Composer Robert Normandeau will give a concert at City University in London (UK) on February 14, 2006 featuring his works Chorus, Palimpseste, StrinGDberg as well as Montréalers Martin Bédard’s Check-point and Nicolas Bernier’s … sans quoi les imperméables jaunes existeront…. The following week, he will give a concert at De Monfort University (Leicester, UK) with a similar programme, is addition to the compositions of local composers.

Robert Normandeau’s music for theatre won the prize for best sound design at the 12th “Soirée des masques” (the annual awards of the Association québécoise du théâtre) on December 18, 2005. The jury selected Normandeau’s music composed for the play La cloche de verre (The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath), directed by Brigitte Haentjens.

Many electrocd.com artists are nominated for the 9th Opus Prizes, awarded since 1996 by the Conseil québécois de la musique. The concert Pulsar *1, unveiling the musics from Puzzles by Robert Normandeau, is nominated for “Concert of the Year – Musique actuelle, Electroacoustics,” as well as the Theresa Transistor quartet (Christian Bouchard, Christian Calon, Mario Gauthier, Monique Jean), presented during the Akousma concert series. Estrapade by morceaux_de_machines, Trilogie d’ondes by Gilles Gobeil, and Puzzles by Robert Normandeau are nominated for “Disc of the Year — Musique actuelle, Electroacoustics.” Finally, Frank Zappa: 10 ans après (Frank Zappa: Ten Years After) directed by Réjean Beaucage, is nominated for “Book of the Year.” Winners will be announced on January 22, 2006.

At the 6th International Electroacoustic Music Contest of São Paulo (CIMESP 2005, Brazil), David Berezan won the First Prize for Styal and Francis Dhomont won an Honorable Mention for Vol d’Arondes. Mathew Adkins and Robert Normandeau also saw their work selected for the finals. Serendipities and Synchronicities by Pete Stollery and Rojo by Hans Tutschku were selected for concert presentation at the 6th BIMESP (International Biennial for Electroacoustic Music of São Paulo) in 2006.

Robert Normandeau is twice nominated at the 12th “Soirée des masques” (the annual prizes given by the Association québécoise du théâtre) to be broadcasted on December 18, 2005 on ARTV and Radio-Canada Télévision. The jury selected the music composed for the plays La cloche de verre (The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath) and Médée-matériau (Medea Material, Heiner Müller). The composer was nominated in 2003 for Antigone (Sophocles), and won with Malina (Ingeborg Bachmann) in 2002. All of these plays were directed by Brigitte Haentjens.

Starting mid-September, composer Robert Normandeau will stay in Bourges (France) to write a new work comissionned by the IMEB. Following this residency, his most recent work, Palimpseste, will be premiered in Karlsruhe (Germany) on October 21, 2005 at the Theater des Hörens concert at the ZKM. Originally titled ZedKejeM, the work completes the cycle Onomatopées (“Onomatopoeia”), which include the works Éclats de voix (1991), Spleen (1993) and Le renard et la rose (1995). Normandeau will stay in Karlsruhe for two months for studies on real-time music and multiphonic spatialization.