Stylianós DIMOU

Out of the acoustic breath of instruments, new soundscapes unfold — shimmering extensions that double their identity in the form of a “hybrid sonic twin.” In this encounter, complexity is no longer a barrier but a threshold, reimagined as an experience that is at once sonic, spatial, and performative.

Dr. Stylianos Dimou is an internationally recognized Greek composer and researcher whose work spans acoustic, electroacoustic, and mixed media composition. His artistic practice is shaped by the creation of interactive technological environments, the exploration of sonic hybridity, and the pursuit of music as a site where sound, embodiment, and technology converge. His works are distinguished by a unique sonic identity, multilayered formal thinking, and meticulous attention to detail. Often, he employs computational strategies, algorithmic modeling, and advanced digital signal processing (DSP) techniques as organic tools in his compositional process, creating immersive environments that challenge both perception and performance.

Beyond composition, Dimou’s artistic vision extends into conducting, accordion performance, piano, and electronic improvisation, reflecting his versatility across diverse musical practices. His career has been supported by an impressive network of cultural and academic institutions, among them the Fulbright Program, Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative, Leventis Foundation, Gerondelis Foundation, Lilian Voudouri Foundation, Columbia University, Eastman School of Music, Cité Internationale des Arts, Fondation Royaumont, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Culture, OeAD-GmbH, Herrenhaus Edenkoben, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and the Lucerne Festival Academy.

Over the past fifteen years, his work has consistently been recognized for its innovation and artistic excellence. Among his many distinctions are the 2nd Prize at the Fifth Regensburg International Composition Competition (2022), Finalist at ICE Week 2022 with Ensemble Tempus Konnex, and the Charles S. Miller Prize at Columbia University (2020). He was named a “Promising Young Composer” by the Ulysses Network and IRCAM (2018–2019), and awarded the 1st Prize at the Amici della Musica di Cagliari International Competition as well as the Luigi Nono International Prize for Composition. Earlier in his career, he won the 2nd Prize at the Martirano Award in the United States, the 1st Prize and Audience Prize (Bärenreiter Verlag) at the Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik, the 1st Prize at the Synthermia International Competition, and the 2nd Prize at the Ton de Leeuw Competition. He also received the 3rd Prize at the Musica Domani International Competition (USA), the Wayne Brewster Barlow Prize at the Eastman School of Music, and the Outstanding Award at the ISCM Sun River Prize in Chengdu, China, alongside numerous further distinctions at Tribeca New Music, ilSUONO Contemporary Music Week, RED NOTE, ALEA III, and the Antonín Dvořák International Competition.

Dimou pursued his Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition at Columbia University as a Dean’s Fellow with full scholarship, studying with George E. Lewis, Fred Lerdahl, Georg Friedrich Haas, and Brad Garton. He holds a Master of Arts in Composition from the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, as a Fulbright Scholar, where he studied with Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Robert Morris, and David Liptak, while also studying electronic music with Allan Schindler. He earned his BMus in Composition at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki under Christos Samaras, and later completed the IRCAM Cursus in Composition and Computer Music in Paris with Mikhail Malt. Residencies have also played a central role in his development. He has worked at the Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris), Fondation Hellénique (Paris), Herrenhaus Edenkoben (Germany), Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), Moving Classics (UK), and Fondation Royaumont (France), and from 2018 to 2019 he served as Composer and Researcher at the OeAD, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, advancing both artistic and technological aspects of his doctoral research.

Since 2024, Dimou has been Associate Professor of Composition at the Grieg Academy, University of Bergen, where he teaches acoustic and electroacoustic composition, theory, analysis, and music technology, supervising students at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. He previously served as Research Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University and as Adjunct Faculty at the University of the Peloponnese. In parallel, he contributes to the MishMash Centre for AI and Creativity, Norway’s largest national research initiative in AI and the arts, funded by the Research Council of Norway, where his work focuses on artificial intelligence in composition, sound design, and the preservation of sonic heritage.

His research articulates a model of artistic practice that bridges composition, sound studies, and technology. It unfolds across three complementary axes: acoustic composition, where he explores microtonality, rhythmic mechanics, and processes of transformation; mixed and interactive electroacoustic works, where he designs hybrid acoustic-electronic “twins” through real-time systems built in Max/MSP; and data-driven composition and sonification, in which spatial coordinates, sensory input, and temporal sequences are integrated into dynamic sound structures. His technical expertise spans digital signal processing, convolution reverb, corpus-based synthesis, higher-order Ambisonics, FluCoMa, MuBu, Spat5 (IRCAM), IEM plugins, Max/MSP, Pure Data, SuperCollider, Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, Pro Tools, and Reaper, along with advanced applications of machine learning and neural networks to sound classification, clustering, and design.

His works have been presented at major international festivals, conferences, and symposia, among them the Warsaw Autumn Festival, Festival Ensemble(s) in Paris, IRCAM ManiFeste, IRCAM Improtech in Uzeste, the Australasian Computer Music Conference, NYCEMF, Symposium iX Montréal, Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, the Improvise! Symposium in Hong Kong, the Mixtur Festival in Barcelona, the impuls Academy, Gaudeamus Music Week in Utrecht, the ICMC – International Computer Music Conference, ISACM/IKI Hamburg, MA/IN Festival in Matera, the Delian Academy for New Music, OPEN MUSIC GRAZ – Junge Stücke, the Festival Risonanze Erranti, the Internationales Digitalkunst Festival, the World Saxophone Congress, Firenze Suona Contemporanea, Royaumont / Voix nouvelles, [‘tactus] Young Composers Forum, June in Buffalo, Tzlil Meudcan Festival, the Young Composers Meeting in Apeldoorn, the Mizzou New Music Summer Festival, the Sounds New Contemporary Music Festival, the New Music Week in Shanghai, and the Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik, among many others.

Equally extensive are his collaborations with leading performers, ensembles, and orchestras. He has worked with the Ensemble InterContemporain, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Jenaer Philharmonie, International Ensemble Modern Academy (2014/15, 2019/20, 2021/22), Arditti Quartet, Sigma Project Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble Multilatérale, Proxima Centauri, Ex-Sentia, Concept Store Quartet, Quartet Iberosudamericano, Ensemble Tempus Konnex, Talea Ensemble, ICE Ensemble, Illinois Modern Ensemble, Insomnio Ensemble, Slagwerk Den Haag, The New European Ensemble, Ensemble Risonanze Erranti, EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble, Psappha Ensemble, ICP Ensemble, Ensemble Contrechamps, Orkest de Ereprijs, Mivos Quartet, Ensemble Nikel, Namascae Lemanic Modern Ensemble, dissonArt Ensemble, ALEA III, Alarm Will Sound, Stenhammar Quartet, the Greek Ensemble of Contemporary Music, Idee Fixe, Orpheus Soloists, H[t] Duo (Italy), catinblack ensemble, and Ensemble S201, among many others.

Through these collaborations and performances, Dimou has cultivated a body of work that pushes the boundaries of sound and performance, producing immersive, hybrid, and electrified sonic environments. His compositional research situates itself at the forefront of contemporary music, where human creativity and technological innovation converge to redefine the sonic experience. As an educator, he emphasizes creativity, inclusivity, critical reflection, and interdisciplinary collaboration. He seeks to empower students to develop their own artistic voices, integrating theory and practice in applied projects, and encouraging research-led creation. He remains deeply engaged internationally as both artist and scholar, maintaining a dynamic balance between composition, research, and pedagogy at the highest professional level.