David Graves has been an experimental sound artist for more than 40 years. His music uses subtle meditative sounds directed towards creating a sense of place. His materials come from both natural (e.g., wind and rain) and entirely synthetic (e.g., sine waves or granulated noise) sources. Unlike conventional musical composition with traditional instruments, new pieces of electronic music emerge from the iterative process of listening to sounds; keeping, deleting, or modifying these sounds; and then, listening to these sounds again. This process called “Realization” was created in 1951 by Groupe de Recherches de Musique Concrete, a group that has inspired Graves.

Graves studied composition at the University of Nebraska; San Francisco City College, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He was resident composer for the Berkeley Symphony for 2 seasons and served on the Boards of the San Francisco Composers Orchestra and the Soundwave Festival. Graves has created classical, rock, and jazz works for performance, film, and theater.

During his residency, Graves created a piece in conjunction with Peter de Swart’s exhibition titled Numinous: Sculptures from the Light Series. Graves states that ultimately his work encourages contemplation and takes the listener on a unique journey. He was born in 1957, and lives and works in Eugene, Oregon.

To learn more about the artist, visit his website here.