Penelope Bekiari
Featured Projects
SoundCloud:
for trumpet, electronics, and bio-electronics
Permeable Signal explores the boundaries between the human body, the instrument, and the technological environment through a live performance. The trumpet acts as a sonic core, with breath, articulation, and its metallic resonance serving as the primary material. This material passes through a network of electronic processing and bio-signals (EEG, heart rate, electrodermal activity), which erode, amplify, or transform the sound.
The notion of permeability forms the axis of the composition: the natural and the artificial do not stand in opposition but infiltrate one another, exchanging energy and continuously transforming. In this way, an organic, abstract form emerges in real time: the sound of the trumpet becomes an electronic signal; the signals of the body become music; and the boundaries between the organic and the mechanical remain fluid.
Wavelets / Rustle for cello, electronics, brainwave and heartbeat data, field recordings, and live processing.
Wavelets and Rustle are two interconnected works that explore the relationship between human perception, environmental sound, and musical expression.
In both pieces, real-time brainwave and heartbeat data influence the performance by controlling the timbral colour of the cello and determining the structure and character of the electronic soundscape that surrounds it. Through this system, the performer’s internal physiological states directly shape the evolving sonic environment, creating a feedback loop between mind, body, and sound.
Penelope Bekiari, PhD candidate at the Department of Digital Arts and Cinema, has been awarded the Art of Neuroscience 2025 prize by the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN) for her work Rustle — a live electroacoustic performance that weaves sound, biosignals, and visual media into a unified sensory landscape, transforming biometric data into a poetic interplay of sound and light.
Rhoē "Rhoē" explores the fluid interplay between sound and the human body. This piece for piano and live electronics integrates biometric data, such as brainwaves, heart rates, and galvanic skin responses. Algorithms map these physiological signals into the electroacoustic soundscape, allowing the music to evolve in real time. The piano's organic tones meld with the electronic textures, creating a dynamic and ever-changing flow. Utilizing neurofeedback, real-time brain activity shapes the electronic components, emphasizing the natural ebb and flow of human physiology.
Electroacoustic Concerts and Contemporary Music Panorama, "Megaron" the Athens Concert Hall
Samothrace, with its rich cultural and natural heritage, offers a unique opportunity for exploring the relationship between people, landscape, and sound. Within the framework of the artistic residency, my goal was to highlight the sonic identity of the island through field recordings, testimonies from residents, and the composition of contemporary soundscapes.
This process is linked to the concept of "psychogeography," examining how the sounds surrounding communities shape their perception of space and identity.
Special emphasis was placed on the natural diversity of the island, the relationship between the mountain and the sea, as well as the ancient heritage of the Cabirian Mysteries. Additionally, the traditional music of Samothrace and the stories that accompany it form an integral part of the local collective memory, and for this reason, it was incorporated and embedded into the soundscape, from which it naturally originates.
"Lalē" (Lallai), meaning "pebbles," derives from the Greek verb "lalō," meaning "to talk." These small stones on the seashore are moved by the waves,producing sound. This electroacoustic composition blends sea sounds, brainwave data, and synthesized elements to craft a meditative experience. Itinvites listeners to explore the interconnectedness between the human body and the water that surrounds us. Brainwave data, captured during meditation, is transformed into sound through data sonification, reflecting the water soundscape of the Greek village of Mani.
Mantis Music Festival 20 years, University of Manchester
Artist in Residence at the Greek National Opera as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Commission – Next Generation EU
This selected work, 'Andromeda,' is featured in the MA/IN festival and has been also selected as a poster presentation at the Advances in Data Science and AI Conference, University of Manchester and as a paper and piece in SMC Porto 2024. The live performance introduces a multimedia composition for flute and live sound processing, inspired by Euripides' tragedy.
It integrates biofeedback data from the flutist's body sensors, synchronizing sound processes with physiological responses. 'Andromeda' explores the fusion of theatrical conventions and performer emotions, leveraging biometric data to enrich narrative, development, and aesthetics. It examines real-time physiological data's role in enhancing interactive performance, bridging technology and musical expression realms. Through biometric analysis, it delves into themes of technological posthumanism, employing sensors like galvanic skin response, heart rate, and respiratory sensors. Symbolizing love, 'Andromeda' portrays the protagonist's struggle amidst echoes, waves, and wind, as she appeals to the night goddess for freedom to love Perseus.
The glass animals' sounds transform into fragmented pieces, producing noises amplified by imagination. The flowing sonic forms reflect Laura's various mental states, existing between the material world and the conceptual framework of memory.
Presented at - Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center 2024 and SAG (Leicester)
The thematic essence revolves around a synopsis of a day in Athens, spanning from the invigorating morning energies to the tranquil shades of night. The violin, with its roots in Greek traditional rhythms and folk songs, acts as a conduit, bridging ancient Greek musical texts, traditional rhythms, and contemporary technology for audio data processing. This harmonious interplay seeks to unite the echoes of the past with the rhythms of the present, offering a musical journey that transcends temporal boundaries.
Presented at Greek and international festivals including Mantis, 41st International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music Meeting, HELMCA, Salle Molière – Opéra Comédie of Montpellier - Maison des Arts Sonores – KLANG
Suffocating cities at an increasing pace. "Certain circles" explores the path from serenity to discontentment, the modern sonic landscape as a linear narration of interpersonal relationships. Echoes of a city, texts, and computer-generated sounds turn into mechanical sound gestures, struggling to fit into given spacetime. Inspired by Delia Derbyshire's "Inventions for Radio", this 8-channel piece seeks a conversation with the contemporary perspective of time and information.
It was presented at John Rylands Library and Research Institute- University of Manchester, memorial to Delia Darbishire.
Proximity | by Penelope Bekiari & Mari Lesteberg, for voices & live electronics (Super Collider / Pure Data, loopstation)
The nature and language of two different countries are expressed and blended together to tell a story about communication. The words of two poems are used to learn how to talk together and to explore the importance of silence, sound and proximity. Poems expressed in the piece: Gunvor Hofmo - Dette er Våren, "Πληγωμένη Άνοιξη [Wounded Spring]"- Miltos Sachtouris
It was presented at the Ultima Music Festival.
