BIO
Andrea Pensado (b. La Plata, Argentina)
Andrea Pensado began playing piano as a girl, with private instruction.
She obtained her BA in Music Education from the University of La Plata in 1987. Immediately following, she moved to Poland where she continued her studies at the Krakow Academy of Music. Pensado graduated in Conducting of Vocal and Instrumental Ensembles in 1992 and in Composition with honors in 1995. Her professors were Barbara Buczek and Boguslaw Schaeffer in composition and Marek Choloniewski in computer music.
The music of that time shows
a wide variety of interests,
from pure instrumental to mixed genres
such as instrumental theatre, live electronics
and text sound compositions.
During this period, she was invited to
participate in numerous festivals and
workshops, as a result of which her music was
programmed in Poland, Austria,
Germany and Holland.
In 1997, she moved back to Buenos Aires. In 1998, she cofounded an interdisciplinary duo (Qfwfq) along, with Gregory Kowalski (in charge of the images). While still in Buenos Aires, the duo often worked with the collaboration of solo performers (Martín Moore, Lucio Capece, Adriana de los Santos, among others). They presented their work in many events in Buenos Aires, including the Cycle of Electronic and Experimental Music (in the Museum of Modern Art); the International Sound Art Festival EXPERIMENTA; the Cycle of Contemporary Music at the San Martin Theatre; the Experimental Video Festival (in the Museum of Fine Arts) and the Ricardo Rojas Arts Center.
In 2002, Pensado moved to the USA. At first, she continued performing with Qfwfq, mainly in the Boston area. The duo channeled most of her artistic work from 1999 to 2009.
Presently, Pensado performs extensively in the US, both as a solo artist and in frequent collaborations with other musicians. She also tours outside the US and has been featured in Brazil, Poland, Germany, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, UK, Portugal, Hungary, Canada, Italy and Austria.
She continues using Max as her main programming tool. The approach to programming and performance is highly intuitive. Occasionally, the combination of the performance situation, the often abrasive sounds, the irrational use of the voice and the inherent uncertainty of improvisations contributes to discoveries of unknown places in her mind.
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[SHORTER INFO FOR PROGRAMS]
Based in the US since 2002, Pensado uses voice and electronics to make music. Max is her main tool. The programming emphasizes the mapping of synthesis parameters into performance gestures. The approach to both, programming and performance is highly intuitive. The harsh cut up noise result, mixed with the strong emotional component of her music, generates a deeply personal sonic language which inevitably gives rise to intense responses in the most diverse audiences.
Pensado performs extensively in the US and abroad. She also produces Sonorium, a series of experimental music based in Salem, MA.
Ryan Masteller at TABS OUT writes: “…Pensado’s style is all tension and little release… the sound is simply fascinating…”
Angela Sawyer at Anathema Archives writes: “…Atlas-level strength… relentless energy… plain joy…”
Peter Margasak at the Chicago Reader writes: “…Pensado has an impressive control of her tools - she can suggest recklessness while knowing exactly what she is doing…”
https://soundcloud.com/andrea-pensado
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KspVGrJrhpg&feature=youtu.be
