April 21, 2016—The University of Oregon is pleased to welcome the famed producer and composer Guy Sigsworth for May 4-8 residency on the UO campus. The UO School of Music and Dance has named Sigsworth a 2016 Robert M. Trotter Visiting Professor, a mark of distinction reserved for honored guest artists and scholars.

 

Sigsworth, who has collaborated with recording artists as diverse as Madonna, Björk, Britney Spears, Seal, and Alanis Morissette, will engage in four public presentations in the Frohnmayer Music Building on the UO campus, consisting of three free public lectures and one concert of recent works. All events are open to the public, and a full residency schedule is listed below.

 

Advance tickets for the May 8 concert are available through the UO Ticket Office, 541-346-4363.

 

Sigsworth’s trademark brand of tongue-in-cheek humor will be evident throughout the residency. One public lecture, for example, is entitled “How I Accidentally Became a Record Producer.” Another rhetorically asks “Is Pop Music Rubbish?”

 

Guy Sigsworth is a producer, songwriter, and composer based in London. One of the most accomplished and well-respected creatives in the UK music industry today, over the last 20 years Sigsworth has worked with artists including Björk, Britney Spears, Madonna, Seal, Imogen Heap, David Sylvian, Alanis Morissette, and Alison Moyet, among many others.

 

Growing up in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, Sigsworth developed a passion for classical music from a young age, studying harpsichord and joining the European Union Baroque Orchestra. He toured Europe extensively with the ensemble.

 

After moving back to London, Sigsworth began exploring production and contemporary electronic sounds. His virtuosic qualities allowed him to develop his skills quickly, and he went on to co-write four songs on Seal’s debut album Crazy, as well as co-writing, recording, and playing on Dancer in the Dark and Vespertine.

 

In 1996, Sigsworth was introduced to the English singer-songwriter and composer Imogen Heap. Sigsworth and Heap formed an immediate artistic bond. The two artists proceeded to co-write and produce two songs from Heap’s debut album I Megaphone. Later the pair went on to form the band Frou Frou, releasing their debut album Details via Universal Records in 2002 to critical acclaim.

 

Since the early 2000s, Sigsworth’s focus has returned to songwriting and production work with global artists, including Madonna, Robyn, Britney Spears, the Sugababes, and Kate Havnevik. His broad array of artistic and technical abilities to work across orchestration, programming, electronics, and experimental production allow Sigsworth to stay at the cutting edge of contemporary production.

 

 

All events are open to the public.

 

7:30 p.m., Thelma Schnitzer Hall, Frohnmayer Music Building

Free admission

Drawing from a 1938 diatribe against popular music by Theodor Adorno (“On the Fetish-character in Music and the Regression of Hearing”), Sigsworth will offer some of his criticisms of contemporary pop music, as well as making a case for the growing sophistication of many of its listeners.

 

7:30 p.m., Thelma Schnitzer Hall, Frohnmayer Music Building

Free admission

Whether or not we are aware of it, computers and programming have dramatically influenced music and music-making. During this presentation, Sigsworth will relate some of his ideas and experiences around this contemporary artistic phenomenon. [Note: This lecture was formerly titled “Anxious Melody.”]

 

7:30 p.m., Thelma Schnitzer Hall, Frohnmayer Music Building

Free admission

Guy Sigsworth will speak about record production—what he does, how he first started doing it, and some of the producers who have influenced his work. This presentation will include examples from his catalogue, plus an extensive question-and-answer session.

 

3 p.m., Beall Concert Hall, Frohnmayer Music Building

$10 general admission, $8 students and seniors | Advance tickets: purchase online or at 541-346-4363

UO performing artists, including pianist Michael Seregow and the award-winning UO Chamber Choir under the direction of Sharon J. Paul, will present recent works by Sigsworth in a capstone performance to end the artist’s UO residency. Selections will include ten short piano pieces and four choral works. The concert will also feature “Dream Her to Life,” a new pop song by Sigsworth and singer-songwriter Kate Havnevik, with the UO Chamber Choir performing backing vocals. Sigsworth himself will provide a live electronic track.