Welcome
Background and Context
The idea for an event in Singapore which might explore connections between Music and Mathematics emerged from a series of reasonably regular—and indeed ongoing—social lunches between Louis Chen (Institute for Mathematical Sciences, NUS), Bernard Tan (Centre for Maritime Studies / Department of Physics, NUS) and myself.
To be honest, the lunches were mainly about music—and in particular upcoming events both in Singapore and around the world—though often conversations would leap mercurially to mathematical issues. All three of us have an enthusiasm for both areas and we saw that these were also two disciplines which had a strong presence in the psyche of Singapore.
Despite our intuitive interest in both topics and our belief there must be value in the connection between the two, the three of us had never really explored systematically the more recent scholarship which specifically connects the two fields (even though Bernard of course utilises mathematical/computational approaches in some of his musical analytical work). Lunch would often end with the general thought that at some time in the future we should do something in Singapore that explored the connections …
Both Louis and Bernard Tan knew something of Elaine Chew’s journey as a pianist and mathematician—as with Bernard, who is both physicist and composer, she had embraced both fields—so it was a pleasure to meet her in London in Spring of 2012. Later that year, we happened to present consecutive papers exploring shape in performance at the CMPCP Music and Shape Conference at King’s College London and it was around then that more serious framing of this event began.
I am extremely grateful to Elaine for her energy, tenacity, creativity, connectivity and organizational flair in bringing this event together. Thanks to her, I believe we have gathered a group of speakers and performers of global distinction for a wonderfully diverse and intense set of activities. Thank you to our experts for agreeing to commit to the project, particularly given that many, while expressing their enthusiasm, also expressed some degree of self-doubt about the potentially too broad requisite expertise involved in the two fields.
Our thanks also to NUS (and in particular IMS), Queen Mary University of London and IRCAM Paris for their support, in making the event possible from a financial, administrative and logistical perspective.
On behalf of the Conservatory, I am pleased to welcome everyone to Singapore for what I am confident will be a most memorable event.
Prof Bernard Lanskey
Director, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music
National University of Singapore
Welcome Message
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Mathemusical Conversation Workshop. Although both the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and the Institute for Mathematical Sciences have been in existence for more than ten years, organizing programmes and activities since the beginning, this is the first time that a joint effort is made to present a workshop with a theme at the intersection of music and mathematics.
It is well documented that the works of many composers of classical music, such as Bach's, reflect a structure that is strikingly mathematical. On the other hand, there are mathematical theorems considered beautiful, though none has yet been described as being musical. Nevertheless, there are mathematicians who play musical instruments well, and some even compose music. The advent of electronic music brings the two disciplines even closer to each other. A workshop like this offers an opportunity for members of the two communities to come together to engage in a conversation that covers topics connecting two of civilization's greatest achievements. It promises to be an exciting event.
On behalf of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences, I would like to thank the organizers and the staff at both the Conservatory and the Institute for all the efforts put in to make this Workshop possible.
Prof Chong Chi Tat
Director, Institute for Mathematical Sciences
National University of Singapore