Born in Western Canada, artist-composer Steve Heimbecker currently splits his time between projects in Montreal and his studio in Sherbrooke, QC. For 2014/15, Heimbecker has been awarded the Canada Council New Media Artist-Composer in Residence at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) under the direction of André Éric Létourneau, Professeur, École des médias – Faculté de communication. Heimbecker is also working on NOTES, a multi-year text-based project for multi-channel audio-visual installation and concerts. His upcoming concert, Word Music II: NOTES will be presented by Agence TOPO – Sortir de l’écran / Spoken Screen in Montreal. Heimbecker is acknowledged for his nearly 3 decades of pioneering work with multi-channel sound immersion and composition, and new media / audio art installation. Steve Heimbecker has presented his award-winning art works, compositions, productions and concepts at museums, galleries, festivals, universities, conferences, art centres and clubs across Canada, Europe, Peru, and New York.
In 1995, artist-composer Steve Heimbecker began a project called Word Music. After a one-year period of research and production the project was put on hold for nearly 20 years while Heimbecker waited for the right project and the future development of more effective digital technologies with a wider range of audio transcription possibilities.
In March 2008, Heimbecker began a word/text project he now calls NOTES. NOTES are hand-written cards spontaneously expressing invented phrases, word plays, puns, and neologisms. Over a period of 6 years, Heimbecker has created more than 1,700 notes. This past summer, with the assistance of Agence TOPO – Sortir de l’écran / Spoken Screen, a new MAX/MSP patch, Word Music II, was developed by Heimbecker and programmer Étienne Grenier. Word Music II can convert letters, words and sentences into a wide range of sequential and layered sound tracks utilizing custom made “sound sample libraries” made by the artist. The completed sound tracks can then be used in any of Heimbecker’s NOTES productions.