CHAIR'S WELCOME

The Carnegie Mellon School of Music is extremely pleased to host the 2009 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of the nation's most exciting cultural cities, Pittsburgh combines music, art and technology with a distinguished artistic climate that includes such organizations as the Pittsburgh Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera, the Pittsburgh Ballet, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Carnegie Museums, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Mattress Factory and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. The numerous independent theater companies and the many colleges and universities combine to create an intellectual and cultural environment that is unique among cities of its size. Pittsburgh is home to a vibrant community of new music enthusiasts, performers and composers, as well as venues and organizations eager to present new works. Many area schools and universities offer programs and courses in computer music, physical computing, new media, time-based art and related areas. Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, School of Computer Science and the Carnegie Institute of Technology, in conjunction with the School of Music, comprise one of the country's premier institutions whose innovations in the creation of music technologies and contributions to the global music technology scene continue to benefit the world at large. The Robot 250 Festival as well as Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and Carnegie Mellon's Contemporary Ensemble concerts among other events are regularly hosted for the interchange of ideas in computer-assisted performance, composition, synthesis, analysis and new media technologies. Through Carnegie Mellon's Collaborative Innovation Center, industry giants including Disney, Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Google and Oracle continue to seek out Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon in particular as a center for major growth and new ideas in the digital arts and communication. NIME 2009 will include a special focus on Tradition and Innovation. Events related to this theme include keynote speeches by acclaimed electronic media artist Paul DeMarinis and others. NIME 2009 is sponsored by Carnegie Mellon School of Music, Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center, The University of Pittsburgh Department of Music and Duquesne University's Mary Pappert School of Music. We thank all of our supporters for helping to make this year's conference possible. We look forward to your participation in the expanded community of creators, composers, performers and artists who will be represented at NIME 2009. Noel Zahler Head, Carnegie Mellon School of Music