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MICHAEL ROBERT BUSSIÈRE NEW MUSIC PRODUCER / TELEMATICS RESEARCHER / EDUCATOR Ontario: (613) 882-8595 Val-des-Monts Qc. (819) 671-8595 email: michael@marsville.tv

Innovative, entrepreneurial professional with extensive experience in music and the performing arts, post secondary education, and in broadband network research and development. Successful in identifying and leveraging opportunities to merge music and the performing arts, technology and multimedia ideas to develop groundbreaking solutions for the academic and performing arts sectors. A true innovator with persuasive communication and presentation skills and adept at captivating an audience. Establishes solid business partnerships to develop creative ventures from initial concept through to completion. Passionate champion of using advanced technology and multimedia tools as critical resources for online content, teaching and learning excellence. Brings understanding of best practices in broadband network telecollaboration, interactive content development and dynamic course management for in-class and distance education courses.

Cores Strengths

New Music and Media Practice and Education Performing Arts Broadband Research and Development

Academic and Research Programs Design, Execution & Evaluation

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

I am an acclaimed teacher, telecollaboration researcher, consultant, and new music/media producer. As an undergrad, I programmed music in FORTRAN on a DEC PDP-11 computer the size of my fridge. I started out professionally as a music producer and composer at the National Film Board of Canada creating what we called 'multi-media', then CBC in radio and TV, then became an independent producer and creative director. I have also spent years in the undergraduate fine arts classroom designing and teaching a diploma program in music, computing and new media where I blended both the traditional and virtual classroom. My goals are to connect creative people around the globe in real-time video, and to develop new forms of transmedia and telecollaborative creation in music and the performing arts in general. On a personal note, I happen to believe that the telematic (embodiment over distance) experience is an emerging creative artform and one that is particularly suited to music, the performing arts, and the classroom and museum experience. When I was first invited 10 years ago to demonstrate what I would do with advanced networks, the work became the most fun I’ve had since my early years in electronic music! EDUCATOR/VIRTUAL CLASSROOM RESEARCHER 2000 - Present I established this practice to explore telematic research projects focused on identifying and leveraging creative opportunities for the performing arts and distance learning initiatives. I became the first musician/composer to be funded to research telematic musical practices on broadband networks. As a consultant, I've partnered with many government (Canadian Heritage, Industry Canada, CANARIE, National Research Council of Canada) academic, and private sector research projects to create content for CA*Net4, the world’s first National Research and Education 10-gigabit lightpath. Together we've developed and evaluated innovative curriculum and technology, and telecollaboration strategies pertaining to the music and performing arts stages, the virtual classroom, the museum experience etc. I’m currently developing a transmedia strategy for the Canada Museum of Science and Technology Corp. blending broadband-based learning events with tablet apps.

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Selected Achievements: I initiated and directed a 2-year broadband research and production project, Performance

Space meets Cyberspace, in partnership with the Banff Centre for the Arts, The National Research Council of Canada, and the Communications Research Centre. This was a 2-year co-production with the Departments of Music and Sound, and Visual and Media Arts of the Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada. See http://marsville.tv/ The production linked numerous performing arts venues and classrooms across Canada and the world using broadband video networks to create multi-point virtual spaces. Funding was provided by Industry Canada's Advanced Research in Interactive Media program and other partners. I have continued producing dozens of similar events independently with my latest connecting Hong Kong, Stanford, Banff, the uOttawa piano pedagogy lab, and France in a performance of Terry Riley’s “IN C” during the ANET2 Advanced Networks Conference.

As a research partner with Rural Access Community of Learners, I contributed to a significantly improved classroom experience through the implementation of a $3 million program at the University of Alberta at Edmonton. See (www.racol.ualberta.ca), This educational project introduced videoconferencing and other visual tools into five remote communities in Northern Alberta (representing 3 different cultural groups) that transitioned the traditional classroom setting into a broadband-based, e-learning environment. I offered curriculum design support, training and workshops for teachers, technology and human interaction evaluation, and student project supervision. In addition, to these large-scale projects, I have served in the following capacities:

Created and developed innovative live-event content as a visiting researcher for 2 years with National Research Council scientists of the NRC’s Institute for Information Technology. Co-developed curriculum and classroom materials, providing instruction in the use of teleconferencing, Smartboard, CODEC, and other production techniques and technologies.

Consulted with museums (Calgary’s forthcoming National Music Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum) on virtual classroom practices and transmedia strategies.

Addressed international conferences in topics of new technologies, virtual classrooms, and fine arts practices from Singapore to Chicago to Sao Paulo to the UK.

Published in such journals as Leonardo (Performance Space Meets Cyberspace: Seeking the Creative Idiom and Technical Model for Live Music on Broadband. MIT Press) and the Planetary Collegium (Cage, McLuhan, and the repertoire of the virtual proscenium. University of Plymouth, UK).

PROGRAM DIRECTOR: MUSIC AND NEW MEDIA 2000 - 2009 CARLETON UNIVERSITY, Ottawa, Ontario In 2000 I proposed, designed and directed an innovative programme to the University Fine Arts program Director to develop a new diploma in music and new media through the creation of three new courses and an honours ePortfolio. See: http://welcometomarsville.blogspot.com/2009/11/media-and-technology-course-materials.html Acquisition of corporate sponsorships from Nortel and Bederra Corp. as well as numerous

industry accreditations to Carleton University to establish this program and build facilities. Development of all course materials and transmedia applications utilizing videoconferencing

and other visual tools to link to high school, university and other institutional partners across Canada and around the globe.

Integration with several virtual classroom research projects with partner organizations including the National Research Council of Canada, the Communications Research Centre, the Banff Centre for Continuing Education, etc. as outlined above.

Service as ePortfolio supervisor to individual students, providing guidance to meet the needs of a student body with a wide range of creativity.

Placement of students into graduate programs and employment in Canada and Japan. Commended by Dean of Faculty for perfect student evaluation scores.

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INDEPENDENT COMPOSER / NEW MUSIC PRODUCER / 1987 – Present Beginning in 1987, my practice as a new music artist has resulted in over 20 productions and commissions funded by the CBC, the National Film Board, the Canada and Ontario Arts Councils, and presented by such venues as the Summit of the Americas, Boston’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, Bourges Electroacoustics (France) Festival, Video Roma, the Banff Festival of the Arts, Music Toronto, New Music Concerts, the Dumaurier Theatre Centre, and the Canada Dance Festival, and nationwide on CBC Stereo and Radio-Canada. Highlights include: Premiere of MMus thesis at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre with Australian performance

artist Stelarc, blending music, projections, video and computers in 1987. Developed the VIP, an interactive computer music sculpture commissioned for the Festival

Plaza in front of Ottawa City Hall, which was voted Best Public Artwork. Completed the sound and technology design for Cyberdome Virtual Reality Theme Parks. Designed/installed large-scale interactive sound and light artwork for Public Works Canada. Designed projection installation of American Art for US State Department for Summit of the

Americas in Quebec City. Served as a Stereo Music and Radio Producer for CBC Radio creating over 100 recorded and

live-to-air events, cultural programming, script writing and hosting. Independent production of classical and jazz CDs for national and international labels

including Polygram, Naxos of Hong Kong and Summit Records. My family came to Canada from Syria. In 1995, I received the gift of support from the Canada

Council for the Arts to travel in Syria and Lebanon for 6 months to study the language, music, art, architecture, and history of my ancestral home. The Canada Council B Grant endorsed my proposal to learn and integrate this knowledge into my art practice.

EDUCATION

Accepted into PhD. program at the University of Plymouth, Faculty of Technology, UK

Associateship Diploma, Royal Conservatory of Music

University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Masters of Music, Composition, Computing, & Multimedia State University of New York

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Recipient of two national Gold prizes in composition awarded from SOCAN – Young Artist Awards in 1987

Nominated by students for the National Capital Teachers Award

Finalist in the Educator of the Year category

of the Canadian New Media Awards

• Listed in The Canadian Encyclopedia • Listed in The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada

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