Z.A.R by Ling-Hsuan Huang

 ➡️ This presentation is part of IRCAM Forum Workshops Paris / Enghien-les-Bains March 2026

This presentation will explore how "spatial sound" and "visual design" can expand the expressive forms of live instrumental performances. The presentation and demonstration will introduce how composers use spatial sound field technologies, particularly Spat5 from IRCAM, in combination with Wave Field Synthesis, to extend the presence of instrumental sound in space. The sound is visualized in real space and integrated with visual elements such as video projections and lighting design, creating a multisensory, immersive performance experience. The talk will also include a sharing of the composer’s past works, explaining how instrumental performance is transformed, expanded, and reinterpreted in space. Special focus will be placed on the new work Z.A.R, which was premiered at 2025 C-LAB Sound Festival: DIVERSONICS. This piece features the guzheng as a solo instrument, combined with spatial electronic sound through Wave Field Synthesis and enhanced by visual projections, exploring the augmented presentation of sound and body movements in physical space. For example, laser lights trace the reverberations of the strings, or real-time video magnifies the details of the string vibrations, allowing the sound process to be "visualized," thereby expanding the audience's perception of sound. From the perspectives of composition, sound design, and media arts, this lecture will present new possibilities for contemporary instrumental performance and reconsider the roles of virtual and physical spaces, perception, and performativity in sound art.