Time: 1:00 - 2:00pm Speaker: Dr. Maria Mannone
We are pleased to be hosting a visit and seminar by Dr. Maria Mannone, a recent PhD graduate of the University of Minnesota, at 1pm on Thursday, 4 October 2018. Learn more about Maria's work at the intersection of music and mathematics.Speaker: Dr. Maria MannoneAbstract: mathematics could at first seem to be completely detached from the ‘concreteness’ of earth and trees. However, the dialogue between organization and chaos in natural shapes can violently irrupt in the world of perfect shapes and maths, revealing intimate connections. Using the formalism of mathematical category theory, we investigate some shapes, from water lilies to prehistorical ammonites, and we present possible ways to mapping these forms into sound.Theoretical description and artistic applications are joined in the composition of a fugue for orchestra, where the subject of the fugue represents the growth of the larger ficus macrophylla columnaris in the Botanical Garden of Palermo, while the countersubject represents the growth of a contiguous chamaerops humilis (nane palm), that, to escape the ficus and find light, shows an anomalous serpentine form shape. Bio: Maria Mannone is an Italian researcher. She earned Masters in Theoretical Physics, Orchestral Conducting, Composition, and Piano in Italy, and the Master 2 ATIAM at IRCAM-UPMC Paris VI Sorbonne. She achieved the Ph.D. in Composition in the USA, at the University of Minnesota, where she developed an interdisciplinary research collaborating with the Fine Institute of Theoretical Physics. She is the ideator of the CubeHarmonic, a musical instrument derived from Rubik’s cube, and now a working prototype developed in collaboration with the Tohoku University (Japan). An author and co-author of books and articles, she has given invited lectures and talks in the USA, Asia, and Europe.