Gordon Mumma

Born in 1935, American composer Gordon Mumma is a pioneer of electro-acoustic music. Together with Alvin Lucier, David Behrman and Robert Ashley, he formed the Sonic Arts Union from 1966 to 1977, which performed it’s members’ compositions on international concert tours. In his works, Mumma often works with the electro-acoustic modification of instruments played live and the transitions between natural and electronic sounds. In doing so, he often includes the performance space in his works. Since the mid-1980s Mumma has increasingly composed works for conventional instruments and uses classic forms as a point of reference within a new stylistic context.