Michael Dessen
United States
Composer and trombonist Michael Dessen Links creates highly interactive and improvised music in collaboration with leading artists, while working as a university professor to expand institutional spaces and partnerships for cultural innovation. As a composer, he has been recognized with awards from Chamber Music America, New Music USA, and the Fromm Foundation, and as a trombonist, his original sound and extensive skills have made him a valued accompanist and collaborator for many creative musicians. Active since 2007 in the field of network music, Dessen has participated in more than 30 telematic concerts, composing new works and co-directing large-scale productions with collaborators from North and South America, South Korea and Europe. She also co-directs Puentes Telemáticos, a course that connects Latino and Latin American youth in California and Colombia to introduce improvisation, composition, and technology and explore the cross-cultural potentials of remote collaboration. Dessen is a professor at the University of California, Irvine, where he co-founded an MS and PhD program in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT), served for four years as Chair of the Department of Music, and is currently Director of the Gassmann Electronic Music Studios.
Participation in previous festivals: Tele Active Spaces IX (UPIC)