller Puckette. Other leading institutions he studied at include the Eastman School of Music, IRCAM, and Sibelius Academy.

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His music has been released by ArsPublica. His scores are published by Babel Scores.

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Since 2015, Theocharis serves as the Artistic Director of the ilSUONO Contemporary Music Week. The program's core mission is to diversify the practice by bringing together emerging music creators of diverse socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, gender orientations, and aesthetics to learn, share, and collaborate. ilSUONO is delighted to have invited exceptional senior composers, among others, Chaya Czernowin, Rand Steiger, Franck Bedrossian, Edmund Campion, Pierluigi Billone, Clara Iannotta, and performers such as the ensembles Schallfeld and Lemniscate. For the last three editions (21', 22', and 23'), ilSUONO is proud to have received grants from the esteemed Ernst Von Siemens Music Foundation.