Curriculum Vitae

Mikael Laurson

Biographical data:

date  of birth:  22.01.1951, Helsinki

address:  Tehtaankatu 20 D 57, 00140 Helsinki 14

phone:  +358-503286931

e-mail:  laurson@siba.fi

homepage:  http://webusers.siba.fi/~laurson/

Academic background: 

Undergraduate  examination,  Helsingin Saksalainen koulu (Helsinki Deutsche  Schule), 1970.

Final examination, Sibelius Academy, 1977.

Guitar Diploma, Sibelius Academy, 1979.

Doctor of Music, Sibelius Academy, 1996.

Docent, Helsinki University of Technology, 2002, 2008.

Posts (Sibelius Academy):

part-time researcher  (Sibelius Academy)  01.01.1994 - 31.12.1994

research  assistant (Sibelius Academy)  01.08.1995 - 30.04.1996

researcher (Sibelius Academy)  01.05.1996 - 31.12.1997

researcher (Sibelius Academy)  01.01.1998 - 30.11.1998

researcher  (Academy of Finland) 01.12.1998 - 31.12.2002

researcher  (Sibelius Academy Innovation Centre)  01.01.2003 - 31.07.2004

Academy Research Fellow post (Academy of Finland) 01.08.2004 – 31.07.2009

Project leader of the research project called “ENP, Expressive Notation Package” (financed by the Academy of Finland)  01.01.2007 – 31.12.2010

Publications:

Over 90 international and national publications in journals and conferences. More detailed information can be found in a separate list of publications.

Computer programs and software:

PatchWork, 1993 (in collaboration with IRCAM).

PWConstraints, 1996.

MacSet, 1997 (in collaboration with Prof. Marcus Castrén).

Viuhka, 1998 (in collaboration with Prof. Paavo Heininen).

PWCollider, 1999.

PWSynth, 2001.

PWGL, 2002 (in collaboration with Mika Kuuskankare).

PWGLSynth, 2003 (in collaboration with Vesa Norilo).

PWGL, 2006 public release for Mac OSX and Windows XP 

Collaboration with composers:

PatchWork and its user libraries have been used by several internationally well-known composers (Dalbavie, Heininen, Lindberg, Murail, Saariaho, etc.).  For instance:

Magnus Lindberg: “Engine”, 1996, for chamber orchestra was realized using PWConstraints.

Paavo Heininen: “The Blue Exposure”, 2002, a 15-part piece for computer generated tape was realized using Viuhka and PWCollider.

Collaboration with researchers and institutions:

PatchWork project was designed and realized in close collaboration with IRCAM (Paris). 

Member of PRISMA group

Several projects (such as  “Sounding Score - Modeling of Musical Instruments, Virtual Musical Instruments and their Control” and “CLARA – Control Language for Audio Related Applications”) founded by the Academy of Finland have been realized in close collaboration with Helsinki University of Technology. This activity has resulted in several joint publications with TKK researchers and doctoral students (e.g. Professor Matti Karjalainen, Professor Vesa Välimäki, Doctor Cumhur Erkut, Doctor Henri Penttinen, Doctoral student Jukka Rauhala, Doctoral student Jyri Pakarinen, and Doctoral student Heidi-Maria Lehtonen). More detailed information can be found in a separate list of publications.

Acting as an examiner  to doctoral thesis:

- Hanna Järveläinen (TKK, 2002):

"Perception of attributes in real and synthetic string instrument sounds"

- Kai Lassfolk (University of Helsinki, 2004):

"An Object-Oriented Analysis of the Common Western Music Notation System"

- Mika Kuuskankare (Sibelius Academy,  2006):

"Expressive Notation Package"

Lectures:

Lectures  in IRCAM (Paris).

Lectures  in EMS (Stockholm).

Lectures at Sibelius Academy.

Lectures at the Pythagoras Graduate-School.

Lectures at PRISMA meetings.

Lecture at Suomen Musiikintutkijoiden 5. valtakunnallinen symposium (Oulu).

Lectures at IPEM in Ghent (2006).

Lectures at the ECMCT-course (2007) both in Helsinki (Sibelius Academy) and Paris (IRCAM)

Lectures at Helsinki University of Technology (2002-2008):

A lecture on physics-based music synthesis every spring on the Audio Signal Processing course.

Lectures at the Postgraduate Course in Audio Signal Processing (2002, 2004 and 2008).

Other activities:

Teacher of guitar playing in Tampere and Helsinki (1973-1986).

Teacher of programming and computer assisted composition at Sibelius Academy.

Interviews in the radio and television.